Well, I have tried Burger King's Black Burger, the Kuro Diamond while here in Japan. I had it earlier today and all I can say is, meh. There are two types of Black Burgers, the Kuro Pearl and Kuro Diamond. The Pearl is basically a blacked version of a cheeseburger, the Diamond is a supped up version with lettuce, tomato and onions.
Kuro means "black" in Japanese and there is the rub. The bun wasnt as black as the picture presented and I the cheese was runny as the black itself was coming off and getting over the tomato. It was lettuce was in pieces and not a big piece of lettuce as presented in the promotional pictures. Now I am one who doesnt believe in the prevalence of media and always take each and every advertisement to heart.
It tasted like a normal burger. The black doesnt do anything to the taste. I dont think that it was supposed to. The black dye is made from bamboo charcoal and tastes neutral. Overall, except for the black color, it tastes just like a Burger King burger.
You would think that if you want lasagna you would go to Italy. I would suspect that you would be wrong for if you want some pretty damn good lasagna, you would have to go to Japan. No. I am serious. Oishi and his wife Miyoko make some damn good Italian food. In a little, probably no more that twenty seats (and that would be crowded), restaurant, Oishi makes some of the finest Italian food around. The best in Japan at the very least and world, well, it would be an interesting competition.
So, I was taken there by +Jim Mullins and his wife. I am taking a trip to Japan and they called me and said, "come on down." So I boarded the shinkansen and an hour later I was in Shizuoka. Fast forward about seven hours and we were sitting in Pizzeria Iola. I asked Mully what was good and he said without hesitation, the lasagna. So I ordered the lasagna, the venison lasagna to boot! To say that it was good would be an understatement. It was so beyond good that it left it far behind. The venison wasnt gamy at all. It tasted like it was simmering for hours before it was put into the lasagna. I asked my hosts for the evening and they said that the meat was whatever was in season at the time. It wasnt as rich and hearty red sauce as most lasagnas are that I have had . It was creamy and almost delicate in the way it was prepared. I watched Oishi-san take the dough and crank out the lasagna sheets by hand. The sauces in between the layers of cheese and pasta was more of a ragu. I cant say anymore about it. You will just have to come to Japan and eat it yourself.
The rest of the food was fantastic as well. The meatballs were made with beef, pork and veal, the holy trinity of meats when you make meatball. The real kicker was that he added ground green beans to the mix. Unfortunately I got no pictures of the meatballs as the Mullys devoured them as soon as they came to table. I got to taste on though, and it was a light and airy meatball, not heavy as you would expect a meatball to be. Speaking of light and airy, you have to try the gnocchi. Little bits of heaven. The potatoes mixed with just a handful of flour to allow them to hold there shape and mixed with a Gorgonzola sauce. I wish I had a plate of them right now.
Mrs Mully had the avocado salad mixed with mozzarella and tomatoes that looked yummy.
Miyoko-san took care of all the baking and did all of the deserts. The Mully's had themselves slices of chocolate cake and I had the creme brulee. Now I thought the sugar was a bit burned, not caramelized like it should have been, but the custard underneath was soft and tasty. I gave Mully a bite and he went and ordered one for himself, just so he could take off the caramelized sugar and eat that whole. I told him to wait, that he shouldnt eat it alone.
The food was fantastic, the company grand, the hosts a joy. It just goes to show you, you can find good food anywhere, you just have to look for it. Keep eating and as Mully says... "dont let your meat loaf."
Tratorria Pizzeria Iola
1663 Kataoka, Yoshida-cho
TEL 0548-32-0138
iola@amail.plala.or.jp
Be sure to watch the video on my YouTube site. Its still loading...
