Review #3: Sushisho Masa

13 March 2018

After that extremely disappointing stop at the previously-always-reliable Butagumi, very little is now for sure. However, one of them is the fantastic Sushisho Masa, and that was this evening’s dinner destination. Let’s hope my trip don’t go totally off the rails today…

Ironically Sushisho Masa is rather close to Butagumi in the Nishiazabu area of Tokyo, the same long downhill walk from Roppongi Station. It’s my third time back, and last time was absolutely spectacular — even better than my first visit. It’s now become one of the “must-do” places whenever I am in Tokyo. Well, Butagumi was on that list until today…

I arrived on-time for their 6pm seating and was greeted warmly by the entire staff as they remember me from my earlier visits. Not long after they poured my first sake they presented the usual opening snack of delicious sea grapes…

Love these things. Then I took my breath as the meal was about to start, knowing we’ll be over 50 pieces before it’s all done… We start with tako (octopus).

Nicely cooked, tender but without losing texture. Lovely start. Then we have a pair of hoki (blue hake), first a nice clean piece…

Then a piece wrapped around its own liver, excellent.

One of the things you really love about Sushisho Masa is how they bring out so many aspects of each creature. It’s rarely just the single piece here. Then next up akagai (surf clam).

Excellent, as they mentioned the clam season was just starting and they are getting good supply. And next up was another pair, first up mirugai (geoduck)…

Delicious, then next up is the grilled innards of the geoduck…

Again, delicious and you get a wonderful perspective of something you often think of as very one-dimensional. Then we have some amaebi (shrimp)…

Sweet and nice, topped by its own roe. Next up was saba (mackerel) that’s lightly seared…

Lovely, mackerel comes out so well like this. Then we have a pair of the related sawara (Spanish mackerel), first as sushi…

Then the belly grilled…

Oh my this was spectacular… More sake and we have some droolingly good uni…

It’s a mini rice bowl like in Hokkaido, cute and scrumptious! Then back to clams and we have torigai (cockle).

Again, quite nice. Then we have some shirako (milt)…

Delicious, lovely milky treat here. Then we have a pair of sumi-ika (cuttlefish)…

The sushi was delicious, then the grilled tentacles…

Mmmm, love the contrast here once again! Then we have a real treat with hotaru-ika (firefly squid)…

Then a second piece that’s been marinated for a long time…

I totally love these things…so delicious! Then we have aji (horse mackerel)…

Not bad, then we have baby yari-ika (spear squid)…

Wow…these are stuffed with both its roe and shirako…wow…just wow… Amazing flavours here. Then we have the inside edge of the tairagai (pen shell clam) grilled…

Mmm, delicious. And switching things up even more, we shift back to a quick sushi of sakura-masu (cherry trout)…

You don’t see this often, but a very nice piece. Then back to the rest of the tairagai in nori…

Delicious. But please, no comments on the nail. I forgot my clipper at home… Then something pretty interesting…

This is actually the dried belly of the aji (horse mackerel), which we had earlier as sushi. Wow, really rich despite it being dried! Then one of my favourites, ankimo (monkfish liver).

A generous serving, and I was in heaven… Then we have 2 pieces of buri (wild yellowtail), first a simple sushi…

Then an internal piece rolled and stuffed with wasabi.

Oh my was this dreamy… Remember the hotaru from earlier? Now it’s grilled with its innards…

Oh it’s so juicy and tasty this is addictive… So often you get these baby cephalopods with its insides, from Japan to Italy (remembering Venice…), and they are just amazing…

No time for a break, just more sake and we continue! Next up a quickly roasted piece of that wonderful buri…

Just delicious in every way you prepare this fish! So many people think hamachi is the real thing, but hamachi is farmed — and buri is the real wild stuff. Awesome. Then we have kindemai (goldeneye snapper).

Delicious, even though I tend to like this fish grilled. Then we have a ridiculously generous helping of shrimp brains…

Oh my! No other way to describe this! Then some grilled hon-marugo (tuna)…

Mmm, really nice, then you get the tzuke (soy-marinated) version of a baby tuna…

Nice. Then a twist with the tasty tachiuo (scabbard fish)…

I love this stuff, always so good grilled! Then a wee palate cleansing pickled veg…

Then the ever-present kohada (gizzard shad)…

Interesting, usually Sushisho Masa doesn’t focus too much on tuna, but kohada usually means the end of the tuna segment…but it’s never that simple here! Now we have the chu-toro…

Nice, easy piece. Then the o-toro…

Oh my…this was fantastic…then to end it, the lean akami…

Nice, unorthodox procession! Then the rarely-seen hakkaku (sailfin poacher)…

Delicious. If you don’t know this fish, google it — it’s a beautiful creature, but also delicious! Then a beautiful grilled anago (eel).

Nice and rich, lovely stuff. No need all that eel sauce, this is wonderful as is! Then a nice big kuruma-ebi (prawn)…

Solid stuff. Then another wee palate-cleansing pickled veg…

…And we have kodai (tai snapper).

Good piece, then the head of that previously-served kuruma-ebi…

Mmm…then chef reaches over with another serving of a quite amazing uni…

Just lovely stuff, so creamy and rich… More sake, then another surprise, nodoguro (black-throat snapper)!

