Vol. 2 The Best Part of Summer, the Ultimate Meat Dishes that I Don’t Want to Tell Others

Guide and text: Yuji Miyashita　　Photograph: Yuji Ishii

“Creator Deity created fire and ordered the first man to skewer and grill a lump of meat. However, the man was ignorant and grilled in a way that one side became completely charcoal while the other side was still raw.” Claude Lévi-Strauss, a great French folklorist and an outstanding mythology hunter, introduced one of the myths of the Wyandotte tribe, native Americans in North America, after writing “It is to assume that the rustic technique appeared first” in his great book of The Origin of Table Manners: Mythologiques, Volume Three. By the way, the meat in this case was bison.

Be that as it may, the paradox of grilling on a skewer in this mythical world is truly thought provoking. The memory of the primordial food of humans has sublimated to this day without a paradigm shift. In the meat dishes that have unlimited varieties, what brings about the most luxurious sensuality is a savory cooked lump of meat to chew on and savor by brilliantly cutting it with a sharp knife.

Eating meat in this manner to experience the fundamental origin of the appetite comfortably appeals to all of the five senses, and the resonating aftertaste becomes a premonition of happiness and satisfies the sixth sense. Of course, the preference for eating meat is obvious among men in terms of ethnology and because women use earthenware, they are said to tend to be slightly cultural and prefer boiled meat. However, if I step into the diversity of preference, it will become endless; therefore, I shall refrain from doing so. In any case, I will go eat an extraordinarily sensual lump of meat that is the domestic species of the Japanese black Wagyu and not bison though.

The basement of a relatively small building facing Yaesu-dori Avenue. A steakhouse representing Tokyo is located here. A teeny-tiny signboard on which “Seiyo Ryori Shima” is written with a single flower in a vase placed on the side lures me into the basement. Those who have visited here even only once will start feeling exited just by standing in front of the signboard. The words of seiyo ryori (Western cuisine) have a nuance that are somewhat nostalgic yet stylish and vividly become lively and resonate all at once. Shima is such a place.

Mr. Manabu Oshima is an owner and a chef who has an indescribable charm in that he is somewhat like a chef in a wonderland and soothes people’s hearts. Also, I sometimes think that he is like a mother who is exquisitely good at cooking. He is one of the splendid pioneers of authentic French cuisine in Japan. He joined Kyoto Miyako Hotel, a leading hotel in his hometown, in 1964 or the year of the Tokyo Olympic Games. For 50-odd years since then, he has never had an absence, except when the restaurant was closed. Mr. Oshima said, “It’s advantageous that I only have this (cooking),” in a cheerful mood.

He trained for eight years and went to Europe. The Cannaught in London, which is a hotel representing the UK, was the first place he worked. At that time, the master chef and all of the main staff members were French. In a kitchen filled with French where he did not even understand one word, he tensed up and worked hard for three years. He thought that if he made one mistake, he would be finished. He became a French chef who would be good anywhere. He continued to train himself mainly in France for another five years.

Shima’s main dishes are absolutely the two kinds of steak, which are loin and tenderloin (fillet); however, other dishes ranging from appetizers to soups, salads, and desserts are meticulously prepared. With the assurance of his techniques centered on French cuisine and the reflection of his versatility, whatever I eat, I feel the dynamism welling up from the bottom of the dishes. A summer appetizer and oxtail dish cooked in red wine and served cold that I enjoyed the other day were typical dishes. Regarding appetizers, it would be better to check their recommendations on the day.

The cut side of a loin steak served by Shima, where the meat is thoroughly dressed (30%, sometimes 50% at the most), is close to square, and the appearance of its thick and chunky shape and a fillet steak are almost indistinguishable. Whether fillet or loin, thickly arranged meat worthy of being called a lump of meat is then skewered and roasted in the custom-ordered roaster, which concurrently uses far-infrared rays using electricity for broiling and a charcoal fire for grilling while being rotated.

Whether loin or fillet, Shima’s steak is somewhat different from the flavor of general Japanese black Wagyu where the sweetness of the fat and the tenderness of the meat are strong points. First, when you cut it with a sharp knife, a certain feeling will bring sensuality to the hand. When you put it into your mouth, the savory flavor of the mixed umami flavors of the fat and meat juice in naturally chewing the hard texture will spread in your mouth. You will have a feeling of refreshment that has something in common with gibier (French for game meat). This is more obvious if you eat the fillet where the umami from the amino acid is clearly distinctive.

A man who heroically enjoyed a lump of meat and whose primordial memory was invoked came to the surface and might howl in the night in Nihonbashi if it were the day of a full moon. And with the behavior of taking it all in, the man thinks, “I will work hard and come back.”

