Best New Pizza Topping: Chili! @ Indy's Pizza in Chikura

My mouth is watering and my stomach is growling as I write this post.

The other day my coworkers and I finally got out to Indy's Pizza in Chikura for lunch.  I say "finally" because for about 3 months we tried to plan a lunch out their, but either our schedules or their schedule (their days off can vary from month to month) didn't match up and we had to go with "plan B".

But finally, after a long wait, Sugar, Nyanko-Sensei, our friend Y-san and I got out to Indy's Pizza for some freshly made, hand-tossed, brick oven pizza from Indy's.

Here's the outside of the stop.  It's pretty easy to drive right by it if you're coming to Tateyama, so keep your eyes peeled!

I am in love with the inside of this place.  There's plenty of bright, natural sunlight, and it feels like eating in a friend's bike garage or something.  The feeling is casual, and the interior is interesting enough that if you go alone you could entertain yourself by literally staring at the walls.

Plus, the place is spotless.

There are only 4 or 5 tables and a counter inside.  You can always order pizza for takeout, though!

They built that oven by hand so they could make the wonderfully crispy, chewy pizza crusts I have grown to know and love.

Make sure you're not trying to eat in a hurry; all of their pizzas are made to order so it takes a few minutes for your food to be ready.

First up: the homemade bacon and seasonal veggie pizza. It's amazingly fresh and light tasting - the "bacon" is more of a smoked pork.  

I could eat this entire pizza without feeling the greasy bloat I get from 2 slices of Pizza Hut in the States.

Next up: a sausage and mushroom pizza.  This was very different from my image of sausage and mushroom pizza - I always think of spicy, crumbly pork sausage and sliced white button mushrooms. This pizza had the meatier, pink sausages that are better known in Japan, as well as enoki, eringi, and maitake mushrooms.  While I would've liked a little more spice from the sausage, I loved the flavor coming from the mushrooms (which I used to hate only 3 years ago).  Plus, this pizza sticks to the fresh & light theme of pretty much everything they serve.

They saved the best for last.

I have to admit, I was skeptical about this "chili beans pizza".  I mean...beans on pizza? Really?  Luckily Y-san ordered it, because it may just be the best-tasting non-traditional pizza I'VE EVER HAD.

The chili's light spice matches really well with the flavor of the cheese. It almost tasted like there was sour cream in this pizza - there was a tangy, creamy taste to it.  Plus, the texture of the meat and the beans works oddly well with the chewy, wood-fired crust.  Next time I go, I am just going to order this, stuff the entire pizza in my face, and then see if I have room for anything else.

It was so sad to leave this bastion of pizza goodness!

 When I left that day I said, "Mark my words: I'll be back." I mean it.  Actually, if I had time, I'd go there every week.  The pizza is fresh, handmade, delicious, and won't make you dieters ball up into the fetal position and cry out of remorse.

Plus, it's less than a 5 minute walk from JR Chikura station, and only a few minutes from the beach. You really have no excuse to miss this place.   Maybe I'll go again this weekend...

Liz

Super Sized Vegetable Ramen at Yamaki in Tomiura

There is a really popular ramen shop near the 7-11 in Tomiura called "Ramen Yamaki".  This place always has a line after 12:00 noon, so my coworkers Nyanko-Sensei, Sugar, and I dashed out the door and got there a little early so I could try their famed vegetable ramen.

From the outside....

... on the inside. The shop isn't very big, but there is another room with a few tables around the corner to the right.

My coworkers order chashu (char siu, roasted pork) as an appetizer. The pork was thick and meaty and the sauce was just a little spicy.  The crisp strings of onion matched well with the slightly oily meat.

We also had gyoza.  They were nice and crisp on the bottom and soft on the tops.  I recall the gyoza being fairly good, but I only ate one because I wanted to save space in my stomach for what was to come...

This is my order - the yasai ramen, or vegetable ramen.  Even though the veggies are piled up over the bowl, this is the normal sized portion.  It's always like this.

The stir fried vegetable mix mainly consists of cabbage and bean sprouts, but also contains onion, carrot, those black Chinese mushrooms, Chinese chives, and pork. The veggies were very lightly seasoned, but nice and crisp.

You can also chose the soup base for your ramen.  I chose the soy sauce based soup since I figured it would be lighter than a miso base.  Since we only have 1 hour for lunch, I decided to start right away.

I think I spent a good 3 of those minutes trying to find the noodles under all of these vegetables. I recommend ordering your noodles a bit undercooked (katame) because they're going to soften up in the broth.

Sugar got the miso ramen. I've had it before - good and filling.  I couldn't finish my miso ramen last time, so what on earth was I thinking when I ordered the vegetable ramen?!?

Nyanko-Sensei loves spicy foods, so he got the tantan-men.  As red as this is, believe it or not, Nyanko-Sensei still added spice to this.  It's probably plenty hot for most people, though. 

