Before the start of the nice weather long weekend, I went to buy vegetable seedlings *\(^o^)/* On the way back, I decided to stretch my legs a bit and buy some meat. A friend who lives nearby recommended this place! It seems cheap and delicious. It's a large building along Route 9, and it looks high-end from the outside. But once you go in, you'll find selected vegetables, sake, carefully chosen seasonings, and of course, meat and croquettes *\(^o^)/*. For shabu-shabu, there's lean meat for 1,795 yen, sliced meat for 703 yen, domestic pork mince for 258 yen, and domestic pork belly trimmings for 365 yen, all 200g each. I picked up a small pamphlet on my way out without really thinking, but apparently, they are serious about the lean meat! Oh, this is the good stuff here~ I've been thinking lean meat is delicious lately, so this must be it *\(^o^)/*. I see, it must be really good lean meat. Is it not "Gyu" (beef) but "You" (lean meat) instead? (=^▽^)σ YOU. There's no meat like this at "Gyu," right? Of course, in the evening, I had a hot pot with flowers and buds of Japanese pepper and wild vegetables picked from the mountain, my usual solo hot pot ♪(´ε｀ ). I had red wine with it *\(^o^)/*. I changed up the atmosphere a bit by sitting in a different seat than usual ♪(´ε｀ ). The meat had just the right amount of fat and was very delicious. With the flowers and buds of Japanese pepper, tofu, and udon noodles, it was a satisfying meal. My friend also went to buy shabu-shabu meat at this place right away. It's a bit of a drive by car, but I found a nice restaurant while on a drive!

The beef croquette is delicious. It has a small supermarket-like atmosphere with a variety of items available. It's convenient for picking up simple items and doesn't have the intimidating vibe of other butcher shops where you have to buy a certain amount.

Arrived at the restaurant at 11:00 on New Year's Day. I placed an order over the phone and picked it up an hour later, but there were a lot of customers, so it took some time to receive my order. I was glad I made a phone reservation. When I was asked if I wanted the meat vacuum-packed during the order, I said "no" and each piece of meat was wrapped in plastic wrap. I ordered 4 pieces of Black Wagyu fillet steak (150g each) from Kyoto, which was expensive but definitely worth it. It was incredibly delicious! ^_^

<2016/11/Ordering> You can't go wrong with the delicious meat and croquettes. Seriously, just try ordering once and you won't be disappointed. It's really delicious!! It's so good that your cheeks will fall off!! Thank you for the meal. By the way, if you want to try a sample, you can get a croquette from the Izutsuya store behind Daimaru at Shijo Karasuma. (laughs) When my kids were young, we often visited the Tanba Natural Sports Park. I remember playing mini-golf with the family there. "We used to get along well as a family back then..." (inner thoughts). But let's get back to the main topic. Whenever we went, we always stopped by this butcher shop. The shop not only sells meat but also has a slightly upscale supermarket feel. One of the items we always bought there was the beef croquette. The unforgettable flavor of the meat and potatoes was a match made in heaven. They also have their own farm and are producers of black wagyu and Tanba beef. So, after a long time, I felt like having a delicious sukiyaki and freshly fried croquette at home. I ordered 500g of Tanba beef for sukiyaki and 10 beef croquettes. The beef was around 1000 yen per 100g, and the croquettes were about 200 yen each. Sorry, I forgot the exact price. Make sure to ask for refrigerated delivery for the croquettes, as they tend to break when frozen. It was a bit of a luxury, but thanks to that, I enjoyed a delicious sukiyaki and freshly fried croquettes... It was so satisfying!! Izutsuya is also available at Kyoto Yatsuichi, so whenever I crave it, I would ask for one croquette to be fried and enjoy it outside the store. Why not try getting one fried to see if you like it? Thank you for the meal.

The beef was marbled just right, with a good balance of fat. Even though it was red meat, it had small streaks of fat throughout, which melted when cooked, giving it a sweet flavor. I hadn't eaten a beef steak in a while, so I decided to buy some to enjoy with a sauce. I prefer lamp or sirloin cuts, so I asked for a larger piece of meat to be cut into thin steaks. I cooked the steaks with garlic, letting the fat slowly seep out, even though it was a red meat. I also made a potato salad to go with the steak, with plenty of sliced raw onions, diced cucumbers, and boiled eggs mixed with spicy mayonnaise. The next day, I used the leftover steak to make roast beef, and served it with Hooba rice made with leaves I got from a wild vegetable forest. It was a delicious meal. I realized that I could have made thicker steaks by getting a larger portion, maybe for two days of meals. I could have cut the cooked meat into small pieces and mixed it with garlic rice, or saved it for a roast beef-style dish the next day. Beef is always a tasty choice. Thank you for the meal.

Izutsuya is a high-quality butcher shop that strongly recommends lean meat. I purchased A4 Wagyu sirloin steak from them, which was of better quality than the A5 Wagyu sold in the area. Despite promoting lean meat, it had a lot of marbling. It arrived refrigerated and had a shelf life of one week. I tried it right after it arrived and again after a week, and I found that it's better to eat it sooner. At 4000 yen per piece, it's a luxury item worth treating yourself to or gifting to someone. I had to call them due to a delivery issue, and the lady who answered the phone was wonderful.

