Mar. 3, 2013

Hokkaido Island A rainbow around the shadow of our jet.

Once off of the gate and inside the terminal, it wasn't very hard to know for sure where we were.

We landed in partial sun. During the 30 minute train ride we saw light snow, heavy snow, snow blowing sideways, and lucky for us a monemt of no snow when we pulled into the Prince Hotel Sapporo. No more than five minutes after we were inside the hotel, it began to snow again and at different degrees it snowed the rest of the day and evening. Sapporo was experiencing a record snow fall winter this season.

We dropped the luggage in our rooms and met downstairs, then walked the 3 city blocks to visit Bar e Ristorante Genovese where the winemaker's dinner was held yesterday featuring Lucio's Vignalta wines.

We were greeted by Giulio Vierci, the chef owner of Bar e Ristorante Genovese. Being from near Italy's Ligurian town of Genoa, Giulio's concept is Genovese cooking with the incorporation of fresh and interesting ingredients from Hokkaido. From the moment we arrived, Giulio very graciously cooked for us and served us all afternoon and into the early evening. He prepared a few different kinds of Genovese style focaccia, authentic hand made Corzetti al Genovese with a basil walnut cream sauce, fresh tripe with potatoes and beans, and something very special and unique for dessert...unsweetened ice cream made with creamy Italian Gorgonzola cheese served with Vignalta Alpiane 100 % orange muscat dessert wine. The ice cream alone was very curious, but good. Once eaten and paired with a sip of Alpiane, a completely new sensation of the melding of lusciously cold, dense, fatty, cheesy tastes and sweet, florial, nectar like tones was born. Luca Torre was the one who suggested we visit Bar e Ristorante in Sapporo. He tells why in the following video.

Corzetti alla Genovese. Beef Tripe, potatoes, and beans.

...and here's how the stamp works.

The snow continued to fall all afternoon, so just sitting around watching Giulio cook, sipping Lucio's Vignalta wines, and tasting Giulio's treats really wasn't too hard to take. Chef Giulio talks about his hertitage, passions, and vision for Bar e Ristorante Genovese in the following video.

The afternoon was turning into early evening. Thoughts of where to go for dinner were begining to become vocalized. Giulio had one more treat before we left for dinner...steamed Hokkaido hairy crab with several house made sauces. He had purchased the crab at the fish market that morning. It was succulently sweet and crab-tastically delicious!

I'm not sure that after an afternoon of tasting wine and wonderful Genovese cooking anyone could have any appetite left, but evening soon fell and dinner reservations were made at a sushi restaurant owned by a very large Japanese fishing company. We quickly saw ourselves in a cab and on our way. The snow had slowed to light flurries by the time we arrived at Shin Shin An Restaurant. As we entered, we could see the pond and garden on the side of the restaurant which looked like a Japanese winter wonderland.

I was getting very used to the idea of taking your shoes off when entering a traditional restaurant in Japan. This is also something one also generally does when entering someone's home in Japan.

Dinner at Shin Shin An was very relaxing. Everything from the view into the snowy garden to the calming music, elegantly plated dishes, and impeccable service made for a wonderful experience. It was back to the Prince hotel for a good night's sleep.

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