Beef Cutlet Otaru Kurosawa — Restaurant in Otaru

Delicious beef cutlets done with a crispy exterior but yet tender juicy on the inside. The beef is served rare with its coating of fine bread crumbs and a little pan/stove with fire is provided so one can literally pan fry the finishing touches to your desired taste - rare, medium rare, medium or well done. As in all things Japanese there are written instructions for the uninitiated but it’s a fairly simple task n adds novelty to the meal. Varieties of cuts are available right up to premium Wagyu Sirloin A5 with the most intense marbling and down to just normal lean cuts or even ground beef patties.

The meal is served with gohan/rice, miso soup n the omnipresent tsukemono, there’s an accompanying sweet sauce dip which is not overpowering n just right for the grilled meat. There is also the all time local favourite dip of mild sauce with grated daikon (radish) which most times is served with strong meats or fish. Another side dish, perhaps western influenced is a small bowl of potato salad. Cold tea is appropriately served to wash it all down n clear the palate. The restaurant decor is simplistic enough to pass off for a fast food outlet but the prices are far from that with meal sets ranging from 2,600 yen to 7,000 yen so the meal can be a little on the pricey side. The master is approachable n cheerful and the waiters are polite and do their best to decipher English ☺️, a good atmosphere for a delectable meal without too fancy nuances.

Lastly, I might add that they do have an unagi bowl set (eel in sweet sauce) for those disinclined to beef - respectable quality n quite tasty as well.

At the end it was a wonderful yummy memory which definitely called for a return visit hopefully in the not too distant future - Ja Mata as they say...

Walking around Otaru during January seeking a nice place for casual lunch. There's heaps of seafood places, especially along the very commercial "sushi-dori" but this place was about 100m up the hill from that main tourist street and had great pictures for non Japanese speakers like us.

If you like high quality beef with tasty accompaniments, you'll love this place. Like many small Japanese eateries, this place is small with minimal staff. so for hygiene and efficiency, you order using a small cash operated vending machine then pass your tickets to the owner/chef. if you don't have any 1000 yen notes then they can change 10K note for you. The drinks choices are just beer or non alcohol options but the hero here is the katsu steak which comes rare but you are encouraged to cook the slices to your desired level on a small ceramic stand that has a flame. Even the basic level steak is great quality, tender and juicy. Most meals come as a "set" with small salad and soup but i recommended also ordering the katsu burger patties as an extra item. soooooo gooooood 👌

As a non beer drinker, my only suggestion for improvement was they should have Sake...

北海道之旅第5天，我們的行程是充滿大正昭和風情的小樽，身為港都，此地的海鮮絕佳，一連吃了好幾天海鮮總要換換口味。想到這次來日本有什麼還沒吃到，就是和牛啊！在商店街正中央巧遇【和牛黑澤堺町通り店（以下簡稱“黑澤”）】，午餐就決定是它了！

【黑澤】是北海道知名連鎖店體系，最著名的餐點是國產牛的「牛かつ（炸牛排）御膳」，這也是大叔想吃的。家裡兩名美少女早就忘記5年前在大阪與神戶被和牛連續數日荼毒的"慘痛"經驗，欣然同意。後來才知道原本人妻作功課的午餐地點是【黑澤】在出拔小路的另一家分店，只能說這一切都是緣分了。

既然到了牛肉料理專門店，當然不可能點蝦子和鰻魚，前體育班選手射箭美少女颯爽豪邁地指向「壽喜燒」的照片：「我點這個可以吧？」如果是神戶牛，一份170g定價￥18000。還來不及擦拭涔涔的汗水，我家人妻建議點在地白老町產和牛，同樣的肉量卻只要2/3的價格，射箭美少女點頭同意，感謝我家人妻的賢慧。胃口比較小的小提琴美少女點少了1個0的「和牛烏龍麵」，果然和她媽媽一樣勤儉持家。人妻本來只想點「亂切牛排套餐」，身為體貼的紳士怎麼能不展現氣度？將她的餐點改成「白老牛牛排御膳」，把亂切牛排留給自己吃，另外還加點了招牌的「炸牛排御膳」。

首先登場的「白老牛壽喜燒御膳」是今天最貴的兩組套餐之一，不愧是北海道在地品牌和牛，和其他地區被細心培育的同類一樣有豐美而細緻的油花。其中一半和白菜、香菇、金針菇、燒豆腐和大蔥等等放在加了湯汁的鐵鍋一起上桌，另外一半則是和待會當作主食的烏龍麵一同放在方盒子裡送上。

