Butagumi

Another day, another business trip taken to a city filled with excellent cuisine, another great meal arranged with co-workers in the midst of a very busy week, this time in Tokyo.   We were a group of 4, including a local, and including one person with dietary preferences nearly polar to mine.  Finding a place we were all excited about was a bit challenging, but, we narrowed in on one fairly quickly: Butamumi.

Butagumi is a tonkatsu restaurant, a very highly rated tonkatsu restaurant, that has been around ~forever.  It matched the dietary constraints of everyone in the group, even though tonkatsu isn't really that high on my list, I was interesting in trying a top version, and, it most certainly wasn't a tourist trap, which satisfied our local.  

So to Butagumi we went, with a reservation secured by my hotel concierge (necessary, as the place is tiny), to feast on tonkatsu, and basically, only tonkatsu.   To say they specialize is an understatement.

Setting

Butagumi is located in Shibuya, but not where you might expect it.  It is kinda hidden down a side street, in a residential area, and the restaurant is actually inside an old house.  Charming, rustic, humble, and so very authentic.

Entrance.

The restaurant was a bit hard to find, like, seemingly, many things in Tokyo, mostly because the address system is hard to get used to, and there was no visible sign.  But the adorable front entrance was a sign of what was to come.

No Perfume!

I had my hotel concierge secure the booking, and they were very insistent that we not wear perfume.  I thought it was odd, and then we showed up at the restaurant and ... large signs about not wearing perfume.

A few things to note:

1. There is no sign in Japanese saying this too, English only.  Are we the only offenders?
2. No mention of men's fragrance, just ladies.  Again, why just us?

I was very curious what the story is here, and, according to our local host, apparently it is not normal to have signs like this.

Kitchen.

This ... is the kitchen! I wouldn't call it "open concept" exactly, but, we could see through the pass fairly easily.  It was unlike any restaurant kitchen I've ever seen before.

Single chef, tiny, kinda grungy ....  It was like being in someone's home.  

Our Table.

There was some seating downstairs, maybe 3 tables, but we were lead upstairs.  Upstairs had 4 tables, each built into the floor like this.

And yes, we had to take our shoes off, and yes it is hard to climb in and out.   It felt like a more "real" authentic experience than anywhere else I went.

Cuisine

The menu at Butagumi is basically a reference book on cuts of pork, and little else.  The non-tonkatsu sections of the menu, including the drinks, were minimal, but, the pork list?  Zomg.

Starters & Desserts.

Luckily English menus were provided, although our host noted some differences between the English and Japanese ones (more options, and more detailed info, on the later).

Butagumi does technically have a few starters and desserts, but I've never seen anyone get them (on instagram, on review sites, etc).  We weren't tempted by any, although I'll admit I was very curious what "broccoli salad with carrot sauce" was ...

They didn't even ask if we wanted starters, nor dessert at the end of the meal.  This isn't what people come for, clearly.

Pork Options: Page 1 - Sirloin.

So, the restaurant sells tonkatsu.  Only tonkatsu.  Tonkatsu is super common around Tokyo, available on every street even, but most places serve only one breed of pig, and offer two cuts (loin or tenderoin).  Sometimes a place will have two sizes, but that is about it when it comes to your choice.

But this place actually carries something like 80 different breeds/cuts.  Of course, they don't have 80 at a time, but rather, the ones they have that day are the ones with the orange highlight stickers, as you can see here.

The japanese menu had TONS of details on each breed, paragraphs on each, but the English menu was more simple, and was just arranged from lean to fatty, to make it easy for us.

Pork Options: Page 2 - Tenderloin/Filet.

The next page was more options, tenderloins and filets, rather than the sirloins from the previous page.

How to eat.

The back of the menu teaches you how to eat it properly.

It explains the condiments on the table, and what you are supposed to do with them.  The ponzu, to drizzle over the cabbage.  Not for the tonkatsu!

The salt? that's for the pork, just put a little on it to amp it up.

And then, the tonkatsu sauce ... that goes into the white dish, and don't you dare put it on TOP of your tonkatsu.  You must dip into it!

I'll admit, I found this cute, and did appreciate the education.

Drink Menu.

The full list of drinks ...  kinda lacking.

They had sake, but don't tell you what kind, and there is just one kind, your choices of just hot or cold.  Same thing about wine: red or white.  Glass or carafe.  No more choices.

At least it made for easy decision making!

Red House Wine.

I got wine, red. 