My favourite fish, just absolutely delicious…I can’t even describe how good this fish is… Then we have a pair of anago…

Interesting, one is more orthodox and the second cut is a bit on the edge, with some of the externals… Again, I love the contrast! Then we have a tuna maki…

I’m not a fan of maki in general, but this served its purpose. Then we have a piece I didn’t grab the name of…

But it was good…then another maki…may be a bonus?

Then obviously Chef Masa noticed I love nodoguro, so unexpectedly he made a maki for me!

Oh my this was good… I guess I am a well-liked customer as I clearly see him making larger pieces for me most of the night! Then one more kinmedai…

Mmm…that was an amazing meal… I was way more than full, so they happily brought my tamago…

Every time I am here I have an amazing experience. Again, I love how they show multiple dimensions of each item, contrasting raw and grilled, different cuts, or the flesh and the inside. So many wonderful ways of giving you more than 1 piece of one particular creature of the sea.

I was happily full and thanked Chef Masa and the entire crew as I headed out, promising a quick return next time I am in Tokyo. Thank goodness this dinner re-affirmed how good things can be in Tokyo, even if it’s become accustomed to catering to tourists. Lots of tourists come here, and they are always treated extremely well. And it seems Chef Masa is determined to educate his diners too with how glorious each creature can be, which is a wonderful philosophy.

Oh, this would be where I tell people to go to really learn about seafood! Amazing again!

Sushisho Masa [すし匠 まさ]
B1F, 4-1-15 Nishi-azabu, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan

* I ended up in a nearby rum bar called Tafia. I’ve not been back since I got sloshed a few years ago, not remembering how I got back to my hotel… But it’s an amazing place for rum lovers, and I had a wonderful nitecap here…and yes, I remembered how I got back to my hotel…

Heartbreaking to Write… (Review #6: Butagumi)

13 March 2018

I woke up after a bit of a restless sleep…not sure why, as I usually have a good first sleep before the inevitable jetlag sets in. Still smiling from the excellent dinner at Totoya Uoshin last night… But I was up early and had a few things to sort out before I head to lunch. Today is my 6th trip back to my temple of porcine delights, Butagumi.

Every time I plan my Tokyo stay I dream about the pork here…so many amazing lunches over the past few years. I made it back after a long walk from Roppongi station, which wasn’t too fun as my foot was still not totally healed from January… I got there and there were people waiting already — mostly foreigners, with no bookings. I always book, which ensures a space in case it got busy.

They led me to my now-usual table, and I ordered my usual item. Beer appeared soon, as some snacks. But this time the pork took significantly longer to appear, and I noticed the only local client seemed to be losing patience in the abnormally long wait. Then my Hyogo pork belly appeared…

I sighed. This looks NOTHING like how it has been in the past. It was soggy, cooked very poorly. And the pork was nowhere as good as it usually is. What happened? Was this an anomaly? Or is Butagumi turning too much into a tourist trap, as I’ve quietly feared since the last 2 visits? That would be devastating to me since I still remember coming here when I would be the only non-Japanese here. This saddened me so much, as I laboured to finish this.

I made a decision, mostly to see if this was an anomaly, or something is gone rotten. I ordered a special from Miyazaki and let’s see what we get. Again, took quite long, and when it appeared my heart sank. It’s not a one-off mess…

This was again nowhere as good as before. It’s still far better than anything you get in the US, but compared to so many dreamy pieces of pork in the past, this is piss poor. I barely finished this, and that tells you a lot.

Everything was a bit of a blur at this point as this was such an absolute downer. I know I left extremely deflated, and my now-usual post-Butagumi stroll around Aoyama Cemetery was far less relaxing than usual. This really disturbed me…like it closes yet another chapter of my travelling, eating life…

Another of the very best has failed me… I really, really do not know if I’ll be back. Heartbreaking, to see what’s happened to this previously amazing temple of porcine goodness. Who knows if it was a issue with the cook that day, but I have this bad feeling that they are embracing the Tokyo tourism boom way too much and have cut back on quality.

Sigh…marred the entire trip to be honest…

Butagumi [豚組]
2-24-9 Nishi-azabu, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan

Review: Totoya Uoshin

12 March 2018

After a long trek that took me through a rain-soaked LA, I made it back to Tokyo. Every time I ride out of Haneda on the Monorail I breathe a deep and satisfying breath, and know I can relax soon at my favourite places in the coming days. It’s always a long flight into Tokyo, so first thing I needed was to rest a little. Love my hotel room at the always-impressive Park Hotel Tokyo…not to mention how their concierge team is the best in town at getting me all these reservations!

I headed out into the warm evening for dinner. After quite a nasty winter Tokyo is getting a warm start to spring… I made it to my dinner destination, the 1-Michelin kaiseki restaurant Totoya Uoshin. I’ve actually been here before, almost a year to the day, and had a good dinner last time — but was on a date, so didn’t write a review. This time I’m solo, and was looking forward to another good evening.

I think everyone remembers me from last time, so a lot of warm greeings as I enjoyed a bit of sake. The dinner commenced quickly, as all kappo places do, with a selection of appetisers…

The stuffed tako (octopus) was excellent, as was the wild vegetables with daikon and katsuobushi (dried tuna flakes). But the star here was the really good ebi (shrimp) and hamaguri (clam) item. A nice start, and the delicious sake kept flowing. Next up was the soup.

