There are about a million Choco Cro locations in Sendai (or is that St. Marc Cafe? The sign says both, but “Choco Cro” is clearly bigger). Eventually, after passing one for twentieth time and seeing the display of chocolate croissants outside of the store, my curiosity got the better of me. I had to check it out.
I had a bit of an ordering hiccup at Tonkatsu Katsusei, a Michelin-rated tonkatsu restaurant in Sendai. The Michelin connection made me think they’d either have an English menu, or photos I could point at. They had neither.
Conveniently enough, three must-see Sendai sightseeing spots are all clustered together (they’re each about a fifteen minute walk apart), so it’s pretty easy to see them all in one shot.
I’m currently in Sendai, the largest city in the Tohoku region in Northern Tokyo. There are a couple of dishes that they’re known for here, but the most popular by far is gyutan — grilled beef tongue.
Since I actually managed to go to all of the restaurants featured in Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, I figured I’d rank them. Everybody loves a list, right?
Unlike pretty much every other place from Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, Esse Due Akasaka is a full-out restaurant, not just a dessert shop. It’s an Italian joint that specializes in pizza and pasta, and based on what I saw from my table, everything looks quite good.
I’m a bit of a ramen obsessive (it might just be my favourite food on the planet), so obviously, I had to eat a bunch of ramen while I was in Tokyo. It was my duty and my obligation, and I did it happily.
Ohagi is a traditional Japanese dessert that typically features a ball of glutinous rice surrounded by a sweet red bean paste. Takeno To Ohagi is admirably focused; they sell seven rotating varieties of ohagi, and that’s it.
I don’t need much convincing to eat a fried McDonald’s pie. That crispy, crackily exterior is basically the best thing ever, and no one is ever going to convince me otherwise.
I think the thing that stands out the most about Kooriya Peace — a place that specializes in elaborate shaved ice desserts — is the ice itself.