Do you remember the first time you had carbonara? I remember. I was 18 years old.
Until then, I thought that spaghetti Napolitan and meat sauce were spaghetti. When I was in high school next to the prefectural pigpen, if you went to the city, you went to "Maeeki". Nagoya Station was the limit. Maeeki is the city that country folk are allowed to go to. It's the city where you can get away with wearing clothes your mother bought at Jusco. And at that time, the only spaghetti at Maeeki was Neapolitan or meat sauce (though I'm not sure).
However, once I entered university, even someone from next door to a pigsty was allowed to step into the truly prosperous area of Sakae (or so I thought). I finally began to see options other than Neapolitan pasta and meat sauce.
So, my best source of information was the Pia Map Gourmet Bunko Edition, which I bought at the university co-op. All the restaurants listed there were stylish and cool, and the average price was set for places you could go on a date (or so I believed for some reason). During a lecture at university, I would sit in the back and carefully check the photos, menus, and reporters' comments, and stick about 20 post-it notes that I would put in my textbook on the Pia Map Gourmet Bunko Edition. Then I would set my sights on one of the restaurants.
And that's how I discovered carbonara at the Italian restaurant we went to on our memorable first date in Sakae.
By the way, don't you think that the name of the dish "carbonara" has an indescribable ring to it? I'm sure people from other regions wouldn't understand this, but I think that carbonara is similar to the accent unique to Nagoya dialect. That's why I think it's a word that feels particularly comfortable to people in this region.
For example, "Tabeto Oite ga Shitai yo" (You'd better eat it) becomes "Tabetokitekya-te" in Nagoya dialect. This is exactly the same as "Carbonara," with the accent structure of the second-to-last word being emphasized .
Let's eat carbonara. How familiar it is.
And when I actually tried it, it was amazing! It had such a smooth and rich flavor. I've never eaten anything like it. It was a hit.
I was instantly hooked. I later found out that the taste was not the real thing, but was made with fresh cream to suit Japanese tastes, but I actually preferred it that way. It was smooth and rich, perfect for a Japanese person from the countryside. About 10 years later, I tried it made with the real recipe, and I think the one with fresh cream is the winner.
For me, carbonara is the taste of youth.
Now that I'm well past my youth and into middle age, carbonara has become a hot topic for me again.
Because I decided to make carbonara on the takeout menu of Bokumo . To make this prototype, I tasted carbonara many times. In addition to the nostalgia, I also wanted to think about what kind of wine would be fun to pair with it, and now my carbonara fever has been rekindled.
Actually, when Bokumo first opened, carbonara wasn't on the menu. But one day, a friend requested carbonara, and the chef said, "That's great," and made it. My friend liked it so much that he advised me, "You should definitely put it on the regular menu," and it's been on the menu ever since. Now it's the proud No. 4. Thankfully, we have a lot of repeat customers. The chef's skills are amazing. I can't remember why it wasn't on the regular menu when we first opened, but now I think I was pretty stupid. I should have done it from the beginning. I want to pour whipped cream over my head at that time.
So, what I'm trying to say is that Bokumo's number four dish, Carbonara, is now available for takeaway starting today, June 29th .
I think there are still many people who want to go to restaurants but can't. If you are one of those people, please enjoy the chef's taste at home. Of course, it uses a generous amount of fresh cream, so it's rich. It's delicious.
This time I made a "Penne Carbonara Takeaway Set" . It contains "fresh penne" + "carbonara sauce" + "black pepper" + "powdered cheese". Due to issues with the boiling time, I ended up using fresh penne instead of spaghetti. The chewy texture of fresh noodles is very good, and I think this is better as a snack.
It takes some time to boil the water, but once you've done that, the rest is easy. Boil the fresh penne in boiling water for 4 minutes (no salt required), heat the carbonara sauce in the microwave while it's boiling, transfer the sauce to a plate or bowl, and mix with the boiled fresh penne, black pepper, and grated cheese.
The price is 800 yen (tax included) per meal. It may be sold out depending on the day, so if you make a reservation, we can definitely give it to you. The expiration date is the day after purchase.
The standard wine to pair with this dish is a strong white. A Chardonnay with a hint of oak, a full-bodied Pinot Gris, or a dry rosé would also be good. To balance the richness of the cheese and cream, a red wine would also be good. A Bordeaux blend with a moderate astringency would be quite good.
Today, I'm going to buy one too and relive my youth after work. If I could, I'd like to tell my younger self, "I'm going to start serving that amazing carbonara for takeout at my own restaurant 26 years from now." I'm sure my eyes would pop out.
Incidentally, the friend who suggested that carbonara be a regular dish was DJ Kentaro Ochiai , who is active on Osaka FM802 and other stations.
Thank you, Ochiken. That Carbo is finally available for takeout. I'll have to eat it again when I get back to Nagoya.
→ For reservations, please contact Bokumo
