Pizzeria Iola

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...

High Street Deli

What can I say about the High Street Deli?  It is freakn' awesome!  I have been there about three time in two weeks even though it is like twenty-five miles away.  I find it worth the drive.  Listed above is what I got on my second trip there.  A Dutch Punch sandwich.  Turkey, avocado and a whole bunch of differing veges and slathered with a generous portion of hot and spicy mayo and mustard.  The bread though I find rather good.  Their dutch bread is particularly good however.  It is crusty without being tough.  All and all it was a good sandwich.

I have had the beef dip, the Dutch Punch and the meatloaf sandwiches and they have been all good.  Eat the meatloaf there though, otherwise it will get a bit soggy.  Hehe, I had to eat it away, so I took it to the +Coffee Bean to eat.  It was crowded and I couldn't find a seat and it started to rain... it was a real mess.

So if you are ever up in SLO, stop by the High Street Deli, it is worth the trip.

Street Food Cinema

Street Food Cinema

Jamie

The latest Two Guys Take on Food, Jamie and I went to Street Food Cinema.  The movie that night was The Princess Bride and we were sorry that Rosa and Rynyn were not with us.  It was truly a wondrous night and combined with The Princess Bride, it was clearly a night made for date.

The whole night was quite good.  Street Food Cinema is a moving service.  That night the movie shown was in downtown Glendale, but it goes to Exposition Park and the Pomona Fairgrounds as well.  The Glendale sight was quite good for a date because just a block away, was the downtown area.  Downtown Glendale was quite the show for before or after the movie, a couple could walk the downtown area.  They had an outdoor galleria that looked like it extended for many blocks.  Jamie was telling me that he thought Pasadena and Glendale were basically one place, but it isn’t.  Based on what I saw, Glendale was where it was at, and it would be worth the extra ten minute drive on the 210 to get there.

For food, they had over ten food trucks serving over a thousand people that Street Food Cinema had collected.  They had: Let it Roll, The Beignet Truck, Vizzi, Canvas, Diva Crepe, Rollin’ Rib BBQ Joint, Salads Galore, Currywurst, The Fry Girl, LA Brew and Umami Burger… mhmm, Umami Burger.  They also sold caramel corn at a little stand, but I am not too sure if it was a Street Food Cinema thing or not.  Over all it was a good mix of food from which to choose.  For the atmosphere it was like a festival out in the park that everyone was having a good time.  They had a band, Grey Eastern that played there well before the movie.  One of the songs that they played was featured on the show Defiance, on the Syfy Channel.  They even had a contest based on the movie that was quite cute.  The winner got a plush crown and twenty-five dollars!  Now I have a gripe.  They needed two more people to and I was chosen but somebody (the winner I should say) ran up and took my position!  I was cheated!  Hehe

All and all it was a good time.  I would suggest that everyone should go to Street Food Cinema to have a good time.  And if you are lucky enough to have a special somebody, all the better!

Fogo de Chao

Fogo de Chao

What can I say about this place.  Much meat was had by the us at Fogo de Chao.  Every year at the end of Gencon and before the dead dog party myself and others go to this Brazilian steak house to gorge ourselves on the ten plus different types of meat that they bring out to the people on skewers.  Everything from beef that comes in the from of sirloin, to filets, to great honking ribs.  Pork, chicken and lamb are served as well as sausages.  They had little t-bones steaks this time and they nice and tender and pulled off the bone.  The bottom sirlion however was sooooo good.  They also have a salad bar that was huge and well stocked that came with not only salad but different types of vegetation to off set your meat comas that you are inflicting on yourself.  

It was good... but the people you share the meal with make it all the better.  

I missed Char in the shot!  :(

Izakaya Fuga

Izakaya Fuga

Today I went out to lunch with my friend Kay, continuing out crawl around the Little Tokyo.  Today we went to a little izakaya, that is located in the basement of a building in the heart of Little Tokyo.  It is a nice place that looked like a lounge with out the smoke.  In fact, Kay mentioned that the place was a lounge.  In the back they had a couple of booths that were curtained off with opaque curtains.

As you can see, I had a sesame jidori kaarage bento.  It is a friend chicken that came with a aeoli that was nothing special.  But the kaarage was pretty good.  It looked like the chicken was overcooked but it wasnt.  It came with a salad, a spicy tuna roll and some tempura along with rice and miso soup.  All and all it was good and not that expensive.  For the two of us it only came out to thirty dollars.  Still, I think Daikokuya (the ramen place I reviewed last month sometime) is much better...

Atmosphere: 4 out of 5

Service: 3 out of 5

Food: 3 out of 5

Price: cheap for what you get

The Game Haus Cafe

The GameHaus Cafe

While attending Gamex 2013, a local gaming convention here is Los Angeles, I came into contact with several people advertising a new cafe, the GameHaus Cafe.  Will be ready to open in a couple of months.  The interesting think is that it will be a board game cafe.  They will have, as they put it: "from Mouse Trap to Here I Stand."  I am looking forward to the Cafe as they will be serving pies and sandwiches and grilled paninis.  

I did an interview with them.  Here it is, my YouTube video, in which we here it from Teri and Rob themselves.

Ten Ren's Tea Time

http://www.tenrensteatime.com/

 I have been going to Ten Ren's for a several years now and I have mixed feeling about going there.  It is not the fact that they are bad, it is the fact that they keep changing how they cook things.  Take the stewed pork I had today.  It is something that I have had for years, but I got the pork and it came with two pieces of fried tofu.  Now I like tofu but not in my pork and when I asked a server about it, he said it has always come with tofu.  I know for a fact that it doesn't because I had many times over the years and it has never came with tofu.  Go figure

Now the meal was good, as the stewed pork cam with rice and two sides that change from day to day.  Today I had some potatoes and vegetables.  The stewed pork was good as the pork was cooked until it came apart but it still kept its shape because it had the fat still connected to it, fat that practically melted in your mouth.

The original reason I went to the place all those years ago was the fact that I went to a milk tea.  They make all sorts of teas, coffees and other drinks.  You can get them with boba or not.

So if you are looking for you fix of Taiwan, Ten Ren's is the place to go!