Chicken, all are chicken

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I needed to drink some Champagne with Mr. and Mrs. Birdiegolf, so I proposed that we meet up for dinner again... but left the choice of venue up to them. Imagine my surprise when Toritama (酉玉) was proposed, since we all know that Foursheets isn't a big fan of chicken. Well, she decided to be a good sport and agreed to have yakitori (焼き鳥) there for the first time, doing something she normally steers away from.

Foursheets and I were a few minutes early for our seating, and the previous diners seemed to be taking their time, so we were asked to stand out in the streets. Thankfully the seats were vacated right on time and we didn't have to stand outside for too long.

My last yakitori meal was with the Birdiegolfs more than half a year ago, and I was eager to munch on some interesting bites on sticks.

Meatball (つくね)

Knee soft bone (ゲンコツ)

Grilled corn (焼きコーン) - Foursheets wanted something other than chicken, so we got this early.

Chicken crown (かんむり) - very crunchy. Soooo good.

Achilles tendon (アキレス腱) - really nice and crunchy on the outside.

Gizzard (砂肝) - very springy and crunchy.

Chicken oysters (ソリレース) - this is always the best part of the chicken.

Grilled eggplant (焼き茄子 だしと生姜)

Okra (オクラ)

Small onion (ペコ玉)

Japanese green pepper (しし唐)

Esophagus (さえずり) - it's been so long since I last had this. Sooo crunchy. Soooo good.

Calf muscle (とうがらし) - really tender and succulent.

Chicken crown (かんむり) - I just had to order a second stick.

Rib meat (えんがわ) - very chewy and springy.

Pork belly (豚カルビ) - this came skewered with perilla leaves between the pork, and came with cartilage. Unfortunately this was a little overcooked.

Whole neck (とっくり) - I had actually ordered a second stick of sot-y-laisse but they gave me the wrong thing. Very tender, though, and came topped with some mustard.

Maitake (舞茸)

Wing (手羽先)

Fried tofu stuffed with Raclette cheese (ラクレットチーズのいなり焼) - this was actually tofu skin (湯葉) wrapped around the Raclette. Pretty nice and smoky flavors

Grilled rice (焼おにぎり)

This was Champagne night, and given the usual intake of the other two, we were surprisingly restrained...

1996 Legras Saint-Vincent, en magnum - ripe on the palate but there was good acidity, too. There was reasonable depth on the palate, with a slight bit of tartness and bitterness on the finish.

2008 Emmanuel Brochet Millesime Selectionne Extra Brut, dégorgée Octobre 2021 - this was much more oxidized and savory than expected, with a good acidity balance and a pretty big palate with lots of marmalade. A long finish that was also a little tart and bitter.

A very happy evening with friends, and glad to have shared some nice bottles together.