During a trip to Sendai, Ishi chose a beef tongue restaurant as a place for dinner.
The restaurant near the hotel where we were going to stay was fully booked even though it was a month before, and we were able to get a reservation at the last minute at another restaurant that was our second choice. The reservation was made on the condition that it would be for one hour only, starting at 5:00 p.m. (when the evening session begins).
Sendai is not famous for its beef, yet it is very famous for its beef tongue cuisine. Many visitors to Sendai, whether for sightseeing or business, will probably drink a zunda shake at the station and have a meal of beef tongue in town.
However, I was surprised to find that despite calling a month in advance to make an appointment, I could not get as many appointments as I would have liked. Is it really that popular?
When I visited the restaurant at 5:00 p.m., there was a long line from the entrance on the second floor, extending all the way to the stairs. I guessed that the people standing in line had not made reservations.
Even at a popular ramen restaurant, the number of people in this line would make you think, “Not today…”. It was amazing to see such a long line at a restaurant like Beef tongue, where the customer turnover would be even slower than at a ramen restaurant. How could they even think of waiting in line? I guess they want to eat it even if they are that obsessed with it.
I have to leave the restaurant in an hour, which is a big deal. I have a two-year-old in the family, which takes a lot of time and effort, and an hour doesn’t fly by when I’m helping a two-year-old eat.
The appetizer is beef tongue stewed in cubes. It is accompanied by tama-konnyaku, a Yamagata specialty. This alone is delicious.
If you are a drinker, this would be a very nice starter kit.
Tomato salad. The peeled and sliced tomatoes are very good as a chopstick rest.
You may think it is just a tomato salad, but not only is the tomato carefully processed, but the dressing is excellent. I use the word “chopstick rest” because I tend to order many dishes here, and as a result, they end up being a chopstick rest. In fact, this is a dish that you should definitely order by itself, as it is impressive enough on its own.
Cold slices of tan. The style of eating it with mustard is interesting.
Half-size pork belly.
I was impressed by the fact that they eat tongue as tataki! I was impressed, but I was even more impressed when I saw the real thing. It looks like roast beef.
One’s eyes might be drawn to the heaping pile of chopped green onions and onion slices, but no, not that one. Look at this beautiful tan taki. It’s magnificent, isn’t it? I mean, is tan really supposed to be eaten with this kind of heat?
There is a reason why beef tongue in yakiniku is sliced very thin. If it is thick, it is too chewy and difficult to eat. But what about the tongue at this restaurant? Even though it is thick, it is very tender.
There is a cooking method where the steak meat is pounded to break up the fibers of the meat so that it can be eaten tender. Is that what they are doing? It is so tender compared to the beef tongue that I know. This is delicious.
I was about to write this when I suddenly realized that I don’t eat beef tongue very often. Come to think of it, I don’t eat beef tongue very often. Most of the time, when I go to a hormone restaurant or an all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant, the tongue I eat is pork tongue. Pork tongue is a very elastic part.
Incidentally, this restaurant has a menu item called “Tan Sashimi” available only at dinner time. I ordered it this time, but was told that it was out of stock. Ishi was very disappointed, but I think it is enough for me if I can eat this tataki. I think so. Maybe.
European-style beef tongue curry.
My son does not like to eat anything crunchy or sour. So, if I ordered only a dish of beef tongue, there was a risk that my son would not have anything to eat. That is why I ordered curry. I figured that if it was curry, he would definitely eat the rice and roux, and he would eat the stewed beef tongue, too.
I never thought I would go to a beef tongue restaurant and end up eating curry. If I had visited the restaurant by myself, I would not have had the option of ordering curry no matter how many times I went there.
Because it is the “tan-yaki set meal” that holds an overwhelming and unshakeable position. As long as you eat this, you will be peacefully.
The number of tan can be 4, 5, or 6.
I’d like to say that I’ve had six pieces of meat, but they were so tender and special! I’d like to say, “I’ll take six pieces because I’m going to the trouble of making it! But the meat is so tender and special that it is not so cheap that you can just say, “I’m going to go through the trouble. But the price is not so low as to allow you to order it “just because”.
What? I look twice.
Because, at a price that would still be enough change for a bowl of beef, I finally got a piece of this meat.
If your only desire is to fill your stomach, you should not eat this kind of food. Because when I actually tried it, the taste made me say, “Wow, I’m afraid I’m going to have to try this.
Nowadays, the exclamation “wow” and the expression “I’m so afraid” are completely out of date. They are remnants of the Showa Era. But it was so delicious that such words came out of my mouth. I was amazed.
I don’t know if this restaurant is outstandingly good compared to other restaurants. I don’t know if this restaurant is outstandingly good compared to other restaurants, because I don’t have that much experience of eating beef tongue. But I thought this restaurant was worth making a reservation and holding on to my money to go there. I had a good meal.
Price-wise, I would have to stop at just this “tan-yaki” set meal. If I were a local, I would not be able to eat a set meal that cost nearly 2,300 yen, and even if I did, I would feel guilty. On the other hand, since we were tourists this time, we loosened our purse strings. Once again, I realized that tourism has a great economic effect. I realize this by the fact that my wallet has become lighter.
At 6:00 p.m., when I left the restaurant satisfied, the line outside the restaurant had gone down the stairs and extended from the second floor to the first floor. What time would the people at the end of the line be able to eat?
(2023.09.16)
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