Category Archives: Italian Cuisine

野菜, 観光, 農業, Gastronomy, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Recipes, Shizuoka, Tourism, vegetables

Italian Cuisine: Shizuoka Agricultural products as Appetizers: Osteria Porta Porta!

May 6, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: Very friendly and attentive
Equipment: Great general cleanliness
Prices: reasonable
Strong points: Great appetizers. Mainly local vegetables. Good wine list.
Non smoking at lunch time!

Chef Hidetake Suzuki/鈴木秀武 is back with a vengeance after opening his new Italian Restaurant, Osteria Porta Porta on the 28th of March in Takajyo machi, Shizuoka City!

I’ve always been a great fan of his simple and delicious recipes from Southern Italy.
This is the kind of place you can visit either at lunch or dinner and ask for wine and a plate of appetizers and be more than satisfied!

The restaurant used to be a Japanese establishment and it has been reformed into a clear clean place with a bright atmosphere.

Next time I shall sit here for lunch!

But make sure to have a good look at the specialties of the day!
You are certainly in for a good surprise or two!

Great choice of pasta! Take your pick!

And also check the wine list. Wines come at 2,900 yen to 25,000 yen a bottle. I can assure you there some very decent offerings at very good prices!

For this first quick lunch visit I ordered a plate of appetizers with my wine!

The vegetables are all from Fujieda City In Shizuoka prefecture.
The pork is from Italy for the most part but Hidetake also makes his own!

Scrumptious crostini and all!

Now, this is a surprise: the first artichoke of the year (they take one and a half years to grow) grown by a farmer in Yoshida-Chi. The same farmer also grows fennel! Hidetake and I will interview him before the end of the month!

great plate of cheeses with Italian honey for the Italian gorgonzola!

For another view!

I’ve already said that an Italian restaurant which serves real sugar and fresh cream for lunch is always a telltale of good quality!

Next time see you at dinner! I want to try that fennel gratin!

Osteria Porta Porta
420-0839 Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Takajyo, 2-13-11, Topia Takajyo, 103
Tel./fax: 054-266-7320
Business hours: 11:30~14:00, 17:30^22:00
Closed on Wednesdays
Credit cards OK from July

野菜, Gastronomy, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Recipes, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism, vegetables

Italian Cuisine: Shizuoka Agricultural products as Appetizers: Aquavite!

April 27, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

First appetizer from the side.

Service: Excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great and very large washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable to expensive. Top-class Italian wines. Private room for~8 people.
no-smoking-logo1 Non-smoking at counter!

You don’t need to go for the whole course to sample Shizuoka agricultural products at your favorite restaurant.
If it is a good enough restaurant, especially in Japan and Shizuoka, a great chef will be more than happy to serve you a few appetizers of his own with the drinks you have pordered. True to say, you do need to build a special relation with the chef, but that is one reason why you visit the restaurant, isn’t it?

First appetizer from the top.

Last night I did visit Aquavite in Shizuoka City where I asked the chef, Masaru Aoki/青木勝 to concoct a few tidbits as I was having a late break from work.
I did have quite a few but I will introuce the best two of the evening!

The first appetizer “from the back”.

The first appetizer consisted of a scallop lightly fried in olive oil to keep it half raw inside. It was topped with a piece of fried lotus root/renkon from Asabata, shizuoka City and decorated with shavings of home-made karasumi/カラスミ/botarga in Italian or boutargue in French, a Shizuoka specialty of the dried mullet roe.
The salad spinach came from Nagomi Organic Farm in Fujinomiya City.

The second appetizer.

The second offering of the evening was not all from Shizuoka Prefecture but it was certainly worth a second and third look!

The Little Summer Tomatoes came from the Shizen No Chikara Farm in Shizuoka City and were fried in olive oil just long enough to extract their sweetness.

The fresh shiitake mushrooms had been sent by a friend of Masaru’s from Nagano Prefecture.

The topping/decoration was created with finely chopped Italian raw ham fried to a crisp!
The whole needed little seasoning, what with the sweetness of the tomatoes and the saltiness of the ham, finely balanced with the juicy shiitake mushrooms!

This promises to be the beginning of a neverending story!

AQUAVITE
Address: 420-0034 Shizuoka Shi, Tokiwa-cho, 1-2-7, Tomii Bldg. 3F
Tel. & fax: 054-2740777
Opening hours: 11:30~14:00 18:00~22:00
Closed on Sundays
Homepage (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

Gastronomy, Italian Cuisine, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tomato, vegetables

Italian Cuisine: Cold Pasta Salad With Shizuoka-grown Ameera Tomatoes

April 25, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Cooking is so easy when you have the right and superlative ingredients within your hand’s reach!