After 30 or so minutes of my best effort, this was all I could do. I was just starting to really get into the noodles.  It was pretty darned good, too - not too salty, not fishy, and not oily. It was a solid soy sauce based broth that matched really well with the sweetness of the veggies.  If I had more time, I would've eaten more.  2 hours later, I was at my desk and hungry again, wishing I'd had the time to get through this bowl.

Then again, I probably saved myself from a painful stomachache and a post-carbfest energy crash afterward.

I still want to try it again...

If you're getting on or getting off the highway in Tomiura and find yourself hungry, I definitely recommend stopping by Ramen Yamaki.  If you're coming from Tateyama, turn left at the light just before 7-11, go over a mini-bridge, and park in the open lot on the right.  You can see the entrance to Yamaki from the parking lot.  As far as I know, they're open open weekdays, and only for lunch.  I
guess when you have a line of customers at lunchtime every day, you can afford to close for dinner.

Good thing I work 2 minutes away.  I'll be back for round 2 with that veggie ramen...

Liz

Mochi-Tsuki in Kyonan

Hey chickadees! It's been a while. Far, far too long, in fact.

The beginning of the year is always a busy time in Japan, and of course, city hall is no exception.  I've been so preoccupied with other projects I haven't spent any time on the blog!  Over the next few days I'm going to try to get caught up.  First article: mochi-tsuki!

The Shirahama ALT brought me along for mochi-tsuki in Kyonan at the home of one of the Shirahama JHS teachers, K-sensei.

Mochi is a gummy, stretchy rice cake that is typically made and eaten around New Year's in Japan.  We were a few days late, but hey, who's counting!

First you wet this pestle-type of thing called an usu. (ooh-sue)

Pope is standing at the ready with a kine (key-nay), it's a hammer to smush the rice into a paste.  That thing is HEAVY.

Grandma is bringing in the steaming hot mochi rice!  Mochi rice is a special rice with a very short grain and a sticky texture. You can't make mochi with just any rice!

Um...we got a little hungry so we tasted the rice...

Into the usu...

K-sensei is getting things started.  Do you see the rice sticking to the kine?  You're supposed to dip it in that little bucket of water (on the left) to keep that from happening.

Mmm...my rice addiction has progressed to the point that I am more than happy to eat it just like this...

Pope is trying his hand at pounding the rice.  He's giving it a gentle touch for starters...

Grandma has to reach in and mix the rice from the outside towards the inside.  The proper way to do things is for the pounder and mixer to develop a rhythm, but since we are newbies, Grandma was (rightfully) scared that someone might hit her hands or head, so we'd stop pounding and let her mix the rice.

I'm going in!  I was doing this in 4" heels like a BOSS.

The ladies had me switch into slippers so I could really go at it!

Now Grandpa is coming in to finish it off.

It was obvious that they had a much better rhythm together.  So cute!

Finished!

Short grain rice turned into this smooth ball of goo.

Grandma looked like a sumo wrestler or something, readying her hands to attack the giant mochi ball.

She's over 80 but she's still got it.

They're laying this mochi out to cool in a pan. I think they'll cut it into blocks once it hardens a bit.

We took the rest of the mochi and made little ready-to-eat rice balls.

There's Pope again. Here we're breaking of small pieces and rolling them into smooth, round balls.  For a guy that big, he sure is good at giving things a gentle touch.

The white stuff is potato starch.  It keeps the mochi from sticking to everything, almost like a sealant.

Nice!

Grandma and Grandpa made some with sweet bean paste.  The bean paste was store bought but it was good! (Grandma usually makes it from scratch but she said she's getting old, lol.)

K-sensei's mom made these kinako mochi for us!  You just dip a rice ball in warm water and cover it with a sweetened roasted soybean powder. It's my favorite!  Why does Pope look like he's going to strangle me?

Gooey and delicious!

We ate outside on the patio...

Grandma and Grandpa's anko-mochi (sweet bean mochi) were so good!

We took some other rice balls, grilled them, dipped them in soy sauce, and wrapped them in nori seaweed.  I've had this before, but it's COMPLETELY different with fresh mochi.  As you can see, I dug in before I remembered to take a photo.

K-sensei's house also owns some daffodil fields.  Their house (which is actually a really cool 100 year old traditional Japanese house) is at the entrance to a daffodil sightseeing trail.

The boys...

I love it! Doesn't it look like a scene from a movie?

Before we left, we paid our respects to K-sensei's ancestors at the family shrine.

Can you see their pictures up on the wall?

First you light some incense and set it in a special pot.  Then you ring a little gong, put your hands together, and pray.

I tried it too!  I'd hate to be rude to the K family ancestors.

The K family said they think their ancestors would be happy to have foreigners visit their home.

I sure hope that's true!

I really appreciated all of their hospitality. I had an amazing time!  I definitely recommend a mochi-tsuki experience, and some well spent time in the Japanese countryside.  This place really grows on you...

Liz