This was a real treat as it featured ainame (fat greenling), a rare local fish that’s also a prized delicacy. The meat is lovely, and the aroma from the delicious broth provided some non-stop sensory delights until I drained it. Another top dish. Then soon two dishes of sashimi appeared…

The first was a nice plate of hirame (flounder), which also included the delicious engawa (fin) of the fish. Really nice. Then the second plate provided a nice selection of different items…

The star of this dish is of course the extremely delicious chu-toro, which just melted in one’s mounth… The hokkigai (surf clam) was also quite nice as it’s one of my favourites, and the uni is of course excellent. A lovely selection! Then after a brief rest to savour the flavours of the raw items, we have the grilled dish next.

Oh my was this good. Another rare local delicacy, kinki (channel rockfish) was the featured item. It’s so rarely found on menus these days, this was a total treat. I’ve not had it in years, and this was just stunningly good. Simply grilled, its natural flavours come out so well with just a little salt. What an excellent treat!

I was really happy with this meal so far, as this seafood-specialty place has been showing off some rather harder-to-find delicacies all night. I’m puzzled again why this place isn’t completely full, but I think some of the private tables are. But it’s darn good, and it’s one that’s placed itself as one of my favourites that’s destined for return after return. Next up some kaki (oysters)…

You don’t see oysters often in Tokyo, but this was delicious. Just some sesame to get it moving, nice huge ones. Then next up another soup…

A simpler one that featured wakame and bamboo, again very flavourful. A good relaxing dish as we move into the final item, the rice dish. We had a few choices, and I went with the iwashi (sardine), which earned the approval of Chef Kikuo Muramatsu…

Nice, a bit simple, but it went down well. Chef loves his broths, and the dinner shows them off very well. Nice and filling. Then finally, the dessert…

A nice little treat featuring apricot and black bean, a delicious combination. I relaxed and thanked Chef and my server as I settled up. Totoya Uoshin is one of the more affordable Michelin kaiseki places in Tokyo, and it’s very much worth it with the excellent seafood you get. May not be as show-off as some others, but it’s solid, and sometimes that’s what you really need especially when you’ve just gotten off a 12-hour flight…

Highly recommended!

Totoya Uoshin [とゝや 魚新]
5-1-34 Akasaka, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan

Review: Manna

27 February 2018

My final full day on this trip…long trip, running out of energy. Thank goodness foot had improved since that Superga misadventure… Anyway, I already mentioned my day, including the nice lunch at Da Franco, and was pretty much sorted for heading home tomorrow when I set off to meet some friends at a nice cocktail bar called Nottingham Forest.

Definitely an excellent bar, one of the world’s best apparently. Was good to relax with friends finally after two weeks of solo trekking. We then headed out by car to a suburb to visit one of the more interesting restaurants in Milan called Manna.

Though it boasts a Michelin star, it comes off as anything but pretentious. Chef Matteo Fronduti, who really reminds me of an Italian version of Isaac Toups of New Orleans, came out to give us his recommendations. He has fantastic English, with which my friends were quite surprised. I happily took all of Chef’s recommendations!

Having had a nice cocktail session already we had a wee apertif and managed to keep our drinking to a single bottle of red through the evening. We were happily chatting as the first course arrived…

Named “Uè, Testina!” appropriately this was an excellent veal head dish. Lovely flavour, fried perfectly, accentuated by some razor clams too. An excellent start! We all enjoyed our openers and returned to our conversation for awhile before the second dish appeared…

Mine was “Quasi Milano” — a really nice saffron risotto with beef bone marrow… Wow, this was rich and excellent. Really puts many “risotto” dishes to shame — especially the crap I had in Torino. The marrow just merged into this dish so well and added such a nice dimension to it. Another winner!

We returned to our conversation after we all had wonderful dishes, and polished off just a bit more wine before our mains arrived…

“Riassunto di Cassoela” is Chef Fronduti’s take on the classic Lombardy dish — in a semi-deconstructed way. Instead of serving all in a pot, the off-cuts of pork were done individually. You have some excellent trotter croquettes, cotenne (skin), ribs, with various lesser-known sausages (musetto & verzino) with the savoy cabbage. Wow, for an offal lover this was a dreamy dish… Each part was interesting in its own way. Fabulous stuff. I was stuffed!

When they asked about dessert, I was too full to have anything of size, so went with with the lightest one…

“Virgin Colada” was a nice bit of pineapple with lime jelly and coconut gelato. Really tasty, a wonderful piss take on the cocktail. A fabulous dinner!

We were all pretty knackered, but I thanked Chef for the fabulous food. And I also thanked my friends for taking me out for a fabulous meal, their choices rocked! They dropped me off near Milano Centrale and I had a bit of fresh cool air as I walked to my hotel, still thinking about the excellent evening. Fabulous stuff.

Now what I’m not looking forward to is the alarm that’s gonna sound in just a few hours for my flight home…

Again, Manna is highly recommended! Fabulous!

Manna
Piazzale Governo Provvisorio 6
Milano, Lombardia, Italia

Review: Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia

26 February 2018

I was good to get to Milano, especially seeing the culo of a town that I had just left… In any case, as I mentioned the first thing I did after I got to Milano and checked in was to have lunch, and that lunch had already blown away anything I had in Torino. Later that evening I headed to dinner at one of Milan’s fine-dining institutions, Il Lungo di Aimo e Nadia.

