Western-style Tsubaki Restaurant by Reservation Only

Gifu City is located in the southern part of Gifu Prefecture. Skyscrapers line the area around JR Gifu Station, the gateway to the city. In the old days, Dozo Saito laid the foundation of the city, and Nobunaga Oda, who became the husband of his daughter Kicho, opened Rakuichi Rakuza. In recent years, the area has become a bedroom community, partly because it is only a 20-minute train ride to Nagoya City. Many businessmen and students commute to companies and universities in neighboring Aichi Prefecture, and many people spend their holidays at large shopping centers in the suburbs, giving the area a typical modern regional city face.

On the other hand, it is not widely known that the demand for eating out is high, with citizens spending one of the five highest amounts on dining out in Japan, and the number of restaurants per 1,000 population is one of the highest in Japan. In such an environment, the restaurant ” Western-style Tsubaki” attracts visitors from both inside and outside of the prefecture and is open by reservation only.

Western-style cuisine served in an old private house full of nostalgia

The restaurant is located at the foot of a quiet mountain about 20 minutes north by car from JR Gifu Station. The well-maintained garden with a babbling brook echoing pleasantly reminds one of a luxury ryokan (Japanese inn). Just walking from the gate to the entrance of the restaurant is enough to give you the illusion that you have come for a kaiseki meal. The interior of the restaurant has a modern Japanese style, and you have to take off your shoes at the entrance.

Chopsticks are placed on a Japanese paper luncheon mat laid on a table with the warmth of wood. The plates on which the food is served are all white with gold rims in a simple design. It has the appearance of the “elegant Western-style food” that everyone imagines in the old days. This is Western-style food served in a Japanese-style space. The menu consists mainly of course meals, but a la carte dishes are also available, and there is a wide selection of wines to match the dishes.

What we can do because we are a Wagyu beef specialist

Tanakaya Food Service is one of the restaurants operated by Tanakaya Food Service, a company based in Ibigun, Gifu Prefecture, that operates restaurants focusing on meat. Tanakaya Food Service Co., Ltd. will also open “Butcher Tanaka” in Ginza 6-chome, a prime location in Tokyo, in 2020. The restaurant has become a hot topic as an authentic meat kappo restaurant that serves only one omakase course, using the best brand meat of the day as its main ingredient. The representative, Satoru Tanaka, is a true specialist of Japanese beef, calling himself a “meat master. He opened his first yakiniku restaurant at the age of 25, expanding to Tokyo, Aichi, Gifu, and Shiga, and in 2019, his Nagoya restaurant “Nikuya Setsugetsuka” won a Michelin plate, making his name known nationwide. The restaurant’s name has become a national standard. He is also highly regarded in the industry.

What made “Western-style Tsubaki” so popular was the fact that it used only A5-rank brand beef in its classic Western-style menu of steaks and hamburgers. By reviewing the ingredients of the menu, which has been loved by many people for many years, the restaurant has updated the taste. Hida beef, Matsuzaka beef, Mikawa beef, Omi beef, Kobe beef… He has dealt with more Wagyu beef than anyone else and has studied for many years how to bring out the best of it, so he knows which parts of Wagyu beef to use and how to use them, working backward from the ideal flavor, and has the skills to embody them.

A “formula” that captures the hearts and minds of gourmands

The brand name and individual identification number of the beef used in the restaurant are posted on the wall, which shows the attention to detail. Branded Wagyu beef x standard Western-style food = “Wagyu Western-style food. It may seem like a formula that anyone could come up with, but the solution can only be seen by those with a keen eye. That is why the restaurant has been able to capture the hearts and stomachs of many gourmands. The pride as a butcher that stands dignifiedly in the nostalgic menu may open the door to a new era of Western cuisine in Japan and create a new genre that people want to inherit for a long time to come. This is a restaurant you should definitely visit.

The post Standard Western-style cuisine and Western-style Tsubaki, only a craftsman with a thorough knowledge of Wagyu beef can serve / Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.

