ワインとおでんで chill out♪　すっきり上品、出汁にこだわるおでんを、カウンターで気軽に。 : Oden to Sake Tsumireya

[Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture] [Visits: about 8 times]
2022/4/27 (Wed)
This oden shop is located north of Chris Road.
For store details, please refer to my first visit.

Previously a standing bar, now all seats are equipped with chairs.
With a focus on sound and an eclectic music selection,
the owner, who previously ran a café, has created a unique atmosphere.
It's no surprise that many younger groups and female customers visit the place.

During early hours, it can get crowded, and sometimes it's hard for even one person to get a seat.
It's delightful to see that they’ve successfully navigated the challenges of the pandemic, and as someone who knows them from their café days, I’m genuinely happy.

--------------------------------------------------
■Drinks
◎Draft Beer (JPY 530) *Tax included 10%
The brand is "Sapporo Black Label". Let's start with a refreshing sip!

◎Draft Campari Lemon Sour (JPY 550)
With a hint of Campari's bitterness, it has a slightly more sophisticated taste than regular lemon sours.

◎Wine "Fattoria Alfieore" Bucci (JPY 880)
From a winery in Kawasaki Town, Miyagi Prefecture. It has a cute name from their cat series.
When it comes to Japanese wine, it often tends to be either too sweet or bland, but this wine is genuinely delicious!
With just the right balance, neither sweetness nor acidity overwhelms, yet it has an aromatic finish that makes you take another sip.
I've heard they even organized a collaboration event with this winery, and I support their efforts for local production.

◎Chilled Sake "Niidashizenshu" (JPY 770)
From Nihonmatsu City. This sake has a refreshing sweetness characteristic of the Kimoto method, along with light effervescence and a lovely fragrance.
The oden here is delicately flavored to avoid being too salty, making it a perfect match with the mellow Junmai sake.
The owner has a keen sense in selecting their beverages.

◎Chilled Sake "Hakuin Masamune" Junmai Nama Moto
From Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. With its sakura blossom label, it brings a cheerful vibe.
It smells great and has a mellow flavor.
(Last time I had this was in 2019, before I moved to Numazu, so it’s quite a coincidence...)

--------------------------------------------------
■Appetizers
One day’s appetizer was firefly squid dressed in balsamic vinegar. How stylish!
The subtle sweetness of the balsamic was perfectly balanced, making it a dish good enough to serve on its own.

On another day, I was served bokke miso with nanohana (rapeseed greens) ohitashi.
Bokke miso refers to "fukinoto miso".

--------------------------------------------------
■Motsu Miso-ni (JPY 550)
Interestingly, the owner dislikes Sendai miso (laughs) and instead uses Hatcho miso for this dish.
As someone from Aichi Prefecture, while I find Sendai miso delicious, I certainly have a preference for Hatcho miso.
The horumon (offal) is well-stewed and perfectly seasoned.

--------------------------------------------------
■Oden
◎Oden Assorted Platter (JPY 748)
This time, it included daikon, nanohana, potato, chicken tsukune, and dashimaki tamago, topped with kaiware sprouts.
It may seem like there’s one extra item, but let’s not worry about that!
The chicken tsukune, which shares the restaurant’s name, is bursting with umami.
The dashimaki tamago has a double dashi effect, making it a juicy treat.

◎Abura-fu (JPY 198)
A specialty from the northern part of Miyagi, around Tome.
It absorbs the oden broth beautifully, making it incredibly delicious. The unique texture is also enjoyable.

◎Onion (JPY 275)
Stewed slowly, this dish features a whole onion that melts in your mouth, allowing you to enjoy its gentle sweetness.

◎Nanohana (JPY 198)
In contrast to the onion, this one is prepared quickly.
The fibrous texture and aroma remain intact.
It’s a tasteful spring ingredient, spreading its seasonal fragrance.

◎Cheese Kinchaku (JPY 220)
This replaces the mochi filling with cheese.
Surprisingly, the cheese flavor is quite pronounced, making it a perfect pairing with wine!

◎French Bread (JPY 275)
I personally think this is the restaurant's signature item.
Baguette soaked nicely in oden broth, lightly drizzled with olive oil, finished with black pepper!
The unique pairing of oden broth and black pepper is something special.
The olive oil acts as a bridge between the Japanese-style dashi and wine, making it particularly good with wine.
This dish showcases the owner’s background, creating a unique offering that you won't find anywhere else.