The one-Michelin restaurant has been a favourite for milanesi for quite a long time, even as it evolved from its namesakes. The dining room is chic, with some fascinating artwork displayed. I was seated at a nice table, and I relaxed with a cocktail. Then the procession of amuse also began…

The nibblets were interesting, although I wish the pepper was spicy. The other two were on the odd side…then more…

These tasted far less good, as they seemed lukewarm as if they had sat around a little. Weird… I’m getting that uh-oh feeling right now…

Anyway, I looked at the menu and went with the middle tasting. And the pairing looked quite pricey compared to the food, so I ended up just doing a bottle of a nice red from Alto-Adige that should work across the spectrum. As they brought my wine, I noticed two loud opinionated young Americans at a table across the room. Through the evening they offered all sorts of opinions, from trashing Oxford to their colleagues. The fact they couldn’t understand the most basic of Italian words made me cringe…

I sipped my nice wine and the first dish then appeared, gamberi.

The shrimps were pretty good, fresh and clean. The ice helped it along. It’s far better than anything from the amuse series. I sipped more wine before the second dish arrived, the veal.

Oh my this was fantastic…one of the best pieces of veal I’ve had in years. “Stunningly good” was my notation on this dish… Fabulous quality meat cooked perfectly. Not even stupid yanks droning on about their issues can disturb this piece of veal, wow… I took a bit drink of wine and smiled. Then next up, zuppa etrusca…

Supposedly one of the classic dishes, it was pretty bland sadly. The beans worked okay, but overall it was nothing too special. Surprising, considering how many ingredients went into this soup…maybe Torino damaged my tastebuds?

Now the two are really driving me crazy…do they know how loud they are talking, and that EVERYONE in the dining room understands English? Sigh… Next up, capesante.

The scallop wasn’t bad, but nothing as good as the one I had in Munich at Schwarzreiter or in Copenhagen at Uformel. At least it was far better than the disastrous one in Torino, though the coral sauce was disappointing. Next up, ravioli with triglia.

Pretty good, you don’t usually get red mullet with ravioli, but it worked. Solid dish, and the broth was really appealing. And things were moving at a good pace here despite a very busy dining room. Then next up, some fettuccine…

An intense dish, with the pasta cooked perfectly as you’d imagine — after all, we’re not in Torino anymore. The pigeon and truffle create the intensity here, and it’s a fabulously rich dish. Excellent. And I must say this wine is working well… Then the last savoury dish appears, the fassone beef…

Not bad, but nowhere as good as the veal from the second dish… Still better than the mess in Torino (everything is, frankly), but the herb crust basically melted off and didn’t do much for the beef. Oh well…

After a bit of a break, and a HUGE BREAK as that pair of annoying yanks departed, the cheese course arrived.

Not a bad hard cheese, simple. Then a wee crepe as a pre-dessert…

Then the main dessert of ricotta and juniper gelato which was a nice closer.

I had a nice post-dinner drink here and I relaxed a little with coffee before I headed out.

Not a bad dinner, some weak moments, but some excellent ones like the veal and the pasta. Good, efficient service, smooth process all night, certainly at a solid Michelin level. Pretty good stuff.

Il Luogo di Aimo e Nadia
Via Privata Raimondo Montecuccoli 6
Milano, Lombardia, Italia

A Tale of Two Cities: Torino vs Milano…

24-27 February 2018

After last night’s just unpleasant experience at Magorabin, I wanted to compare my food experience in Torino and Milano, where I headed to afterwards. As I mentioned, that day I had a quick lunch that was marred by idiots blasting media at an adjacent table. Well, that was at a place called Il Vicolo.

Nothing spectacular when I first arrived, I just ordered a jug of wine and my lunch when the idiots began their media consumption — which got the negative attention of other tables too. Just completely inconsiderate. My first was a poor excuse of a risotto…

Huge, undercooked, and frankly I would have preferred a plate of Goya instant yellow rice than this. Awful. Then as I drank more wine and glared at the trio on the next table, my lunch arrived.

A mediocre mixed grill to be generous. They somehow made sure the sausage was overcooked on one end and undercooked on the other. The beef was rock hard, the chicken was plasticky. Half the vegetables were inedible. Great. Perhaps eating at the Fiat factory would have been better…

I left more than unhappy, little to realise later that night I’d be even less happy at Magorabin. The next day I headed up the mountain to Superga, where the Basilica of the former royal family is located. Weather wasn’t good, but the funicular was running, so… Once I got out of the station I thought, wow, they didn’t clear the ice from the path. This is gonna be a death trap coming down… I headed up and barely got to the Basilica — to see the Royal Tombs CLOSED DUE TO WEATHER. Now why didn’t they put a sign up down in town? The trek back down to the funicular station was about as hazardous as any I’ve ever seen. Lucky I didn’t crack my head open; I did, however, exacerbate the damage in my foot…

We got back down and I was so miffed I just spent the afternoon exploring the town’s main cemetery as the snow/sleet kept falling. I was a miserable mess by the end, and I had skipped lunch. Why even try? I tried to get some rest and see how much foot damage I took up on Superga…this won’t be good…

I rested for a few hours before heading out for dinner at a place called Manzò. It’s a butcher that does food, so… They were reluctant to give me a rib-eye for some reason and since I insisted on fassone beef, they sliced off a loin for me. I headed upstairs gingerly and sat down, enjoying some wine.

