Sendai is northeast of Tokyo, on Honshu Island. A one hour flight from Sapporo, our 1st stop.
Gyutan - Beef Tongue
Sendai’s most famous dish is Gyutan. Over one hundred restaurants in the area proudly serves this regional favorite.
Of course, our first bite of Sendai MUST be beef tongue, one of my personal favorites. Of course, seems that every single restaurant dedicated to this specialty was overflowing with long queues on a Saturday night.
We bounced around from venue to venue, finally came upon a very local grill off the main drag. Descended into the underground eatery, and more than a bit relieved that the kind proprietress was able to squeeze us in without a reservation.
A prime booth off the bar, where we can watch the Grill Master and staff work their magic. No Engrish menu available, took a bit of time to Google Translate and practice our sign language with our patient server.
Otoshi (table charge) of some mighty delicious tender Braised Beef Tongue to start. A chilled Sake and a Hi-Ball, we’re rolling!!
TOMATO SALAD was supposed to be a thing, so we had to order one. A refreshing palate cleanser and some appreciated roughage, a bit of agar-agar, crisp sweet onion and 3 dressings.
BEEF TONGUE STEW @ bubbling dish of tongue and vegetables in a rich beefy gravy.
GRILLED GYUTAN SET Thinly sliced beef tongue grilled over Binchotan Charcoal, some chopped pickled vegetables to balance. We both agreed this was the most tender tongue we’ve had so far in Japan.
A wonderful clean clear Scallion Tongue Broth
Mugi Gohan White Rice and Barley.
The rice was delicious and a perfect complement to the meal. We noticed just about every other table ordering extra bowls, so we happily followed their lead (and scarfed) 2 more bowls.
The 1st and certainly won’t be the last Gyutan meal of this Sendai stay.
