Kesen Cuisine – Part 2

Once again, I’m going to take the opportunity to showcase a few of the many restaurants in the Kesen area that have made an impression both with the locals and with visitors. While the region has many fine eating establishments, these are among a group that really stand out.

※　Full disclosure: none of the restaurants highlighted in this article were aware that I would be reviewing them for this blog. Additionally, I paid for all the food I’ve enjoyed at these estaurants and have received no incentives or compensation for writing about these businesses.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Porco Rosso

Our first restaurant today is a local favorite, Italian trattoria Porco Rosso. For more than 30 years, trained in Italy, chef and owner Jun Yamazaki has been offering authentic Italian cuisine to the many locals who frequent his establishment. However, many others travel a fair distance beyond Kesen’s borders to sample his seasonal menus. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced; from pork and chicken from Sumita, to fresh oysters, scallops and other seafood from Rikuzentakata and Ofunato. The menu choices change with what is in season and offer a range of set course meals, including a selection of amuse-bouche appetizers, mouth-watering pasta courses and succulent meat and fish choices.

　 A selection of bite- 　　　 Rich and hearty uni (sea 　　　Umami-rich, wild

　 sized appetizers 　　　　urchin) cream pasta 　　　　mushroom pasta

Porco Rosso is located beside the Sun-Lia Shopping Center, and a 200 meter walk north from JR Sakari Station.

Business hours: Open for lunch from 11:30 to 3:00pm, dinner from 6:00 to 11pm

Closed on Tuesdays

Course meals : per person, from 1,500 yen ～

10-1 Sakari-cho, Ofunato, Iwate 022-0003

Reservations: (0192) 26-0801

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Shikairo

The second featured restaurant is another local favorite, Shikairo, serving Japanese-style, Chinese food that focuses on ramen. Owner Masahiro Nagata has been running this family business for many years, using a fusion of Sichuan and Cantonese styles to create a menu full of rich and flavorful choices. In particular, the restaurant’s yaki-gyoza are highly prized by regular customers who frequent this establishment. Mr. Nagata’s shop is also a story of resilience. During the March 11, 2011 earthquake, he was taking a walk on the beach after the lunch service with his son. They hurriedly returned to the restaurant to find everything in disarray, but quickly realized that a tsunami would be on the way and evacuated to higher ground. In the aftermath of the disaster, they decided to rebuild to give hope to the townspeople and other businesses that had suffered. And its clear from the steady lineup of daily customers and well wishes and messages from fans far and wide, including local star pro-baseball pitcher, Rōki Sasaki that this is indeed a special place to have a meal.