It was actually really quite decent.  No idea what it was, and certainly not pricey, but, I liked it more than most red wine I've had lately, and was pleasantly surprised.

Condiments.

Condiments were on the table when we arrived.

Welcome Gifts.

I knew they'd bring us welcome gifts, but my dining companions were caught off guard by this.  The trio was ... a saltine with cream cheese and yuzu jelly, tomatoes, and chicken.

Now, I know this doesn't look exciting.  And I can't vouch for the chicken since I don't eat it, and didn't try it, but one diner loved the chicken.  Really loved it.

Another?  Loved the cream cheese.  Yup, the cream cheese.  He kept saying how good the cream cheese was (he was skipping the crackers).  I didn't try that either (nor did the local, he didn't have any of his gifts actually), so one person got 3 chickens and 2 cream cheeses, another got 2 cream cheeses, and they were thrilled.

But I too was thrilled.  With the tomato. The TOMATO. No, seriously. I had read reviews that praise the tomatoes and honestly thought nothing of it. and these just looked like cold, slightly charred, little tomatoes right? But I kid you not, this was likely the best tomato I've had in my life.

It was charred and had a smoky quality, but the tomato itself was clearly marinated in something, infusing it with just awesomeness, in addition to the very flavorful tomato.  It burst with flavor. I couldn't believe how delicious this was, and one other diner agreed.  The other doesn't eat tomatoes, and the other guy wasn't eating any of it, so we both got two, and I think we were about to go into a brawl for the 4th one (I already had 2, and definitely would have had the 3rd, but he was like "wait, no, i really want it and you had two already!")

It sounds crazy, but this little platter had the highlight of the meal.  And there was lots of other good stuff!  All of us that partook from this platter were very very pleased with how the meal was starting.

Miso Soup.

We were each then given little bowls of miso soup.  The miso soup was the style with little clams in it, so one diner immediately pushed it aside, as he doesn't do shellfish. 

It was salty, and fine, but, eh, miso soup.

Rice.

Next, we were each given a bowl of rice.

The rice was proper sticky rice, also unlimited refills, and we each had our own little bowls.  No one really had much though, who wants to fill up on rice?

Cabbage.

The tonkatsu is served with raw cabbage, to help cut the fat.  As instructed, you drizzle it with ponzu to add flavor. 

This also came with unlimited refills, but we didn't need any, since no one but me tried it.  It was bland and boring, on its own, but I see why they give it to compliment the rest of the meal.

Pickles.

Our tonkatsu also came with pickles.  Japanese pickles!  I adore pickles, and  literally got all of these, as no one else wanted to try (they were too busy filling themselves with pork ...). 

I liked them, but, I didn't opt for a refill when offered, as they weren't that great, they were just more interesting than rice, cabbage, or ... the tonkatsu, at least for me.

Fattiest One.

3 of us formed a union to get 3 kinds to split so we could compare. 

My manager picked, basically we went for one super fatty, one high fatty, and, at my insistence, one lean. Mostly sirloin, but one tenderloin.  I really wanted to compare different levels, although the others really wanted all high fat ones. 

The other diner just got his own lean cut.

Super Fatty: Closeup.

This was the highest fat one, only the little bit that is the darker color was meat, the rest, fat.  I do love pork belly, you'd think I'd like this but ... unrendered fat just doesn't do it for me.  My least favorite.

High Fatty.

The cuts were all very different, although they did all have the very crispy coating. 

I know it was freshly made, I know it was really crispy but ... it was just oily to me.  Really oily.  I wasn't that into it.

Sadly, I really preferred the beef katsu we had at my office the previous day.

High Fatty: FAT!

So yeah.  Here you can see the mid range fat one.  Yes, that entire side is fat! And this was one of the leaner pieces.

Now, I like fat.  I love pork belly, but this ... was just fat!  Fat covered in oily crust. 

I ... just really wasn't into it, at all.  The others loved it though.

Lean Tenderloin.

The lean tenderloin you can tell is radically different - more slices, thinner, etc.

Lean: Closeup.

The lean loin was my favorite, but the others hated it. 

They didn't want a second slice, and it went unfinished.  It was juicy, nicely cooked, and better than any other pork I've probably had, but ... its just pork.  And still just oily coating.

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Dean & Deluca Snack Baskets

Dean & DeLuca is a chain of fancyish grocery stores.  I associate the brand with New York, although the store I have actually been into is in Tokyo, and I fondly remember their ice cream served on a Japan airlines flight (which, I've reviewed before).  

