みちのく定食 [日本料理]

Initially I had wanted to eat at a restaurant with an impressive offering of 定食, but it was full and it wasn't even lunch yet, so I decided to visit 五大堂 first.

And then I changed my mind about visiting 五大堂 before lunch because I saw this restaurant across the road which had quite an impressive display of plastic food models outside their shop, and decided to try my luck if I could get seats.

I was quite lucky.  Not long after I was seated and placed my order, 1 large group of older female local tourists and another group of noisy older male local tourists started assembling outside but all the tables were occupied.

I was a little surprised by how new the furniture in the restaurant was.  It had the feel of being around for a really long time (indeed, it started serving domestic tourists who were visiting 瑞巌寺 during the Edo period).  I knew that 松島海岸 was affected by the 東北地方太平洋沖地震 in 2011, and had hoped that the islands in the Bay had somehow reduced the impact of the waves.  I wasn't sure about the level of impact on 松島海岸, but most of the buildings I saw looked like they were less than a decade old.  Perhaps quite a bit of rebuilding had taken place.

Lunch was a みちのく定食, which comprises the sendai speciality grilled beef tongue and 松島海岸 oyster (my came deep fried).  There was rice, miso soup, pickles and a dish of mushrooms.

The way the beef tongue is prepared and grilled here is quite different from how those chain restaurants specializing in gyutan do it in Tokyo.  The flavour here is stronger, and I wonder if the flavour is toned down a lot more in Tokyo.

The oysters here are also plumper than those I ate elsewhere, even when they are deep fried, they are still juicy, which bears testament to the quality of the oysters or the skill of the cooks here.

This was a good lunch, and I am quite happy to have had the opportunity to eat at what could be a popular establishment that has been around since the Edo period.