大阪めんま
Opened on August 9, 2022, "Wagyu Tan Jiro" is a yakiniku restaurant located right next to JR Temma Station in Kita-ku, Osaka. The restaurant is operated by "Fastest Dining Co., Ltd.," which was established in November 2003 and currently has a company in Gifu prefecture, mainly operating izakayas, restaurants, cafes, and other eateries in the Tokai area. This Temma store is the second branch following the Eki store opened in Nagoya in July last year. The main attraction of this restaurant is the "Thick-cut Sendai Beef Tongue" and "Wagyu Beef Sushi." While there are many all-you-can-eat yakiniku restaurants, not many offer beef tongue in their courses, and those that do usually have higher prices. Here, you can enjoy all-you-can-eat beef tongue and melt-in-your-mouth meat sushi starting from 3,980 yen (excluding tax). Reservations can be made online through the official website or Hot Pepper, so I made a reservation about two weeks in advance before visiting. I chose the cheapest 3,980 yen course that includes both the beef tongue and meat sushi, with a drink all-you-can-drink option for 680 yen (excluding tax). The last order time is 80 minutes, and each table has a 100-minute limit. The meat sushi and a platter of beef tongue are served at the beginning, with the "Meat Juice Series Bound Beef Tongue" being a one-time serving, while the "Thick-cut & Cut-off Sendai Beef Tongue" and "Plenty of Green Onion Beef Tongue" are all-you-can-eat. Additional orders for the all-you-can-eat menu can be made through mobile ordering. It was a delight to have no limit on the number of orders at a time. The beef tongue used at this restaurant is the "Tanshin" part of the beef tongue, which is carefully marinated with a red wine-based homemade sauce, aged for the optimal period, and hand-cut individually. The bound beef tongue contains plenty of green onions inside, and it is cooked on both sides and finished with a steaming method. The beef tongue is tender and juicy, with a rich meat juice flavor. The thick-cut tongue is chewy and elastic, making it easy to bite. This was my favorite dish, and I ordered it several times. Although there were some tough pieces, overall, the thick-cut tongue was one of the most delicious I've had at an all-you-can-eat yakiniku restaurant. In addition to the initial platter, there are also salt, miso, umami-spicy, and garlic-flavored beef tongue options, all thinly sliced. They were all tender and flavorful, with the salt being slightly stronger in flavor, the miso having a sweet taste, the garlic being fragrant, and the umami-spicy having a strong spicy miso flavor, which I liked the most. The meat sushi uses Wagyu loin, which is seared to the preferred doneness when served, but is generally served rare with a lightly seared surface. The meat has a good amount of marbling, making it rich and tender, while the rice is slightly sweet and mellow, enhanced with a dashi flavor. I ended up eating over 20 pieces of meat sushi this time, enjoying the luxury of using meat sushi as a substitute for rice in yakiniku. While there are classic cuts like Kalbi, loin, and harami, the variety of offal cuts is limited. However, the beef tongue is a must-try.