Restaurant Sakaki is located in Kyobashi and has two faces: during the day, it is a so-called Western food restaurant in Japan, and at night it becomes a restaurant that serves authentic French cuisine, and both serve first-rate cuisine. It is a rare restaurant full of charm. Mr. Daisuke Sakakibara is the fourth generation owner and the chef. Until the third-generation owner, a chef was hired, and the restaurant was managed. Daisuke, who had seen his parents distressing over problems surrounding the chef since he was a child, thought to take over the family business as a chef. When he became a young man, he was determined that if he ever became a chef, he would become a first-class French chef.

After graduating from Ecole Hôtelière Tsuji, which is the Tsuji Culinary Institute’s school in France, he visited a wide variety of French restaurants in Tokyo and ate their respective dishes. He then bowed and joined Kitajimatei in Yotsuya, which was the restaurant that most impressed him among such restaurants, to train. Mr. Motoyuki Kitajima, who is the owner and chef and who vigorously pushes forward on the royal road of traditional French cuisine, is one of the French chefs representing the world of French cuisine. Training under Chef Kitajima, who is passionate, intense, and full of fighting spirit, was tough. He trained in this restaurant for five years. I do not know any other person who worked at this restaurant for five years. He then moved to France and trained in other restaurants for two years, and the two years in France for Mr. Daisuke were like a journey to reacknowledge how great his master was.

In 2002, he took over the fourth generation of Sakaki as an owner and a chef. In the beginning, he hoped to concurrently serve Western cuisine and French cuisine during the day and at night, but eventually, today’s style of clearly dividing lunch and dinner was established. Regarding the development of lunch, he kept almost all of the lineup of Western cuisine that had continued for three generations at Sakaki and updated the state of all dishes through his eyes.

For example, hamburg steak. He changed the meat, reduced the binder, and thickly, tightly, and rigidly shaped the hamburg steak. He offers the opposite of the typical soft and tender flattened hamburg steak. Firmly hold down the hamburger steak with a fork, cut it with a knife, chew it, and enjoy. It is the hamburg steak that represents the dynamism of eating a lump of meat. The valuable hamburg steak was born.

For ginger pork, a brand of pork from Chiba Prefecture that Mr. Daisuke found will be used. The fatty part of the ribs, which is the right side of the loin, will be thickly sliced and cooked. This is the dish that was born for the first time after buying the whole loin. For ginger pork, a lump of meat, having an overwhelming presence will be accompanied by a sharp knife manufactured by Laguiole, which is a fine product of France. I have never eaten ginger pork with this knife, but the meaning makes sense immediately. The brilliance of the flavor that spreads over the meat dish gives a daring look.

In Sakaki’s lunch, extraordinariness is in the ordinary dishes. Festive everyday life. This is a bit tasteful.

At night, the restaurant will be completely changed by reducing the seats by half and covering the tables with tablecloths, and the place will be devoted to French cuisine. Above all, Mr. Daisuke’s mode will change. Such as roasted pork, which will be prepared by roasting a lump of meat worth two servings in a cocotte, grilled lamb, and Japanese black Wagyu cheek meat cooked in honey and red wine. Just like an apprentice of Chef Kitajima, they have plenty of authentic meat dishes. All of them are delicious. They have the style of meat dishes of French cuisine.

The ambivalent charms of the development of Sakaki during the day and at night will become clearer if you visit there during the day and at night. It can be said to be seemingly an easy-to-understand development; however, mysterious profoundness lies there. I think Mr. Daisuke imposed a challenging theme on himself. The true potential of Sakaki will be further shown with the changing times. I look forward to it.

Profile of the guide: Yuji Miyashita
Born in Tokyo in 1955. A food writer. After working as an advertising copywriter, he became a staff member of the French restaurant guide, Gourmand. Currently, he has been actively writing articles mainly under the theme of people in the food scene for many media, such as the monthly dancyu. He has been on the front line with his knowledge of delicious food, his masterly abilities to structure articles and his writing ability, and his insight into completely depicting the truth of top-notch chefs. His major books include Soba Dokuhon (a reading book about soba noodles), Shin Soba Dokuhon (a new reading book about soba noodles) (Heibonsha), Shokunin de Erabu 45-sai karano Restaurants (restaurants to choose based on chefs for those who are aged 45 or older), Zoku Shokunin de Erabu 45-sai karano Restaurants (part 2: restaurants to choose based on the chefs for those who are aged 45 or older) (Bungeishunju), and Soba Meijin (soba noodle masters) (President), and other books.

Seiyo Ryori Shima

Address

B1F of Nihonbashi MM Building, 3-5-12 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku

Tel

+81 (0)3-3271-7889

Business hours

12 to 1 p.m. (LO)　 6 to 9 p.m. (LO)

Regular holidays

Sundays