A few days ago, I came home to find a picture of Sakura’s parents in the newspaper. Her father is a well-known doctor who, once retired, started a radio call in show in Kyoto to help senior citizens with medical problems. Apparently, he was asked by the newspaper to recommend his favorite restaurant in Kyoto, and that recommendation was printed along with his picture in the newspaper.
Today was Sakura’s birthday, so we decided to pay a visit to that restaurant. What we found was a tiny four-seat counter space in an old Kyoto house run by the owner and his wife. Shimada specializes in carefully prepared steak in a style similar to Kobe beef, but the meat actually comes from Omi, in Shiga Prefecture. While the Master tenderly sauteed our vegetables and meat on the flat-top grill in front of us he told us stories from his days as a big time chef in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills and a fabulous secret restaurant owner in Kyoto - how he served Liza Minelli and didn’t realize it was her, how big name politicians would drop by for lunch, how random foreigners show up at his door, and how television and newspaper publicity ruins his chance to get an afternoon nap.
As for the food, it was delicious. Unlike quite a bit of Kyoto foods with only light seasoning, he added a heavy helping of salt and pepper to bring out the flavor of the tender beef. In particular, he supplied Rose Salt as a dipping condiment, which I find to perfectly complement the juicy morsels. I can still taste them melting in my mouth.
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