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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Texas Hands (テキサスハンズ 敦賀店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

Texas Hands is a chain of pizza shops around the Hokuriku region of Japan, including Fukui, Ishikawa, and Toyama.

Let’s take a second to look at their store logo…

They offer a range of typical pepperoni pizzas to outlandish toppings like crab, squid, corn, fish egg (tarako)… well, those are pretty normal here in Japan.

Regardless of what you choose, the pizzas and toppings here are delicious… for Japan. They are definitely smaller and more expensive than what you’d typically get stateside in America. Their Large sizes, around 2000￥ ($18 USD), are more akin to a Medium in the U.S. The sauce and cheese also have a lighter profile, more suited for Japanese tastes than the heavy, greasier stuff at many chain pizza restaurants I’m very familiar with.

Do they sell pineapple toppings for their pizza? Not that I know of, so we brought some in! And if you don’t like pineapple on pizza, well…

Regardless, I often visit the Tsuruga, Fukui, location with my friends whenever I’m craving a taste from home.

I’ll neither confirm nor deny my hand is in this photograph…

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Hōheikyō Hot Spring (豊平峡温泉) ONSEN Restaurant (ONSEN食堂) in Sapporo, Hokkaido

The Hoheikyo Hot Springs are amazing. The huge outdoor area has plenty of space and nice, sulfur-y hot water at a perfect temperature. I just wished there was a sauna area too, but overall it was a great, relaxing experience.

However, you didn’t come to read about the onsen, did you? Half the reason I went there was because of a recommendation to check out the attached Indian restaurant! In fact, it seemed pretty popular online and at the time, with quite a few customers waiting. For a place literally in the boonies, it was surprising.

They have a huge plastic food display so I can browse the options. I chose the Chicken Masala Curry at a hot spice level for 980￥ ($9 USD) which comes with a regular naan along with a Cheese Naan for 480￥. I really struggled at that latter choice, though… it was between cheese and the local ? berry. At that moment, cheese won over.

Now, I’m pretty familiar with Indian / Nepalese Curry Restaurants in Japan, as I have two within a few minutes from my house and I have visited some dozen or so around the country. I’m not an expert nor am I very knowledgeable, but I think I can say I safely know how it should taste.

That being said, I was pretty disappointed with this place. The curry lacked the depth and spicy flavors of true Indian curry, as it felt it was heavily adjusted for “Japanese” tastes, moreso than other similar shops. I liked the chicken though, oddly enough, the predominate note reminded me of tomato-sauce. I was even imagining it was made from pre-made curry packages with some tomato soup mixed in… not at all Indian.

To add insult to injury, the pricey cheese naan had little cheese and no hints of spices as found in most other places and the regular naan was actually… lukewarm. If the regular naan had additional free servings, it might have been acceptable.

Perhaps it’s unfair for me to say, but I cannot recommend this place due to many of the other better shops like Spice Town in Tsuruga. (Not to say they are “the best,” but comparatively speaking, they are better.) ONSEN Restaurant might be considered good for Hokkaido, but not for Hokuriku.

It was also a mistake to eat after my onsen because of the lingering curry smell, but it was still worth the relaxing trip down to the outskirts of Sapporo.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Myeongdong (明洞2号店) in Tsuruga, Fukui

Myeong Dong is a Korean-style restaurant in Tsuruga, Fukui. This is actually their second shop (2号店) in the city. While it seems to be a more of an izakaya-style restaurant, I came for this: ramen that comes piping hot in a stone bowl.

I ordered their popular Special Ramen for 1080￥ ($10 USD) which comes with cheese topping, kimchi, veggies, and meat, all bubbling hot, spicy, and delicious.

While it is a bit pricey for the portion size, but it is definitely more reminiscent of real Korean food taste than many other dishes I’ve had here. They even start you off with some banchan!