Along National Route 9, there is a large butcher shop with a landmark of a black cow, Tanba beef. For dinner, I decided to have steak. They had sirloin and ribeye, but I'm not a fan of marbled meat, so I chose filet. It cost 980 yen for 100g, which is quite reasonable if you think about eating steak at a restaurant. I also bought pork for thinly sliced pieces and okonomiyaki. I cut the filet into bite-sized pieces and grilled them on a hot plate, finishing with yuzu pepper soy sauce. Then I made negiyaki as a side dish. It was delicious! I also had beer with it. Using a hot plate can make the room and lights oily, but it's worth it for the tasty food. I always cover the lights with a shower cap to prevent oil splatters. It's convenient! If you have a large light, you can try covering it with a garbage bag. Give it a try!

I had a drive in the morning, ate udon, went to a hot spring, had some sweets, bought vegetable seedlings and side dishes, and on the way back, I took a different route to buy meat from a butcher shop along Route 9. Lately, I've been buying Kameoka beef, which is cheaper and more delicious than buying meat from butcher shops or department stores in Kyoto. Since I'm alone, I bought a little bit of shabu-shabu and sukiyaki pork, tofu udon from a roadside station, and bamboo shoots from a udon shop. I had a shabu-shabu meal with wild vegetables alone. Since I'm alone, I didn't need to use a gas stove, I brought a chair to the kitchen stove and ate there. The meat from Izutsuya is lean and delicious. It was about 120g of large meat slices, but it made a good broth. The next day, I added udon and ate it. The wild vegetables season is coming to an end, but next up is picking sansho pepper, houba leaves, persimmon leaves, myoga, and more.

At the end of the year, I went to buy some meat and ate it on New Year's Day. There was heavy snow at the end of the year, and the balcony turned into a snow mountain. It looked beautiful but blocked the window. We wanted to grill the meat, so my daughter and her husband brought out a charcoal grill. We used high-quality charcoal to grill thick slices of lamp meat from a shop that specializes in lean meat, called Kameoka beef. We grilled it slowly, wrapped it in foil, let it rest for a while, and then ate it. The meat was crispy on the outside and pink and tender on the inside, very delicious. We also grilled green onions, octopus, and shrimp, and enjoyed red wine. If you want to buy meat at this shop at the end of the year, it is recommended to make a reservation in advance. Even if you go suddenly, you may have to wait for an hour. The snow will continue to pile up, and even though we cleared the balcony beautifully, it has turned into a huge snow mountain again.

I always buy meat at Izutsuya. I heard from a friend that their roast beef is delicious, so I decided to go there. It takes about an hour using the highway. I purchased 500g, which costs 1200 yen for 100g. It's a little cheaper than department stores. The taste is very delicious! The roast beef from Izutsuya is great. Thank you for the meat tataki from Shigekuni in Nagaokakyo City.

I have been going shopping in Kyotanba and Kameoka more often, from countryside to countryside. Along Route 9, there is a delicious meat shop that sells Kyoto beef. I usually buy meat, but this time I will buy some lean meat and minced meat with vegetables. They also sell vegetables, fruits, wine, and sake at the entrance. I bought daikon to make lean meat daikon stew. I prepared each ingredient, then simmered them in dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and grated ginger for about an hour. It turned out delicious! I tried red wine and sake to see which one pairs better. The minced meat with red wine and tomato can was made into hamburger stew, perfect with red wine. I made a lot of both dishes and, being busy with work, I will be a kind mother and send them to my daughter via a cool delivery service. That's me! Now, I need to hurry and send the delivery before 4 pm to the supermarket 16 kilometers away. Time to drive!

I'm tired from driving, what should I have for dinner? How about some easy yakiniku! I took a little detour to a meat shop along Route 9 and got some marbled yakiniku kata rosu (100g for 960 yen) and harami yakiniku (100g for 513 yen). And for tomorrow's lunch, I also got chicken katsu for 150 yen and ham katsu for 180 yen. I was planning to have yakiniku, but I just cleaned the range hood and I didn't want to make a mess, so I decided to make sukiyaki instead! The last of the sansho leaves are here, so it's perfect for a sukiyaki. The thickly sliced marbled meat and harami were so delicious. I also added some dashi broth, tofu, and wheat gluten to make a meat and tofu dish. The harami turned out to be American-made, but it was still tender and tasty. While cooking, I glanced outside and saw the sky turning bright red at sunset. Even the river looked like it was on fire, with red and orange hues in the sky. I quickly grabbed my phone and ran to the balcony to take in the beautiful sight. I also made some fried food by microwaving and then toasting it in the oven. With nothing else on hand, I made some fried rice with frozen rice, eggs, and green onions. It's almost gin season, so I treated myself to a gin and tonic. It was a simple and satisfying dinner, even though I had originally planned to have it for lunch.