Don Ciccio (ドンチッチョ)

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岩手短角牛のカルパッチョ。
Shorthorn beef carpaccio.
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仔牛トリッパと茄子とアーモンド煮”シチリア風”。
”シラクーサ風”赤ピーマンと茄子のカラマリ、トマトソース。
Sicilian-style beef tripe and aubergine with almond.
Calamari alla Siracusana. “Calamari” is ring-shaped pasta that looks like squid ring. Red bell pepper and aubergine in tomato sauce.
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白金豚ラグーとブロンテ産アーモンドのフジッリ。
”シチリア名物”イワシとウイキョウのカサレッチ。
Fusilli with Platinum pork ragu sauce and almond.
Casarecci with fennel and sardine. Traditional Sicilian dish.
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白魚のスパゲッティーニ。
岩手骨付白金豚の香草炭火焼き。
Spaghetti with Bianchetti(tiny white fish which are spawn of sardines or anchovies, not sure which).
Charcoal grilled Platinum bone-in pork with herb.
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大山地鶏と干しイチジクの”ウブリアカ”。
“Daisen” chicken and dried fig. Sweet sauce.
Right pic is my share of the 2 meat dishes.
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あさりと仔羊リドヴォーのリングイネ。
大山地鶏とカボチャのヴェスヴォオ、クリームソース。
All four of us didn’t feel quite enough….so after the main dishes we ordered some more pasta. The last two pasta were both 1.5 portion, while the ones before were all single portion.
Linguine with vongole(clam) and “ris de veau”(Lamb sweetbreads).
Vesuvio(pasta that looks like Mount Vesuvius? Just guessing…) with “Daisen” chicken and pumpkin in cream sauce.
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Zuppa Inglese. Semifreddo.
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Strawberry tiramisu. Gateau chocolat.

A famous Italian restaurant that closed down last year and re-opened with a new name. Many loyal fans apparently, one of them being my friend who tried the new place and said it was just as good as the old one. Already an impossible-to-book restaurant and you can only book two weeks in advance. Location is a bit inconvenient – quite far from both Shibuya and Omotesando station.

The food is great. All the pasta are very simple. Light and simple sauce with not much ingredients, but perfect al dente. Actually at first I thought the pasta were a little unimpressive (I love fancy sauces and fancy ingredients…) but the amazing thing was that I craved the simple, comforting taste immediately again. The pasta are not homemade though. The main dishes are pretty normal, especially the staff-recommended pork. Chicken in fig sauce is nicer.

4 of us went crazy and ordered so much food, plus 2 bottles of wine and mineral water and coffee, total was about 11000yen per person.

Atmosphere was very lively and energetic. Warm decor. A little crowded perhaps. It was full when we arrived, and when we finished around 11pm, there were still customers coming in! Appetizers and pastas came fast after we ordered, but the main dishes could be a bit slow in delivery. Despite of the negative comments I have read, the service is quite good. I am not saying this because all the staff are young and good-looking guys(which is quite a sight really ^^;;), but they know the menu well and are patient to explain to us. Also willing to split each and every one of the dishes for us. Though they didn’t do the job so well…..the portion wasn’t quite even and the ingredients were simply absent in some plates….often mine for some reason. ^^;; But definitely will go back!

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Don Ciccio

Ristorante IL NIDO (イル・ニード@下北沢)

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Vegetables in marinade and sardine with olives on top. Quite a solid plate for a palate teaser. The foccacia is a little dry but alright.
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青りんごで包んだ フォアグラのテリーヌ。
コルドネッティ 魚介のジェノヴェーゼソース。
Antipasto: Terrine of foie gras wrapped in green apple. Apple is sweet and foie gras is salty, my favourite combination! Though the foie gras is slightly soaked, probably because of the apple? A piece of smoked duck on the side which is quite dry.
Primo: Cordonetti with seafood genovese. The pasta has the chewy and elastic texture of Japanese yakisoba! ^^;;; Genovese is not the usual basil paste, but chopped fresh basil mixed with olive oil. Despite the unexpected taste and look, I like this dish!
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山形牛のソテー。
口直し:ローズマリー、タイム、アニスのシャーベット。
Secondo: Yamagata beef saute. The sauce is just Balsamico and olive oil I think. The vegetables are great. The beef is fatless and not too soft, need a lot of chewing but it is not bad. My friend’s fish is nicer.
Sorbet of rosemary, thyme and anise. Very refreshing.
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ババとキャラメルセミフレッド。
Baba with caramel Semi Freddo. It is very good! Not too sweet, the sponge is soaked with rum, the ice-cream is smooth. My friend’s simple Panna Cotta is absolutely delicious too. I am very impressed by the desserts here, as I always think desserts are boring in Italian restaurants. ^^;; Comes with espresso and little sweets, which are both nice. Lunch course is 3500yen. Glass wine is 900yen. Service charge is 600yen per table. Overall it was quite a satisfactory lunch, slightly salty was the general impression. In fact we both felt quite thirsty afterwards, but the level of saltiness was acceptable for me. This restaurant has only 4 tables and a capacity of 12 people at the most – a very small place even for Tokyo. About 10 minutes walk from the nearest Shimokitazawa station if you don’t get lost, which we did. ^^;; There is no cheaper lunch course than the one we ordered, probably part of the reason why we were the only customers during the entire lunch time even though it was a Saturday and the area near the station was crowded with people.
IL NIDO

Casa Vinitalia (カーザ・ヴィニタリア)

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5500yen course.
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菜園風 季節野菜のカーザ・ヴィニタリア風スタイル。ソースはヴァーニャカウダとゴルゴンゾーラ2種類。
Bagna Cauda and Gorgonzola sauce.
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処女牛とフォアグラのテリーヌ。
タラバ蟹、毛蟹、ワタリ蟹のリゾピラフ。
Beef and foie gras terrine. Risotto pilaf with three types of crab meat.
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お魚料理: クエ、わかめとこんぶの包み蒸し。
Steamed “Kue” wrapped in wakame and Konbu. Served with seafood sauce.
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焼きセロリ。アーリオ・オーリオ・ペペロンチーノ。量は30g、60g、100gの中から選べる。
Grilled celery(looks like an onion!). Aglio Olio e Peperoncino – can choose from 30g, 60g and 100g. I had 100g!
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イチジクのオーブン焼き。 巨峰とジェラート。
Oven-grilled fig. Kyoho grape and ice-cream.
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051105 058.jpgパンナコッタ。プラリネのセミフレッド 温かいチョコラータソース添え。
Panna Cotta. Praline semifreddo in warm chocolate sauce.

Very good Italian restaurants. Difficult to book.
Casa Vinitalia