Then suddenly I see a woman sit at a table near me, having somehow brought her extremely large dog up those tiny stairs. Of course she’s obsessed with her media/phone and her dog is constantly CRYING — just for her to constantly admonish the dog with “silenzio!” and quickly returning to her phone. The attitude of piemontesi is just shocking… And then my food.

Well, they may have grilled a good piece of beef, but they absolutely did only that. No seasoning whatsoever. It was rather flavourless. And as fassone is known for being extremely lean, if you don’t season it right it has no taste. A very poor item, especially knowing how good it could be (as I remember from Maxelâ in London years ago…). This was just piss poor…

At least whilst I laboured through it the lady finished her food and left with the poor dog…how that thing got down the stairs is beyond me. Then for some reason, since I skipped lunch, I ordered a dessert, and this was the highlight of food in Torino…

Chocolate cheesecake. The only thing that was good in all of these two days… I headed back to my hotel to forget about this place. The next morning I headed to the station and INSIDE the station was tons of salt spread…and nothing outside. Great, for all those people falling outside, they can slip on the salt inside (I saw 2 people almost fall INSIDE). So many train delays due to the snow, but mine was on time, and I was glad to get the feck out of Torino…

Got to Milano after almost 2 hours; they checked our tickets before boarding and was denying boarding for those who have tickets to the fast train (as it was delayed severely). Lol. Milan was pretty clear when I arrived, so went to check in and drop my bag. Then went around the corner to a place called Hostaria La Baita for lunch.

I thought they were gonna close, but they welcomed me. They were surprised I spoke Italian, so I quickly ordered as they were about to close the kitchen (it was almost 2.30pm). I chilled with a jug of local red and soon the first arrived.

The house pappardelle wasn’t bad, a nice sauce helped by an ample amount of cheese on top. A simple, filling dish. Then the main…mmm…

La trippa. I love tripe, and these were just excellent. Lovely flavours and texture was perfect — not too soft, but not chewy. Perfect. A lovely dish. Had a wee chat with my server who asked where I was from and how I learned Italian, saying my accent was noticeable but was surprised by functionality. Considering I’ve never taken 1 formal class in it, I guess that’s good… And frankly, that first meal in Milano was better than anything I had in Torino!

I headed back to my room to do some unpacking and rest up a bit. And of course I fell asleep… Got up just in time for dinner, of which I will chronicle in the following review. Needless to say it was good. The next day I had a long day, trying to get everything in and failing. I missed the Dürer Exhibit I wanted to visit (I had just visited his grave in Nürnberg a week earlier), but got to visit Verdi’s tomb. Then spent a long time exploring the fabulous Cimitero Monumentale, though there were too many stupid tour groups in there that ruined the peacefulness…

I ended up having lunch near the cemetery. The first two places I tried claimed they were all booked (tho I suspect it was more than that, as that’s near the Chinatown area…). I finally got a place at Da Franco, and though I was speaking Italian my server asked me where I was from and…turns out he spent half his life in NYC. Go figure. So I happily took his recommendations for lunch, and he also brought me a nice bottle of local red.

I chilled out, enjoying this hospitality. Then my first arrived…

A nice mezzamaniche in San Marzano sauce. Nice, filling, perfect after a long trek. Then my main arrived and I was drooling…

Mmm…this lamb is awesome. Rustic and nice, no frills nor compromises here. Just good lamb that tastes like lamb. A hearty portion. I happily finished this and my bottle of red, full and full. I closed off with some fruit…

And a nice pineapple later I thought to close with a grappa, but instead the server brought — on him — a nice limoncello with olive oil. Interesting concoction. I thanked him and headed out, loving this hospitality.

I had to rush back to the hotel room as I have plans with friends this afternoon, and I need to pack, check in to my flight and sort out all sorts of stuff before then, so…

But I think you can plainly see the difference in quality of food between Torino and Milano. It’s not even close. It’s like Fiat versus Alfa Romeo… Plus the piss-poor attitude of torinesi it’s not even close. Clearly the Olympics did nothing for that town, and it’s still a bloody disaster after 20+ years of not visiting it. I have no plans to return to Torino in the next 20+ years that’s for sure!

Il Vicolo
Via San Francesco da Paola 41

Manzò
Via Antonio Gramsci 1
Torino, Piemonte, Italia

Hostaria La Baita
Via Roberto Lepetit 29

Da Franco
Via Carlo Farini 3
Milano, Lombardia, Italia

Possibly the WORST Michelin Experience of My Life… (Review: Magorabin)

24 February 2018

This is a very special day for me personally, as my beloved Estonia is celebrating its 100th birthday… Gutted to not be there, but it was just logistically not sensible…

I got up and checked for train delays, as the storm was still blowing. Nothing, so headed to the station. An uneventful ride to Torino, and I went to check into my hotel near the station. Then I headed out to grab some lunch.

I was once told my a milanese friend that food in Torino tastes like Fiat, so I never expect much. I’ve never had good food here, although the last time I was in Piemonte was also over 20 years ago on that same trip. At least this time I wasn’t stuck in Cuneo due to a bad train… Nevertheless lunch was unremarkable (will detail in next entry), not to mention the idiots blasting media on their phone next to me…just no shame these people…

I spent the afternoon doing various logistical things as some unexpected surprises popped up, so didn’t get to explore much. Eventually it grew close to dinner time, and I had a booking at one of the top places in town, the 1-Michelin restaurant Magorabin.

