foodie saturday

Our Foodie Saturday started on a very humid but sunny Saturday. We went to the supermarket to shop for the ingredients for Satoshi's staff party on Sunday. Then came back home to put everything away. Since it was lunchtime, we pondered what to eat. Satoshi blurted out "soba", I blurted out "curry". Satoshi's face lit up and he said, "curry". So, we decided to go up towards the Minoo station and look for curry. If it weren't so hot, we would have walked, but the sun was blazing. We took the train from Ishibashi to Minoo and then walked around looking for several places we had in mind. Two of the three places on our list were closed, so we looked for the last one on our list. This shop was tucked away in a residential area and if you blinked, you would surely walk past it, as the whole building was covered in vines. Inside, there was a collection of memorabilia and doo-dads from trips around the world. There were only 2 tables with 5 seats--it was very cozy. Oh, and if you have unruly kids, they aren't welcome (actually says so on the menu too). I had the gyusuji (beef nerf/muscle) curry--1500 yen (about US$15). This curry was mild and the meat was quite tender. Satoshi had the kani (crab) masala--1700 yen (about US$17). His curry was spicy with crab and veggies in it. Both of our meals came with drinks--we ordered an ice chai and lassi. We both agreed that this place is worth going back to. After eating lunch, we wanted to have some coffee and maybe some dessert. As we walked back to the station, we checked out a cafe but it was packed. So we walked in toward Minoo Park. There is a ryokan (Japanese inn) which was built in Meiji 43 (1910) that was renovated four years ago into a cafe, called Hashimototei. We have eaten here for breakfast once before and it is a very quiet and peaceful place to hang out. Satoshi had the baked cheesecake and I had the hazelnut cacao tart. Both were delicious. We had a nice Saturday despite the heat and humidity. 10-ku (ju-ku) (2021: out of business) 1-2-7 Niina Minoo, Osaka Phone: 072.723.7047 Open 12:00-14:00 and 18:00-24:00 Closed Wednesdays Hashimototei (2021: out of business) 2-5-37 Minoo Minoo, Osaka Phone: 072.721.3221 Open 7:00-22:00