The first thing I want to open the page with is some advice on leaving your comfort zone. Some people are perfectly happy visiting another country and eating at McDonald’s. This completely defeats the purpose of experiencing someone else’s culture. One philosophy I have developed in my travels is to exclusively eat at restaurants I could never visit in my city. To eat dishes I would never find back home. Even though it may not be true, I tell myself I will never be here again. So I have to experience the food and culture while I am here.
While sushi is already fairly popular, not everybody likes sashimi. Some people might even be squeamish about seeing the skin still on the cuts of fish above. I took the opportunity to eat real, authentic sashimi while in the country that is famous for it. It was the best sashimi I have ever had. Taking chances on food also led me to experience dishes like fish intestines and eel bones.
I found these dishes at a Japanese restaurant in the Sakae District of Nagoya called Daruma. This became my favorite restaurant and bar in Nagoya. They had miso katsu, tebasaki and even frozen Kirin. They poured the beer, but froze the head to look like swirled ice cream. It was very refreshing in the summer. You can check out Daruma on Google Maps here.
All of this happened in July of 2013. It was a long time ago, but I wanted to make a point on being adventurous. Some of the other dishes I have tried are chicken hearts, raw horse meat, pig stomach and reindeer steak. They were all delicious. Next time you travel somewhere new, eat something new. When leaving your comfort zone, you might just surprise yourself with what you like.