A busy Saturday evening, I made my way out to the area of the restaurant on one of the city’s rickety trams. Wandered around a little until it opened and I made my way in. I was seated at a nice table and almost immediately a series of amuse came and the server went on utterly rapid-fire Italian and just walked away…

The only part I caught was cozze (mussels) for the third one, but all of them were not very memorable or full of taste. I could barely reach the middle one without either poking my hand or having it fall apart (btw it did). Sigh… Then another four came rapid fire again!

Well, the ham was so-so, the croquette was meh, the puff was a spongy joke, and that last thing with the edible gold I spent more time removing it than eating all 4 items combined… Not a good start at all. And I asked my server if he could slow down a little during the descriptions, and the response was DOUBLING HIS VOLUME and slowing it down to a point like I was a fucking moron. I wanted to slap this guy at that point…

This is all going pretty bad already. The service is a joke. They all stand there and STARE at you as you try to eat. Who the hell is the FoH manager here? Ugh…

I then got the menu and said fine with the tasting. There’s no pairing, so the sommelier was happy to help me with a wine. She, frankly, was the only FoH person who actually worked at a professional level all night. The rest of the service staff were slacking at best. When they brought out the amuse in rapid fire, the server actually knocked over stuff on top of some of the items with his sleeve. Ugh… Just unprofessional. You can see that leaf behind that yellow spongy monstrosity that nearly got stuck to his sleeve…

The wine came and I calmed down a little and tried to relax. Then not too long after the first dish arrived, the veal tartar.

More like pulverised. Did they put this in the blender? It’s actually a little disgusting when it’s hacked to this extent. And all that wasted roe… Poor stuff. I just had more wine… Next up, rather quickly, shrimp.

That sauce is just awful, and it frankly looks awful. Poor quality seafood too. Many of the other ingredients were also awful, like the crisp. What is going on? This is a Michelin star restaurant? I’m already shaking my head… But if anything they were also lightning quick, as the dishes are appearing within 90 seconds of me finishing…

Poor scallop now. Plus the radish was stupid sour that made my jaw cramp up… This seems so amateurish so far… Then the next dish, the tongue…

Well someone forgot to season this meat. It had absolutely no taste. What an awful dish of what could have been excellent! Stupid, simple mistakes! This should not be happening at a Michelin starred restaurant! And it’s bad when the side shellfish tasted better than the main shellfish in an earlier dish…

Plus the SAME FIVE MUZAK BEATLES SONGS are being repeated ad nauseum. What is this? And to give you a sense of how fast they are doing this, from the time the 1st dish (veal tartar) arrived to the time the 4th dish (tongue) arrived, the elapsed time was 20 minutes. Yeah…

Whoever is doing the meats on the line should be sacked, because the sweetbreads also have no seasoning. This is just piss poor! And the fact this came out less than a minute after I finished labouring through the tongue dish tells me something. They are just trying to get rid of me. This is ridiculous. If the FoH was a joke, the BoH was even worse…

Then for some reason everything got slow…ah, I look at the menu…because it’s a pasta dish. They can’t just bring it out raw or fuck around with heating lamps. What utter crap this evening is. I’m already thinking of abandoning this dinner… Then a surprising 15 minutes wait for that pasta…

And FFS they cannot cook pasta right. The spaghetti was undercooked (how, they had 15 minutes instead of the 60 seconds between dishes!), and after 2 dishes of no seasoning this ultra-salty anchovy has my jaws locking up again… Are these people just incompetent or sadistic? Ugh… Definitely thinking about abandoning this tasting any minute. Just trying to finish my wine…

Then now on the 15-minute clock again (I think they are doing it by clock), we have the baccala. Poorly cooked yet again! One side is overcooked, the other is undercooked! How amateurish is this? This is stuff you learn the first week of culinary school or any kitchen apprenticeship! I’ve never tasted so many poorly executed dishes in a row anywhere, not especially in a Michelin place!

AND WHEN YOU CAN’T COOK PASTA RIGHT IN ITALY…

Well, at least the food is photogenic — partly caused by the DIRECT SPOTLIGHT above me. It was blinding me all night with the silverware… I decided to quit after the next dish, as my wine is just about done. And it came, the baby lamb.

Well, at least they seasoned it this time! Problem is that it’s very, very undercooked inside. But hey, at least it’s seasoned! I didn’t even finish this and I asked for the bill… DINNER ABANDONED.

I think they get it as they gave me the bill and took some of the charges off. Just piss poor. I headed out extremely pissed off. How can a Michelin starred restaurant be so bad? I can see if FoH or kitchen has a bad day, but both? And so extremely poor? Not one dish was good. And service was piss poor. Attitude from 2 of the servers too.

This may be one of the very worst fine dining experiences of my life. Avoid, avoid, AVOID!!!

Magorabin
Corso San Maurizio 61/B
Torino, Italia

* And shit, Michelin, is your Torino assessor drunk, stupid, on the take, or all of the above???