為了感謝出手慷慨的大叔，射箭美少女貼心地燙了牛肉片並且滾上蛋汁後遞了過來。由於店裡冷氣很強，風勢大，酒精膏消耗得快，火力消退得也快，總覺得蛋汁下方的肉質看起來太生，油脂豐厚的肉可得熟一點。與外場服務生溝通更換酒精膏後，再稍微燙了一下吃，不只是口感絕佳，連油脂的甜美也在熟度上升後跟著升級，只是似乎少了些什麼。

大叔不是偏心，而是小提琴美少女本來胃口就不大，幾經溝通勸說，她還是決定點「和牛烏龍麵」，當事人表示【黑澤】的烏龍麵口感滑順又有彈性，帶有淡淡甜味的湯頭非常好喝而且順口，湯裡的肉片雖然是和牛，肥肉不會過於油膩，瘦肉也不會老柴，整體感覺像是加了高湯的壽喜燒烏龍麵。

關於「亂切牛排套餐」的溝通出了點差錯，原本是想要單點，外場服務生記成套餐，不過沒關係，我們是好客人，當作多吃一碗飯就好。雖然是邊角料，同樣是道產和牛的「亂切牛排」風味一點也沒打折扣，加熱的鐵盤讓和牛油脂充分活化，香氣更是提升。難怪剛剛覺得壽喜燒少了些什麼，和牛還是要過火才會有足夠的香氣。【黑澤】的飯煮得非常好吃，米粒飽滿晶瑩不黏結，口感鬆軟又有一定程度的彈性，入口越咀嚼越甜，令人不會後悔的選擇。如果真要挑剔，就是店家調配的牛排沾醬沒什麼記憶點，而且對於提升牛肉風味成效有限。

標榜使用北海道道產和牛的「炸牛排御膳」一直是【黑澤】的招牌，店門口的看板就宣稱去年（2023）銷售了6萬份。喜歡吃肉的大叔選擇大份量的"上"，和其他賣炸牛排的店家一樣，都是炸到兩分熟就上桌，然後放上舖了和紙的鐵板加熱。【黑澤】不只肉厚大塊，連斷面都是美麗的紅寶石色帶有豐富的油花。

用鐵板加熱過兩面，牛排差不多也五六分熟，第一口按照慣例還是原味，炸衣本身有調味過，鹹度非常適中，如果沾醬蘸太多有點過鹹，而且同樣對牛肉風味提升有限。但是配上山葵醬或者蘿蔔泥可就不同了，前者特有的香氣和淡淡的嗆辣讓牛肉入口後變得更有層次，至於蘿蔔泥則有效地去除炸衣和牛肉脂肪的油膩，整體風味更不死鹹，讓人忍不住又多吃幾塊。

和蔬菜一起烤好之後，人妻分了一塊白老牛排給我。如前述，炙燒過的和牛就是有涮肉片和壽喜燒所沒有的香氣，以前吃過松坂、近江、神戶、佐賀、宮崎和鹿兒島等等的品牌和牛，初次相遇的北國品牌和牛--白老牛的油脂香氣不是最強烈，卻最適得其份，即使先前已經品嘗「亂切牛排」以及「炸牛排」，也不會覺得過於飽足而生畏。至於柔軟度則是歷來最佳，不太需要用力就能輕鬆地以門牙截斷。

不信邪地再沾了一次燒肉醬油，這次呈現和先前完全不同的適性，在白老牛豐富的油脂包覆下，醬汁不會過鹹，甚至回甘而且風味層次增加。大叔不認為是店家為了白老牛特調，畢竟所有的排餐都是相同的醬汁，但可以說因為牛肉本身的風味而提升了醬汁的等級。當然，山葵和蘿蔔泥也依然是和風牛排的基礎，白老牛一樣百搭。

這次在【黑澤】的用餐經驗愉快，如果不是因為預算考量，當下真的很想再追加一份，即使白老牛售價已經比神戶牛實惠，不過凡事留點餘地，意猶未盡理應會讓日後的重逢更加美麗。期待與它再相會的一刻到來。

（造訪日期：2024-06-27）

#味成年大叔王醫師 #和牛黑澤堺町通り店 #白老牛 #北海道美食...