◎Homemade Chicken Chashu Oden (JPY 418)
A meticulously prepared dish. With a sweet flavor layered with black pepper aroma,
it reminds one of ramen itself, a true labor of love!

--------------------------------------------------
■Nabeyaki Udon (JPY 748)
A fitting final dish that uses the oden broth.
It includes fried tsukune, tenkasu, green onions, and a raw egg.
The combination of shichimi pepper and the broth works surprisingly well.
--------------------------------------------------

The owner, a music enthusiast, has recently embraced the keyword "chill out."
At the counter, while sipping in a tipsy state, letting the music take you away, and slurping down the nabeyaki udon,
there’s no doubt you’ll find yourself truly chilling out…

As a valued establishment for familiar faces, I hope they continue to thrive without any hardships (laughs).

[Miyagi Prefecture, Sendai City] [Visit Count: About 6 times]

On August 10, 2019 (Saturday)
A casual style oden shop located in Aoba-ku, Chuo.
For more details, please refer to my first review as well.

Location: Walk straight along Aoba Street from Sendai Station West Exit, cross Atago-Uesugi Street, and turn right between Mitsui Sumitomo Trust Bank and MUFG Bank.
Cross the Chris Road shopping street, turn right at the flashing small intersection, and you'll find it immediately on your left, in a corner of a multi-story parking lot.
It’s near the popular tart shop “Quil fête Bon.” A 8-minute walk from JR Sendai Station. Closed on Sundays and public holidays.

The manager of the cafe bar I frequented while living in Sendai is now the owner of this oden shop due to various circumstances.
So, after checking into my hotel, I head straight here without any distractions.
Oden is perfect for summer! (laugh)

The place has an interesting background as it was remodeled from an old parking lot management office.
The exterior of the original office was expanded to create more space inside.

Initially, it was a standing bar, but now all seats are available.
There are 6 seats at an L-shaped counter and about 4 more at another counter near the entrance.
I'm guessing all seats are non-smoking.

Despite being an oden shop, there are times when female customers make up more than half of the patrons.
The ambiance is inviting, as you’d expect from a shop led by a former cafe owner.
You can feel the thoughtfulness in the music selection and its sound quality that plays in the shop.

Here’s a glimpse of the menu...
[Oden] Japanese radish, tomato, onion, potato, potato with butter, egg, dashi-maki egg, cheese pouch, tofu, aburaage, sausage, tsukune, satsuma-age, chikuwa, chikuwa-bu, konnyaku, shirataki.
[Appetizers] Kinka mackerel, today’s sashimi, hoya with ponzu, grilled firefly squid, grilled stingray fin, handmade gyoza.

Being an oden shop in Tohoku, there’s a care put into the selection of Japanese sake.
Pairing with wines from Kawasaki Town, Miyagi Prefecture is recommended, but unfortunately, they were out of stock on that day...

During busy times, it may take a while for the oden to be served, but the atmosphere makes it all worthwhile (^ - ^)
If you're hungry, it's good to check what can be served quickly.

------------------------------------------------
■Drinks
◎ Akita Cold Sake “Manzaku no Hana” Junmai Ginjo (JPY 680)
Since it’s a raw sake with a high alcohol content, have it on the rocks with crushed ice!
Chilled sake like this is perfect for the summer!
This isn’t an unusual way to drink it; I think it may become a summer staple moving forward.
The key is not to use regular sake, but to serve the raw sake on the rocks.

◎ Mars Whiskey Highball (JPY 450)
A blended whiskey brewed by a shochu company from Kagoshima in Yamanashi.
The bottle looks impressive like a big one-liter bottle.
It has enough strength to truly enjoy the whiskey flavor in the highball.

◎ Lemon Yomeishu Sour (JPY 540)
Yomeishu (herbal liqueur) is found on the counter.
I wondered what it was for, and it turns out they make it into a lemon sour.
Although Yomeishu is a type of herbal liqueur, when mixed with soda and added lemon acidity, it closely resembles the taste of Coke.
With a hint of sweetness, it reminds one of a Cuba Libre (Rum and Coke)...