Japan, and especially Shizuoka prefecture, is renown for producing all kinds of succulent varieties of tomatoes.
The Missus came back home with a batch of Ameera (meaning “sweet” in local dialect) tomatoes grown in the Western part of Shizuoka Prefecture. They are the size of large plum tomatoes and are very firm and sweet. You could actually eat them as fruit!

The weather having turned mild (it will soon be hot), cold pasta salad becomes a favorite!

The Missus prepared some Spaghettini and let them cool down while she boiled some broad beans and peas in the pods.
The latter once cooked (but still firm), she peeled the broad beans and cut the peas in the pod in halves at a slant.
She sliced the tomatoes and fried them a little in olive oil.
Once everyhing had cooled down to the same temperature, she tosssed the lot (including the tomato juices) with cold basil pesto based sauce and some pepper.
Nothing else! The fresh and natural combination of sweetness and light saltiness with basil was just perfect!

Easy, yes. Great ingredients, yes!

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野菜, 観光, Gastronomy, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Gastronomy, Tourism, vegetables

Italian Cuisine: Horie Farm Amagi Shamo Chicken at Aquavite!

April 19, 2011 dragonlife 2 Comments

Masaru Aoki opening the “sample box” sent by Toshiyaki Horie

Mr. Toshiyaki Horie had promised me during his interview that he would send me samples of the great chicken, Amagi Shamo/天城軍鶏 he raises in the middle of the Izu Peninsula, and I had promised I would put these to good use!

I finally received the samples by “cool box” delivery on Saturday morning!

Toshiyaki had already undressed the (enormous) chickens (I’m sure there were two of them inside!) and separated the “fleshy” parts from the “bony” ones!

I left complete free reins to Masaru’s imagination and just asked him to prepare some dishes he would prepare for his own clients at Aquavite.
That is what he came up with:
Amagi Shamo Sasami and Tomato Marinade.

The “sasami/breast fillets” were very lightly seared before being tossed/marinated with Little Summer Kiss Tomatoes (organically-grown by Shizen No Chikara Garden) with the minimum of seasoning. The almost raw chicken melted in your mouth.

Amagi Shamo Warm Salad.

The small turnips/Kokabu/小蕪 and wasabina/wasabi flavor lettuce/山葵菜 were also organically grown at Shizen No Chikara Noen.

The chicken having very little fat under its skin, the latter turned quickly a crackling brown when pan-fried, making for a very tender flesh and a crispy skin to be savored together with the vegetables for best effect!

Small flesh and skin pieces of Amagi Shamo sauteed with organic vegetables.

The carrot and very young spinach were grown at Nagomi Organic Farm in Fujinomiya City.
The small pieces were reminiscent of Japanese-style crispy karaage/deep-fried chicken! A great snack for wine (or beer, or sake!)

And finally the pasta dish!

The “chirimen” cabbage and all the other vegetables were from Chizen no Chikara in Shizuoka City!

The pasta are tagliatelle.
No need of any sauce I can assure you. Such a natural dish with the true savors exploding from the pan-fried chicken flesh and crackling skin mixed with the vegetables fried to a minimum to capture their essences and the softness of the tagliatelle. Extravagant and so simple in concept!

Looking forward to the next place serving this Amagi Shamo Chicken!

AQUAVITE
Address: 420-0034 Shizuoka Shi, Tokiwa-cho, 1-2-7, Tomii Bldg. 3F
Tel. & fax: 054-2740777
Opening hours: 11:30~14:00 18:00~22:00
Closed on Sundays
Homepage (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

HORIE CHICKEN FARM/堀江養鶏
410-3203, Shizuoka Ken, Izu Shi, Yaguma, 296
Tel.: 0558-87-0644
Mobile: 090-7449-5655
Fax: 0558-87-0763
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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sake, shochu and sushi

野菜, 観光, 農業, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Tourism, vegetables

Shizuoka Agricultural products: Italian Cuisine at Via Del Borgo!

April 7, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Service: professional and friendly
Facilities: Extremely clean overall and beautiful washroom
Prices: reasonable
Strong points: Local products extensively used. Good Italian wine list. Private rooms available.
Private rooms can be made non-smoking with full isolation!

During the past 3 years, Via del Borgo and its Chef, Takahiko Katoh have established a solid reputation as one of the best Italian restaurants in a City and Prefecture replete with them. His secret is simple enough: top-class local products whenever possible complemented with top-class foreign ingredients and a will to experiment!