Review: Le Cicale

23 February 2018

I woke up early and hopped on a bus north and spent the morning at the open-air museum otherwise known as Cimitero Monumentali di Staglieno. Certainly one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world, you get a wonderful combination of amazing artwork within the arcades and monuments in the extremely hilly terrain. For a cemetery afficionado like me, this is close to paradise…

Hours later, my foot screaming at me, I headed back towards the centre. Unfortunately the first 5 places I tried to get lunch were all full, and I was running out of options. Ended up somewhere quite poor, with an annoying person pacing next to my table quietly talking into this phone — despite the volume being so LOUD that it was easier to hear the person he was speaking to than him. There is no phone etiquette is there anymore? But throw in terrible food and I won’t say more…

A bit more wandering left me out of energy (and in pain), so went back in for my now customary (but weird) afternoon siesta. Really weird… Got up after an hour or so. I had to re-pack as I was heading out tomorrow, so did that before I headed out to dinner.

I had booked Le Cicale in advance, as from all I read it was one of the better places in town. The weather was shitty outside, pissing down, so the 15-minute walk wasn’t the most pleasant. But I got there and was greeted to a nice table. Then a bit of a funny moment, as chef had come out to tell me the specials and I tripped him up by asking for it in Italian…apparently he had rehearsed the English version, so it got tongue-tied in Italian! Lol. But sounded amazing. I then ordered a nice bottle of red and my food, and then relaxed.

The wine then appeared and then a nice little amuse of burrata, tomato and anchovy.

Really a tasty nibble, enjoyed that. I enjoyed more wine as I chilled out, knowing it will take a little while for my antipasto to arrive. I happily did that, enjoying this nice wine as I went on. Then it arrived, and my smile was now oversized like this plate…

Yeah, the crudo plate. Wow…this was pretty fantastic. This was one of the best crudo plates I’ve seen in years, reminds me of Palazzo Petrucci in Napoli a few years back. The selection was utterly amazing, from the oysters to two different types of prawns. A huge selection of fish — some minced, some preserved — all fantastic. There was tuna, bream, mullet, etc, sardine, anchovy and so forth. I loved how he paired each item up too, lovely ideas each item. Wow…

Took awhile to finish this, and it was indeed fantastic. Chef seemed happy with my reaction. I relaxed and then we have the first, a wonderful tagliatelle dish…

Oh my this was fantastic, one of the best dishes of pasta I’ve had in years… The prawns were the day’s special, and it was quite a wonderful combination to be sure. Loving this evening so far! Then after a few minutes of rest and enjoying my wine, watching the place fill up with other happy diners (including one that gasped when they were presented with the crudo), my second arrived…

Well, this was a modest seppia dish. A bit sour to be honest, and it fell flat for me. Too bad, a mediocre end to a fantastic meal. Not bad, but very mediocre… I then finished my wine and they asked about dessert. Only room for something small, so went with the sorbet of the day.

Mandarino! Lovely stuff, a perfect combination of sweet and sour, perfect citrus, not dumbed down at all. Lovely, a good end. When I asked for a grappa, chef then came out to bring me something special…a local grappa that came in a huge, multi-litre bottle, and it was a burner at 50%…

Wow, this was hot and it was good. Enjoyed it with my coffee, and actually had a second before I headed out. I thanked the staff and chef for a wonderful night. Little did I expect this night to have the best meal in Italy so far this trip! Such a wonderful surprise.

I headed out into the rainy mess and thank goodness I got back in early, as the winds really picked up. It was howling badly all night. I hope this doesn’t delay my trek to Toino tomorrow…

Le Cicale
Via Giuseppe Macaggi 53r
Genova, Liguria, Italia

A Return to Liguria…

22 February 2018

A bit of drama in the morning, but nevertheless I made it to GOA…no, not India, that’s Genova airport’s code. Imagine the hilarity… Anyway, a return to a city I’ve not been to in over 20 years, it’s good to be back in Liguria. Sadly the stupid airport bus schedule isn’t linked to flight schedules (gee, who would have thunk), so had to take a rather expensive cab ride. But was fun chatting with driver, who was from Taormina, about how things are in Sicily…

Checked into my hotel and I headed out. Last time here there was no such things as Google Maps, and perhaps that’s better. It’s useless in a place like Genoa, when you don’t see if the crossing roads actually differ by 50 meters in elevation… And with my foot issue, it’s not the most fun to deal with steps — especially going down. Folks don’t realise that when you have a foot injury, it’s EASIER to go up the stairs but most distressful to go DOWN…

Anyway, it was on the late side for lunch so I had to find something soon, so I went to an old school Ligurian place I heard about called Hostaria i Maneggi. Of course I didn’t realise I had to climb up several flights of stairs to get there, it being Genoa…

Got there as people were just finishing their lunches, but they happily accepted me. I relaxed, ordered a jug of wine and looked over the menu and ordered. Chilled out with some wine and enjoyed the retro decor. It’s a fun place for sure, really, like a step into years long past… Then my first came out, and I smiled…

A lovely pappardelle-like pasta with a creamy pesto-ish sauce, with a bit of vegetables included. A really delicious and filling dish. Nice! Then for the second, vitello…

Looks awful but was rather tasty. The veal was really tasty and tender, so that’s what you need. With a big portion of pasta, I was happy with this portion. The place was winding down, so I finished my wine and thanked them and settled up and departed.

Spent a bit of the afternoon climbing and exploring, checking out some of the historic churches I missed last time when I was here (back in the 1990s). Then went back in to unpack and to relax a bit…and of course fell asleep. Got up and realised it was near dinner time, so headed out.

I had read about a place with the rather generic name of Il Genovese nearby that’s cheered for good local cuisine, so I thought why not. I got there it was still slow, but was told everything was booked in a short time. So I lucked out getting the last free table.