"For over 40 years it has been our mission to find and provide to you the world’s best epicurean treats for cooking, eating and entertaining. Our team of International food experts are committed to a quest for excellence. We work persistently to curate a food-forward assortment of the best and newest food products from around the globe."

Dean & Deluca offers a curated shopping experience, hence, the premium branding. They also operate a mail order business, perfect for gift baskets around the holidays, or sending to corporate clients, which is how I encountered a large variety of their goodies.  I don't understand why my co-workers don't devour their gift baskets, particularly when the items are high quality like this, but, their loss, my gain, right?

Snacks on the Run. $75.

"Time is tight, so these tins full of chocolates, mixes, candies, and nuts are an easy, delicious choice."

For the holidays, my co-workers received several "Snack on the Run" assortments.  The "Snacks on the Run" series is available in 3/6/12/18 packs, all different, unless you custom order a set with exactly what you want in it.

Ours were 12 packs, mostly chocolates, with a few other candies in the mix.  Interestingly, it contained no plain nuts, and only one dried fruit option.

I tried everything except the milk chocolate covered raisins, as, well, I just don't like them, and didn't see a reason to waste.  For $75, this was a good variety, and seemingly decent value for quality items.

Chocolate Covered

Our package consisted of majority chocolate covered things, 8 total, including 4 types of caramels (one sugar free), one type of covered nut, and one dried fruit.

Dark Chocolate Rum Cordials.

"Dark Chocolate and Rum, a match made in confectionary heaven. Our Dean & DeLuca Chocolate Rum Cordials are a lovely and affordable gift with the same style and good taste you expect from Dean & DeLuca."

OMG, OMG, OMG.  That is all I have to say about these.

This was not my first encounter with these rum balls, er, cordials, I just hadn't written about them previously.  I remember discovering these before, and, well, adoring them.  In particular, of course I remember the rum.

Because, beware.  These are filled with liquid.  Boozy liquid.  Do not bite in half and expect not to make a mess.  Pop the whole thing in your mouth, bite, and enjoy the booze.

The dark chocolate is necessary to hold up against the rum, and the rest ... well, its rum!

White Mint Lentils.

"Pure white and minty fresh, these dark chocolate disks made with real oil of peppermint are the perfect refresher."

Heh.  I thought these were just after dinner mints.  Bo-ring.  They looked like just mints.  And, what are "lentils", of the confection variety, anyway?  A: It turns out, this is a "standard" name for this type of confection.  Huh.  Strange, they ... are like oversized lentils I guess?  Or smooshed M&Ms?

But it turned out, these were chocolate.

At first, they seemed just like any other chocolate disk, like an M&M.  But then ... the mint kicked in.  And it wasn't entirely pleasant.  Such a strange aftertaste.

I was not a fan.

Triple Chocolate Toffees.

"Premium almond toffee in luxurious milk, dark and marbled dark and white chocolates."

These looked pretty interesting, assorted colors and sizes.  But, all tasted basically the same: sweet toffee, crisp, coated in sweet creamy chocolate.  Absolutely fine, but they looked more interesting than they were in practice.

Milk Chocolate Peanuts.

Our single chocolate covered nut offering was a milk chocolate peanut, not as exciting as many of the others like dark chocolate sea salt hazelnuts.  But, an easy crowd pleaser.

I tried them, and they were fine.  Decent enough milk chocolate coating, not too much of it, creamy.  Standard peanut inside.

Nothing remarkable, nothing bad.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels.

"Our creamy caramels lavished in rich dark chocolate with a hint of sea salt."

These had a nice dark chocolate on them, but I wasn't quite into the chewy caramel center, just personal preference.

Tiramisu Caramels.

"Semi-soft caramel dipped in our famous milk chocolate with tiramisu flavor, then rolled in dark cocoa powder." 

These I really didn't like.

Again, the soft caramel chew just didn't do it for me, at all.  I did not taste tiramisu in any way either.

Pass.

English Toffee Caramels.

"Toffee caramels in a generous layer of creamy milk chocolate."

I know I tried these, but alas, I don't seem to have notes on them.  Sorry!

Sugar Free Milk Chocolate Caramels.

"If sugar-free is what you crave these are the chocolate covered caramels for you. Exclusive to Dean & DeLuca our Sugar-Free Milk Chocolate Caramels are premium Sugar-Free caramels covered in Sugar-Free chocolate coating. Dean & DeLuca Sugar-Free Milk Chocolate Caramels are a lovely and affordable gift with the same style and good taste you expect from Dean & DeLuca."

