We Were Treated to a Fabulous Dinner by Hiroshi Hashimoto and Son
The Tokyo dinner we enjoyed as a guest of Hiroshi Hashimoto and his son, Tetsuji, was a delightful experience. At the unpretentious ground-floor entrance of Tsukiji Tamara, a mature, kimono-clad woman greeted Hiroshi with the warmth of friendship. That moment marked the beginning of a cultural and culinary experience that was elegant in the extreme.
We were accompanied in a private elevator as we ascended several stories to where our meal was to be served. Obviously expected, we were immediately directed toward a dining room that had sitting mats and place settings for each of our party.
At the door, we were invited to trade our shoes for sandals. In preparation for our oversized western feet, they'd brought out the largest sandals they had. Although I could just squeeze my size 11 feet into them, we all had a laugh at Mark Schwarze's size 15 'gunboats' trying to shoehorn into the relatively dainty Japanese traditional footwear. On him, they looked much more like something that would be called 'toe slippers.'
The dining table, which was located in the middle of the room and positioned over a recess in the floor where our legs would fit, was lovely. Each of our respective six place settings featured an individually hand-painted placemat, and all the scenes, though Japanese in their motifs, were different. The placemats were not actually used during the meal, but saved and taken home as a souvenir of our evening. If there was another dining room, or more people being served, I didn't ever see or hear a hint of them.
As soon as we were seated, another waitress in traditional dress came in to request our drink choices. We all settled on one of the excellent Japanese beers, Asahi, and glasses were soon poured full all around. As we launched into toasts back and forth, I quickly learned that as soon as I took even a sip, the glass would be refilled immediately by the smiling waitress at my side. There were three of them in attendance for much of the meal, each doing everything she could to be helpful for us. There was no way to be left wanting, even for an instant.
Our menus were also individually hand-painted and, again, each one unique. I initially thought the inside contained the standard menu items from which to choose, since it offered a double page of items with dishes numbered from one to thirteen. However, when our individual appetizer trays arrived, I noticed that only the food listed as item number one was on the tray in front of me. That's when I realized that the menu was actually a listing of all the dishes we would be eating. We wouldn't be eating just an item or two from the menu, we'd be eating everything listed!
As you can see from the close-up of some of the treats on the appetizer tray, the presentation was world class. My initial difficulty was in choosing something to try, since the arrangement looked so beautiful that I hesitated ruining the visual presentation by actually eating something. Notice the detail, for example, of the tiny red circle on the white piece of cauliflower. It's an infinitesimally thin slice of what I was told is a type of onion. The flavors were equally breathtaking, and each item showed the obvious care with which the food had been prepared.
At one point, a small cup of chilled sake was included with one of the dish courses, and it went so well with the food that several of us requested more. Time became meaningless as course after unique course of succulent food dishes arrived, each as delightful as the last. We hadn't hit the halfway mark before conversation turned to a disbelief that we'd ever be able to continue eating throughout the entire meal. However, each dish somehow prepared us for eating the next, and no one ended up quitting early. There was no way one could resist trying the next magnificent flavor.
The chef, we were told, is famous in Japan, and introduces new recipes from time to time on Japanese television. I wasn't surprised in the least. After about 3 hours of eating and pleasant conversation -- which I don't believe even once turned to the topic of sweeping -- we were finally finished. With the continued graciousness they'd shown us throughout the evening, two members of our wait-staff escorted us back down the elevator, and one even walked us to Hiroshima's car! All in all, it was a restaurant experience unlike any one is likely to encounter in the States.
On the way back to the hotel, Hiroshi drove us through the Ginza area to see the sights including an intensity of billboard lighting that rivals those in Las Vegas. Although definitely crowded on this Saturday night, we were told it would be equally packed the next day, so much so that several of the streets would be blocked off to traffic. I decided I'd come back then, and use the rest of the evening to sort photos and get enough rest to shake the jet-lag weariness that still enveloped my body.
When I finally collapsed in bed, my thoughts turned to what I'd see tomorrow when I visited the Ginza, one of the world's most exotic areas. If there were even more people there tomorrow than the crush I'd seen tonight, I couldn't help wondering how they swept it.
