Feasting in Kanazawa.

Last time my traveling companions visited Kanazawa, they went to a place called Plat Home, where the proprietor chatted with them about the states and stuffed them full of amazing food.

So we set out to repeat that experience, only to find out (around 18:00) that they wouldn't have a table for us until around 20:30.

But the proprietor was delighted to see us and encouraged us to go a couple blocks down the street to a bar called "Bambi" and have drinks there, then come back.

So we did.

Since Bambi was situated at the edge of Omicho market, we had seen their signage earlier and were curious, so we trundled a couple blocks down the street and climbed the stairs to the bar just as they opened.

It turned out they had a really lovely bar, and an excellent bartender with a penchant for shaken drinks and a gift for great ice work.

The bar was pretty.  The entire bar was a single piece of tree, which was beautiful, and the silhouette of the cartoon character behind the bar added just the right touch of whimsy.

The Tom Collins I ordered came with a single rectangular column of ice in it, which was brilliant, and the cocktail was delicious, since the bartender used Yuzu liqueur and soda in place of the sour mix.

 

Even though we had dinner plans, they were house away, so of course we got some food at Bambi too.  Thess were their cool "egg and pork pinchos".  We also got sent some of their homemade chocolate fudge.  Just because.

Overall, A+, would pregame one food bar in another food bar again.

 So then we headed off to Plat Home, and oh wow, was it worth the wait.

I started with Tamayo, which was listed as "Blood orange beer" on the menu.  As far as we could tell, it was a Lambic, and damn, was it delicious.  Tart and sweet in just the right measure, and beautifully orange.

and the food!  Oh goodness.
Here's their "duck sliced with mustard" which turned out to be mustard greens.  It was absolutely perfectly cooked and the mustard greens were so, so good.
 

This was their Gyoza, which was served under a bed of wildflowers.

After the beer was gone we switched to Sake.

One of the sake cups they brought us was a piece of Kintsugi art!

A friend had introduced me to the concept of Kintsugi (Golden Joinery) a few years ago, and it became more widely known in the US after Death Cab For Cutie released an album by that name around the same time.

The philosophy behind Kintsugi (that broken things can be made beautiful in their repaired state by fixing them in a way that acknowledges their history as broken objects) has always struck me as nourishing and healthy, and it was delightful to see such a piece on display here. 

 The Sake that we drank from it was damn good, too.

 Another dish we loved: that's grilled Lotus root, covered in shredded cheddar cheese and black pepper.  It was a really surprising set of flavors and textures and we all thought it was excellent.  It was gone in moments and we almost ordered a second round of the stuff.

We finished off dinner with "Catalan Creme"--a dish I had never had before, which perfectly finished off the meal, cold and crisp and just the right amount of rich without being too rich, and sweet without being too sweet.

After dinner, a tradition that I had noticed in smaller restaurants where my traveling companions made an impression played out.  It's an old one that still happens sometimes in American restaurants, but isn't super common there--the proprietor came by to chat.

This particular case was especially refreshing, since my companions spoke some Japanese and he wanted to practice his English (which was quite good) as well, so I got to follow along through hearing his half of the conversation and picking up a few words along the way.  After last year's visit they had started following his social media posts about the food he's making/studying, and so we talked for a time about cuisine and the choices on his men.

He struck me as a very smart man with a clear penchant for running a world class restaurant, and I would tell anyone headed for Kanazawa that they should absolutely move heaven and earth to make sure they get a chance to see what he's doing there.

We careened home happy, tipsy and stuffed to the gills with good food.

In both company and cuisine, I don't know that I could have asked for a better evening.