Pizzeria Braceria CESARI!! (ピッツェリアブラチェリアチェザリ‼) in Nagoya, Aichi

I’ve been mocked for my reviews and writing style, but I’m just going to own it…

On our second food stop in Nagoya, we went to Pizzeria Braceria CESARI!, an Italian restaurant among a shopping street full of other foreign shops. I was surprised to see this was a Michelin Guide restaurant. My friends definitely made a good choice to come here.

Their lunch special, consisting of an appetizer, main, and dessert, was very reasonable at 1500¥ ($14 USD) although a few alternate options add a bit to the cost.

They first brought us some lovely, freshly baked bread.

My friends ordered the day’s Yellowtail Carpaccio salad and Chezari Oyster appetizers for themselves.

I opted for the Prosciutto Salad with 12-month cured ham and it was absolutely deliciously soft, salty, and divine.

It’s a good thing I liked it because I ordered the Prosciutto pizza for 650¥ more. My friends also decided on the Margherita and Chisato (4 cheese and honey) pizzas. From our cool little outdoor seating, we could see the kitchen staff preparing our hand-tossed pizzas, the delicious smell wafting out from the open door. The Margherita was the first to arrive and it was the “lightest” taste of the three. The other two arrived shortly after. All three pizzas were thin, flavorful, and quite reasonably sized.

After trying all three, I’d say the Margherita pizza was more the appetizer since it had a lighter flavor profile. My savory, salty, rich ham would be more of a main dish with the sweet and salty 4-cheese pizza more akin to a dessert.

I was glad I was hungry because I had to finish the leftovers. Oh, what a shame I had to consume the majority of all this deliciousness!

To top it off, we were offered a range of desserts. My friends ordered the mango and berry gelato and I opted for lemon dessert. Without a doubt, they were extremely delicious and a great finish to our plentiful meal.

I also want to note the extremely pleasant service we got from the staff, particularly our awesome waiter who did his best to speak English to us whenever possible. The whole experience really justifies their inclusion in the coveted Michelin Guide.

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Ramen Zenya (らーめん善谷) in Ishinomaki, Miyagi

Ramen Zenya in Ishinomaki, Miyagi, is one of those ramen shops only accessible by car, in the middle of not much. I probably have driven by hundreds of shops similar to this without knowing what delicious treasures lay inside.

However, if I didn’t stop here, I would’ve missed out on an amazing Michelin-reviewed bowl of ramen… and probably one of the best light soups I’ve had in a long time.

I’ll admit my first impression was not very good, seeing the large menu and a long wait. While the shop was huge, there were even more chefs behind the glass window at different stations. This looked like a food factory, an assembly line better suited producing instant ramen than Bib Gourmand bowls. They advertise locally-sourced and produced noodles and in-house made broths. Sure, with production facilities out back, perhaps...

Given that I live in Obama City, a place known historically for our catch of saba (mackerel), I was curious to try their take with Saba Ramen for only 800￥ ($7.50) for a large size. The smell was the first thing I noticed, a savory scent of salted fish. I took a sip and I was transported to ramen broth heaven, imagining fishermen and their fresh saba haul pouring them into a hilariously large pot, then straight into my mouth. The taste was so unexpectedly flavorful with the unique smokey, rich taste of saba in every sip. What I did expect was the broth to be slightly greasy, given the high oil and fat content in saba.

The chashu was exceptionally soft, making me wish I had a side order of extra chashu. The noodles were thin, nice, and firm, tying the whole ramen together. The only minor let down was the egg, which wasn’t particularly tasty or cooked well. One could forego that issue because the rest of the bowl was exceptional.

Wow.

 

Menya Nanabe (麺屋菜々兵衛) in Sapporo, Hokkaido

Menya Nanabe is a small ramen shop in the suburbs of Sapporo, serving up Michelin-rated Bib Gourmand ramen. With a recommendation like that, how could I pass it?

They had a two-page menu that was relatively simple, but their main seller is their Toripaitan Shio Chicken Ramen for 780￥ ($7 USD). I opted for a large for 50￥ more and a soft-boiled egg for 100￥.

Despite the lunch hour, I only had to wait about 30 minutes before I could get the bowl I was eagerly awaiting. The thin noodles were firm, yet had a delightfully springy texture and the large portion was well worth the extra yen and definitely filled me up. The egg, slice of chicken, and chashu were all flavorful, soft, and deliciously satisfying.

However, all was not perfect. While the broth was decently flavorful, it was a bit thin and watery compared to some famous toripaitan shops Kansai is famous for.

Still, I heartily recommend this place and I could definitely understand why it has a coveted rating from Michelin.

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