------------------------------------------------
■Oden
The oden focuses on using natural katsuobushi dashi (fish stock).
The concept of enjoying the aroma of katsuobushi hasn’t wavered since the beginning, which is a commendable aspect.

Compared to typical oden, it’s lighter in flavor, but I feel it has gotten slightly richer in taste since my visit last year, making it appeal more to the general public.

◎ Japanese Radish (JPY 180)
The daikon radish, simmered for a long time in the oden pot, is the undisputed ace of the oden world.
It has been carefully trimmed, making it visually beautiful.
The owner wishes you to enjoy the fresh dashi rather than overly-softened ones…
Dressed with oboro kombu, it enhances the flavor while retaining a crunchy texture.
Enjoy the aroma of the dashi too.

◎ French Bread (JPY 250)
This was the most impressive oden this visit.
Since it collapses when cooked for too long, it is added to the oden pot only after the order is received.
Once it has absorbed the right amount of broth, it is transferred to a plate, sprinkled with black pepper, and drizzled with olive oil.

It’s soaked wonderfully with the broth—delicious!
It’s similar to carufugu oden, but even better at absorbing the dashi.
The finishing touch of black pepper and olive oil works harmoniously with the Japanese-style dashi, creating a bridge between Japanese and Western cuisines.
This is impressive—other shops might try to imitate it! (laugh)

◎ Whole Tomato (JPY 280)
Blanched and let swim in the oden dashi for about 20 minutes.
If you cook it with other ingredients, it will absorb their sourness, so the tomato is isolated in its own ceramic container.

When it softens nicely, it’s served fresh!
It might sound strange for oden to be fresh, but the sweet taste of the fruit-like tomato is impressive.
After that, the natural acidity spreads in your mouth.

◎ Chicken Tsukune (JPY 230), Sardine Tsukune (JPY 230)
Both are well-seasoned and pair perfectly with drinks.

◎ Tofu Hamburger (JPY 230)
Although it gives a healthy and light impression, it contains cartilage for a rich meat flavor.
With the aroma of the oden dashi, it becomes an irresistibly tasty dish.

◎ Sausage (JPY 300)
A pale pink fish sausage that I haven’t seen in a while.
Big and impressive! The skin is a bit hard, though.

◎ Wonton (JPY 300)
Served floating in the oden dashi, it’s slippery wonton.
As with the French bread, using black pepper is key!

------------------------------------------------
■[Summer Limited] Spicy Meat Miso Chilled Noodle Salad (JPY 650)
I was also tempted by the ramen made with oden dashi, but since it was too hot, I switched to chilled Chinese noodles.
The saltiness of the meat miso is a bit strong, but that makes me want to drink more, catering to my preference for drinking! (laugh)
------------------------------------------------
Despite being an oden shop, it has a cafe-like atmosphere, making it a perfect spot for women to relax alone.

It has been 4 years since I left Sendai, and I am grateful to have a place to return to.
Next time, I’d like to visit in the freezing season to enjoy hot oden and the warm ambiance.

[Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture]
May 13, 2016 (Friday)
A standing oden shop located in Aoba-ku Chuo.
A sister restaurant of the popular café "Du Couleur."

The location is just one block north of Chris Road, near the intersection with the famous tart shop "Kurfebon."

It's interesting to note that this place was formerly a parking lot management office that has been remodeled.
They expanded the exterior of the former management office to create additional space.

The main style is standing drinking, with a counter that accommodates 6 to 8 people around an oden pot.
There are also two tables for two on the entrance side. All seats are non-smoking.
The background music is jazz, and there’s a TV above the counter.

The place captures the trendy vibes of the times, making it a stylish standing bar favored by many female customers.

While oden is the main attraction, they also offer a surprisingly diverse range of dishes.
Their selection of drinks stands out, especially the Japanese sake, which features brands seldom seen even in Sendai, focusing on breweries from northeastern Japan.

Moreover, it's quite rare in Sendai to find pre-diluted shochu available.
It’s diluted with water from the previous day, enhancing its smoothness.
This technique is standard in Kyushu and specialized shochu shops, showing the owner’s commitment.

------------------------------------------------
■ Draft Beer (JPY 450)
The brand is Sapporo