Wagyu Beef Loved Around the World

The taste of a cow is determined by its pedigree. History tells us why. Originally bred for agriculture, the demand for Wagyu cattle increased as a result of civilization’s enlightenment during the Meiji period (1868-1912). As a result, Wagyu cattle were actively crossbred with foreign breeds in various regions in an effort to make them as large as their foreign counterparts. However, the breeding process failed, as the cattle became rough and the meat quality deteriorated. After the end of World War II, there was a movement to restore the original Wagyu breed, but the number of hybrids increased so much that purebred Wagyu cattle became extinct. Miraculously, however, “Tajiri-go” was born from among four cattle living in Ojiroku, Kami-machi, Hyogo Prefecture, and became a sire bull, leaving behind about 1,500 offspring. Since then, breeding has been carried out with careful management of bloodlines like thoroughbreds, and as a result, brand beef with better meat quality has been produced in various parts of Japan, and “WAGYU” has become loved not only in Japan but also by food connoisseurs around the world.

Buying Hida beef from a single source is a three-way street

Hida beef, one of the most popular beef brands in Japan, is defined as Japanese black cattle raised for 14 months or longer in Gifu Prefecture and having a meat quality grade of 3 or higher. The meat is tender and fine-textured, with a mellow aroma that spreads in the mouth. It is also characterized by a rich, full-bodied meat with a refreshing aftertaste. Kiminori Fukao, who runs Bakuro Ichidai, a restaurant specializing in Hida beef in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, and Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, took over the meat business from his predecessor and has been earnestly dealing with Hida beef since its establishment in 1969. While many yakiniku restaurants purchase specific parts of Hida beef such as loin and fillet, Mr. Fukao insists on “buying a whole cow” in order to expand his knowledge and protect Hida beef farmers. Mr. Fukao has expanded his knowledge and insists on buying only one head of Hida beef to protect Hida beef farmers. However, it is not easy to raise a cow that is recognized as Hida beef, and from the farmer’s point of view, our role is to buy a whole cow and convey the appeal of all parts to our customers. This will enhance the brand value of Hida beef and lead to local production for local consumption. By purchasing a whole cow, customers can enjoy rare parts of Hida beef at reasonable prices on the lunch and dinner menus, and the farmer and the restaurant can be protected. Both the seller and the buyer are satisfied, and the restaurant contributes to the local industry.

Hida beef professionals have earned the trust of the one and only

Many customers come to Bakuro Ichiyo to enjoy Hida beef because Mr. Fukao is the best connoisseur of Hida beef and knows how to cook it to bring out its best potential. The meat is cut at just the right thickness and angle to distinguish it from that of ordinary yakiniku restaurants, even if it is the same grade and part of the same meat. Bakuro, from which the restaurant’s name comes, refers to a merchant who acts as an intermediary for cattle and horses. As a chef and buyer, Mr. Fukao visits Hida beef farms on numerous occasions, and as a result of his many years of careful evaluation of Hida beef, he has more than 200 Hida beef farmers with whom he has business relationships. At the entrance of the store, there are impressive tags engraved with the names of the farmers with whom we do business. We have a large number of farmers with whom we do business, but we do not purchase without restraint. In that sense, I think we are able to find good cattle because we have met good people who take pride in raising Hida beef,” Fukao said. Mr. Fukao has become a person whom the farmers look up to. They can trust Mr. Fukao with the cattle they have carefully raised. Mr. Fukao is the one and only person who can accept the feelings of the parents and convey those feelings in the form of “delicious taste and trust” to the consumers. It is with this in mind that the farmers, who are also producers, choose to dine at Mr. Fukao’s restaurant.

For 50 years since its establishment in Gifu, the birthplace of Hida beef, Mr. Fukao has worked diligently to earn the trust of his customers and to be loved by them. He says that for the next 100 years, he would like to carry the Hida beef sign and the thoughts of all the people involved with Hida beef on his shoulders. He looked straight at us and we could clearly see a future where Hida beef will continue to be a beloved brand of beef representing Japan.

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The post Identifying Truly Delicious Hida Beef / Chef Kiminori Fukao / Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan first appeared on NIHONMONO.