 I found it a bit funny to include a sugar free offering in a box of all sugary treats, but, perhaps they envision this to be a shared box, in which case, having an inclusive offering for those who need lower sugar is a great thing?

Anyway, these were fine, larger than the regular caramels, and the milk chocolate was smooth and good.  I still wasn't a huge fan of the caramel though.

Confections

We had only two "confections", chewy sugary things, in our basket.

Gourmet Assorted Jelly Beans.

The image on the container of the jelly beans showed what looked large larger size jelly beans, the type I like.  But inside I found ... what looked exactly like Jelly Belly, smaller size beans.  I'm not particularly fond of Jelly Belly, besides the buttered popcorn, which I have actually grown to love, so really should update my review.

I don't think these were actually Jelly Belly brand, but they were a fairly similar product, sweet sugar, no more, no less.  

Sanded Starfish.

"Gummy sugarcoated starfish in six fruity flavors."

These were a crowd favorite, so I was only able to try one flavor: blue.

They were good, nice chew, and I liked the "sanded" sugar coating on them.  Better than your average gummy candy.

Fruits & Nuts

Our assortment did not have any plain nuts, nor really many dried fruits (besides the chocolate covered raisins), although Dean & Deluca does offer plenty of these items.

I was not upset though, as these are some of the least interesting of the lineup.  We did have one mix.

Island Mix.

The "island mix" featured bits of dried pineapple, papaya, and banana, plus raisins and macadamias.

I tried everything in here except the raisins (eww, raisins!), and all were fairly generic and standard.  Not much to say about this one, it was dried fruit and bits of nuts.

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Uniholic, Roppongi

There are so many things to love about Tokyo, but no doubt that the incredible cuisine is one of them.  I've enjoyed the high end (consuming 8 Michelin stars in 3 days!) and the convenience (yes, I ate entire meals at 7-Eleven!), and just about everything in between (see my master post for full list of reviews).  Another thing I love about Japan is the complete obsession with singular items, and the theme experiences that surround them.  In this case, one of my favorite foods: uni.  Uni is the entire basis of a restaurant, aptly named Uniholic, located near my office.  I adored the name even.

#allTheUni.

Yup, I went to a restaurant that served any entire menu based around uni.  Literally.  They have exactly 1 non-uni dish.  Do not go here if you are not an uniholic (like my manager, who was traveling with me, and very clearly stated his preference NOT to attend.

Luckily, one of my other fellow travelers was excited by this idea, and agreed to join me for lunch. Together, the two of us sampled nearly every item on the smaller lunch menu.  Some of it was actually *really* good, other dishes were fine, others were MEH.  I did almost go back a few nights later, so, that is a testament to how fabulous the good ones were.

Signage.

The sign out front honestly made me excited.  The restaurant name leaves no doubt in what you are about to experience.  Uni.  All the uni.

Entrance.

I think there is likely a story behind the panels featured on the doorway, but I wasn't really able to figure out what it was.  Enough English was spoken for us to order and communicate the basics, but asking about the panels seemed outside the realm of what I should try to ask, given my entire lack of Japanese language skills.

Bar Seating.

The bar had counter seating for pairs or singles, and really did look like a comfortable space to dine alone in peace.

I seriously considered coming back several other nights, for a cocktail, the uni pasta dish that isn't available at lunch that I really wanted to try, or even just the ridiculously good uni ice cream.  But more on that soon.

Tables.

We were seated at a regular table, wooden, a bit rustic.

Place Setting.

It came pre-set with chopsticks, and Uniholic branded coasters and hand wipes.

Somehow the branding didn't feel tacky, and I think it is because the decor really was otherwise quite nice.

Condiments.

Our table also had its own condiments, including salt, pepper, and soy sauce.

A Menu of UNI!

The lunch menu isn't as extensive as dinner, but still has plenty of uni for everyone.   The menu is a bit confusing, but I believe the first 4 items above are all entrees, and the rest are a collection of smaller plates to compose a meal as you see fit.  We opted for one larger set menu, and a slew of other items a la carte.

There is only one non uni item, the fried chicken (which we skipped), and only one dessert.

Drinks.

The drink menu was a novel in comparison.  Pages and pages of cocktails, plus the expected sake, beer, and shochu.

Wasabi. 950 JPY.

I'm not normally a day drinker, but, I couldn't really resist trying something, given the extensive line up.

I went for the most fascinating sounding one, just titled, "Wasabi".

It did, indeed, come with a wasabi rim.  I loved the zing it provided, a very unique cocktail.