Chef Takahiko Katoh/加藤隆彦 and Manager Mieko Kozawa/小澤美江子

The service is all done with a smile great attention.
Do not hesitate to ask if something not available on the menu can be prepared for you!

The restaurant stands in a quiet district of Shizuoka City by a small park.
The place certainly looks more Italian than many!
So do come in and relax!

But before entering, do not forget to read the “Specialties of The Day” board!

On that day they had a favorite Italian wine of mine!: Mastremilio 2004 Villa Caprareccia in Toscana. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes.

Broad beans and Mozzarella Crostini for the appetizer.

The fish carpaccio was madai/真鯛/Red Seabream from the Suruga Bay with tomatoes pieces, pomegranate and violet daikon sprouts!
The whole seasoned with top-class olive oil!

The bread and others are naturally all baked in situ!

The vegetable dish was Organic vegetables from Matsuki Bio Farm in Fujinomiya City. Cooked/steamed in “cocotta/heavy wrought iron pot”, they were served with a Baniacanda sauce made of anchovy, crushed garlic and olive oil!

Beautiful, aren’t they?

Chef Katoh is famous all over the city for its risotto!
There are always at 5 to choose from on his menus!
This superlative dish was made with broad beans and mozzarella!

Shizuoka Prefecture is steadily and surely establishing itself as a producer of top-class meat in Japan.
This pork comes from the west of Shizuoka Prefecture and fed with cereals: Enshyuu Mugi Ton/遠州麦豚 (“ton” for pork, “mugi” for barley or cereals, Enshyuu for the West of Shizuoka Prefecture!). A pork that many Italians would cross the seas for!

The pork and the organic vegetables from Matsuki Bio Farm were simply grilled with the minimum of salt, pepper and herbs for the best flavors!
The orange “potato” is an Anno sweet potato!

We had enough for the day. The desserts will have to wait for our next visit!

VIA DEL BORGO
420-0034, Shizuoka Shi, Aoi Ku, Tokiwa Cho, 3-2-7
Tel.: 054-221-7666
Business hours: 11:30~13:30, 18:00~21:00 (last orders)
Private rooms available.
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK

Please check the new postings at:
sake, shochu and sushi

野菜, Italian Cuisine, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, vegetables

Shizuoka Agricultural Products: Italian-style Vegetables at Aquavite!

April 6, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Since Chef Masaru Aoki/青木優 took over the Kitchen at Aquavite last year, the trend has focused on healthy and local products for the renewed pleasure of their customers!

You do have to keep your eyes (and ears) open as the ingredients turnover is sometimes overwhelming because Chef Aoki uses only seasonal ingredients with a great care from all the Prefecture.
So last night I paid them a visit after my short stop at Tomii!

Chef Aoki knows that I rarely bother with menu. I just told him to serve me the vegetables of the day, and he immediately complied without fuss but with great enthusiasm.
The first dish (above picture) was Hakusai Na No Hana/白菜菜の花, something between a Chinese cabbage and a rape plant. That particular vegetable I had no idea about was organically grown at Shizen No Chikara Nouen/自然の力農園/Nature’s Power Garden.

The vegetable was fried with only olive oil and a very little amount of butter and a minimum of salt and pepper to not interfere with the true taste of the vegetables. Actually the same method was adopted for the whole with some harder vegetables being lightly boiled first. This vegetable was served with very fine cuts of lard!

Chef Aoki showing a Daikon No Nabana/大根の菜花
I forgot to mention I always eat at the counter where I can keep talking to the chefs while admiring their work!

The main vegetable dish of the day!

Now that main dish was a beauty and coming from all corners of Shizuoka:
From left to right, Broccoli from Hokubu Jiman Ichi Market, Komatsuna and pearl tomatoes (organic from Shizen no Chikara Nouen), small turnip/kokabu and red-heart daikon/koushin daikon (organic by Nagomi in Fujinomiya City) and small lotus roots/renkon (Asabata, Shizuoka City)!

For a closer view!

And another one!

And an extra tidbit: carrot and Kale cabbage from Hokubu Jinan Ichi Market in Shizuoka City!

Looking forward to my next visit!

AQUAVITE
Address: 420-0034 Shizuoka Shi, Tokiwa-cho, 1-2-7, Tomii Bldg. 3F
Tel. & fax: 054-2740777
Opening hours: 11:30~14:00 18:00~22:00
Closed on Sundays
Homepage (Japanese)
Credit Cards OK