I ordered a bottle of local red and chilled out. I am enjoying my wines so much here…frankly, I love the wine culture in Italy, whether it’s a jug or bottle of local stuff. I’d rather enjoy a 15-euro bottle of good local red than some overpriced, overrated French wine that people will swirl more than they drink. Ah, here’s my antipasto…

Hmmm…not quite what I expected. Fried tripe, but this is fried to death. There’s almost no tripe left, just the corpse. And unseasoned. Starting to get a bit worried here, as I couldn’t really finish this. It’s like onions that’s been fried 20 minutes too long and with no seasoning and you’ll see what I mean… Bad start, then the first…

This was far better, ravioli with a sauce made from the local Cabannina cow. Really nice, with lots of deep flavours — totally missing in the last dish! Feeling better now. And this was made for wine…mmm… Then for the second, I went with the braised goat…

This was good, but the goat was in there for a long time, and the bones had broken up a bit too much making it harder to eat. But a good flavour, lovely and deep, with just enough beans to make it balanced. Enjoyed that, especially mopping things up with bread. And it was voluminous, so I was full. They asked about dessert, and as I just about finished up with the wine I instead went with fruit…

Macedonia, the ubiquitous fruit cocktail. It does its job. A coffee and grappa later I was finished and headed out. Wandered back to the hotel to take it easy, as tomorrow is a ridiculously long day. Food wasn’t bad today, not great, but a step above good I think. Inconsistent, but both meals had a really good dish at least, so that’s enough for a travel day.

Hostaria i Maneggi
Salita Salvatore Viale 19r

Il Genovese
Via Galata 35r
Genova, Liguria, Italia

Eating Day 4 in Palermo: Finale…

21 February 2018

I woke up on my last day in Palermo again having slept bad, this time by the folks next door…a wannabe porn actor it seems, and he couldn’t shut up. Despite not being English speaking, all I can hear all night is him yelling “FUCK ME BITCH!” to his poor female companion… Sigh…

I guess no Monreale today. I didn’t even get out of bed until 10am… I slowly headed out and just wandered around more of the centre, hitting parts I missed the last few days. After some more walking, I decided I needed lunch, and this place I had researched was already open just past 12 midday, so…

I walked into Casa del Brodo and of course they knew I was foreign — not just by looks, but by the time of day I came in to eat. But they relaxed when they realised I spoke Italian. It was an odd day, where the menu was recited to me. I’m so, so glad I can understand it. And he seemed surprised too because I was picking things up and that was not usual “tourist grub”… He then showed me the seafood case and I went with a nice mullet.

I chilled out as they brought me a half bottle of local white — the first white I’ve had in ages. Then after an acceptable amount of time the first came out…

Mmm, spaghetti con ricci. Nice sea urchin here, but wish it was bit more generous. Good pasta again. Enjoyed it. Then after a little while, my fish arrived.

Nicely grilled and served, the one issue with this fish is that it is bony, so had to be a bit more careful. A lifetime of eating bony fish taught me how to best deal with it — even how to pulverise them with my teeth… But it was a pretty good fish, reasonably priced. They asked about dessert, and I asked for some fruit, and…

Not bad, again good quality stuff. A grappa and coffee later I thanked him and headed out. Good lunch. Then just wandered around until I had enough. Tomorrow I had a morning flight out, so had to go back to pack and deal with all those logistics like printing boarding pass (or else it costs 30 euros to PRINT AT THE AIRPORT…these bloody airlines…).

I had no plans for dinner, and didn’t know what to do, but decided to go north towards the Teatro Politeama again. I had 2 bus tickets left, so why not use them. Headed up and found a place that I had researched called Al Cancelleto Verde.

I walked in and saw all the signs and thought, oh no, a tourist trap… But I happily used my Italian again, even as they put me once again next to two clueless yanks… I chilled and ordered and soon a nice local wine arrived. I chilled with it and was watching the TV like the elderly proprietors and some customers. Then the first arrived…

Mmm, a big plate of fried baby squid. Nice stuff, really juicy insides too. Lovely stuff, I prefer this over the damn rings any day! Then I chilled with more wine and played along with the game show on TV. I think a few of the locals were amused that I was able to play along, and even caught a joke before they did… Then my first, another nice ink pasta dish…

Cooked very well again (it is Sicily…), lovely rich flavours. A sprinking of bottarga added to the overall appeal. So nice. I’m warming to this place, and I think my server is too. He had said to wait to order the second because of the size of dishes, so I told him I’m happy to order a second. I nursed my wine and then it came…

Some very nice grilled prawns. Really tasty, better than the one last night at Gianni. A lovely close. I was enjoying myself so much and this being my last night, I decided to do a dessert. My server recited the list, and I went with the chocolate cake…

Oh my is this rich…just look at that glaze…my my this was good. With a coffee and grappa, this was a great way to end my Sicilian trip! I had one more grappa and thanked the staff, and the elderly proprietor finally stopped ignoring me and actually patted me on the shoulder. I guess they warmed to me too.

Another long wait for a bus back to the hotel, and I see the bar open again…oh, but with a morning flight…ah, screw it, grappa time… Thank you, Sicily, I’ll hopefully make it back sooner than 15 years… The End.

Casa del Brodo
Corso Vittorio Emanuele 175

Al Cancelletto Verde
Via Riccardo Wagner 14
Palermo, Sicilia, Italia