Sea urchin shot -roppongi style-. 600 JPY.

We started off with ... an uni shot of course.  A *jelly* uni shot.  Like you do.

I had notes on this dish, but alas, I lost them.  I do remember being quite pleased at the start of the meal ... and I mean, how would you not be, given that beautiful uni presented front and center ...

Fresh vegetables bagna cauda with UNI sauce. 700 jpy.

From there we moved on to vegetables.  Who orders crudite at an uni restaurant?  Yeah, me.  For good reason!

The vegetables were all just simple raw veggies, served in finger food, stick style, in a cup with ice.  A full rainbow of colors, which was certainly more visually interesting than most crudite.  Carrots, two colors of bell peppers, broccoli, celery, jicama, radish.  All were extremely fresh and crisp, and I liked them more than most vegetables I've encountered.

The real reason I adored this dish though was the mayo uni dip.  OMG.  I was absolutely in love with the mayo uni dip for the veggies.  Seriously.

My companion had one veggie and a tiny bit of dip, and I literally ate the rest of it.  The entire shot glass.  Of mayo.  I ran out of veggies, and just used a spoon to finish every last drop.  I would have had another shot of it, no question.  Yes, straight.  It was crazy good.

This was, hands down, the dish of the day.  I'd get it again, anytime.

Uni Butter Baguette. 600 JPY.

Then it was time to start getting into the heavier offerings.   Nearly every review I read in advance of my visit mentioned this dish as a "must get".

And yes, it was excellent.  Just a toasted baguette with uni butter slathered on, but, the bread was nicely toasted (just the right amount of crunch, no cutting your mouth, and still soft inside), and, um, yeah, uni butter is as fantastic as you would guess it is, and it was perfectly soaked in.

We both enjoyed this, and gladly finished our two pieces.

2 Kinds of Uni Sashimi of the Day. 1500 JPY.

"Compare 2 kinds of sea urchin today."

After those more innovative dishes, it was time to focus on just uni.

The different kinds were actually quite distinct, and I found myself liking one far more than the others.  Sadly, I lost my notes on this dish too.

Set Menu: 2800 JPY.

"3 kinds of UNI sashami, appetizer, miso soup, and rice. "

And finally, the uni set lunch.  It contained a slew of different dishes.

I'm not one for rice, so my companion got that to himself.  Same with the miso soup, although I did try a bite of it.  It was, um, miso soup?  Not something I cared about, given all the uni surrounding me.

The sashimi in the middle was a nice non-uni touch, quite fresh, light.  I really liked the shiso leaf and shaved diakon (?) that came with it, super fresh, crisp, and flavorful.  Although we were sharing, let's just say, my companion didn't get any of that.

The pickles were also fabulous, and, uh, I may have taken more than my share while he was busy with the rice.

And finally, a selection of 3 different kinds of raw uni.  It was really interesting to compare them, an experience I've never had before.  I've always known there is variance due to different regions and species, but this made it very obvious, much like the previous dish.

The top was one was fine but boring - not any funk, but it was kinda just there.  Non-offensive, but not something to rave about. The middle one was quite good, much smaller lobes than I've had before, and slightly sweet too.   But the bottom one however just took the prize.  It was amazing, super creamy.  No question the best uni of the day.  It was nice to see such difference in the regional variation!

I'm glad we ordered this for the opportunity to do the trio tasting, and for the fresh and crunchy veggie/pickle components, and of course, to get a better understanding of uni.

Sea Salt Vanilla UNI Ice Cream. 400 JPY.

And finally ... dessert.  Yup, uni dessert.  FABULOUS uni dessert.

I obviously love ice cream, and I'm not one to shy away from uni based desserts (like uni creme brûlée from Quince or the signature version from Lot 7, or the uni flan from Fifth Floor or Skool, or he uni chawanmushi at Alexander's and Commonwealth, etc.), but I'll admit I wasn't really expecting this to be as amazing as it was.

It looks simple, but, wow.  It was both sweet and salty, and at first, it really just tasted like (very good) salted caramel ice cream.  But then the uni came through on the finish, and it was just incredibly delightful.  So very, very, very good.

And I of course was quite happy with the crispy bits of feuilletine for a bit of texture and additional caramelized crunchy goodness.

My companion and I both really adored it, and found the flavor shockingly complex.  Ok, I might have claimed that uni dip was the best dish of the meal, but really, *this* was the dish of the meal, and I'd go back for it in a heartbeat.

*****.  Perfection.

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