Sylvan Mishima Brackett on Instagram: "This coming week we will be hosting Ryo and Tomoko Murata @ryo_eel.sake from Ryo Hiruzen, a very small and very special unagi restaurant in rural Okayama. He will be grilling unagi kabayaki and sakiyaki for our à la carte menu on Thursday and Friday, February 22-23. On Sunday, February 25, we will offer their full-course unagi dinner, using all the bits: liver, spine, fins, etc. Seating is extremely limited for the course menu. Reserve on Resy.
A little more than a year ago, my friend Yuri @eatripjournal brought me to their totally unexpected unagi restaurant in the village of Chukason, Hiruzen, Okayama. It was a short flight from Tokyo followed by a very, very long drive up into a remote village. I’d been to his original unagi restaurant in Nakameguro (which earned a Michelin star shortly after) but the owners, Ryo and Tomoko Murata, had moved during the pandemic to this tiny village. I expected they had returned to their hometown. This wasn’t the case. Ryo and Tomoko were part of a small community of young city people (farmers, ceramists, artisans) who had chosen to make a different life for themselves.
Ryo and Tomoko’s restaurant is a converted farmhouse. The front room was remodeled for guests and the back of the house is to live. With only Ryo cooking and Tomoko taking care of the front— with a particular focus on Koshu (aged sake)— they can’t accommodate many guests. Most people drive a long way to eat. Apart from the utterly non-restaurant-y look of their restaurant, the farmhouse has an onsen (spring) in a side building. This is where they keep their live eels.
I’ve always loved unagi, but was blown away by Ryo’s cooking. He’s completely immersed in every detail of the eel, the way they are cut and bled, the skewering and piercing of the skin before steaming, the grilling... The food was totally pared down and simple-looking, but absolutely inspiring. I’m so excited for their visit"1,491 likes, 15 comments - mr_rintaro on February 16, 2024: "This coming week we will be hosting Ryo and Tomoko Murata @ryo_eel.sake from Ryo Hiruzen, a very ..."
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