I'll Make It Myself!

I probably don’t need to mention how much I love “weird” local flavors of ice cream. In fact, I’m not sure I really need to preface this post with an explanation about how soy-sauce ice cream sounds a bit odd to people unfamiliar with Japanese “savory” flavors used in sweet ice cream.

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Malga Gelato (マルガジェラート）
Locations (3): Noto-cho, Nonoichi, Kanazawa

Kanazawa storefront

Now that summer’s on its way to Ishikawa, I wanted to share some of my favorite places to get ice cream (gelato and soft serve) in Ishikawa.

Malga is, hands down, my favorite gelateria in Ishikawa. [...]

Hug Chai Works (ハグチャイワークス)
Location: Sainen, Kanazawa (Kencho Road/60 near Kanazawa Station)
Type: Lunch, café
Dietary: Meals are not vegetarian-friendly, but bagels and baked goods are.
Language: Japanese

Part of the reason I learned how to make my own bagels was that in Japan, really good bagels are not easy to find, especially outside of major metropolitan areas. Kanazawa has a couple of bakeries that sell decent bagels, but my very favorite is Hug Chai Works, a café specializing in bagels and chai.

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Aashirwad (アシワード)
Location: Kohrinbo, Kanazawa
Type: Indian/Nepalese; lunch, dinner
Veg status: vegetarian friendly
Languages: Japanese and English (menus, staff)

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Last year, I wrote about Foodpia Land, Kanazawa’s big winter food fair, in the context of street food and food culture in Japan. This year, a bunch of my friends and I went again to celebrate a birthday, so while I’m working on posts for the last two geeky/nerdy birthday cakes I made, I thought you all might like to see some photos.

Kanazawa had a mild winter this year in terms of temperature, but the somehow-even-more-constant-than-usual precipitation and the sideways snow that lasted through most of January and February were huge deterrents for wanting to get out and do things. For Foodpia Land, though, we braved the confusing weather, which started out sort of cloudy and warm and quickly became wet and cold, to enjoy some of our local favorites from all over Japan.

Our first stop was the Hida Beef Burger stand. Most Americans know about Kobe beef, but Hida beef is where it’s at. I’ve written about it here and here.

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Café Dumbo
Location: Kohrinbo, Kanazawa
Type: Café, lunch
Veg status: vegetarian friendly
Languages: Japanese and English (menus, staff)

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We stayed local with friends for the New Year, and after we exhausted our list of our favorite cafes one by one as they closed for the holidays, we holed up in the apartment and cooked up a storm.

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Noppo-kun (のっぽくん)
Location: Nonoichi (near Kanazawa)
Type: Café, Lunch
Veg status: all vegetarian; vegan friendly
Language: Japanese (but most of the dishes are on display on the counter)
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This is a bit ぎりぎり since Halloween is right around the corner, but if you are in Kanazawa or will be there this weekend for Halloween festivities, be sure to try the pumpkin dorayaki at Koshiyama Kanseido.

Image from Koshiyama Kanseido. (http://www.koshiyamakanseido.jp/shopping/kisetsu/halloween.html)

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Earth Café (アースカフェ)
Location: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa pref.
Type: Café, Lunch
Veg Status: Completely vegan
Languages: Japanese, English (bilingual menus and staff)

To put it simply, Earth Café gets vegan food right. Despite enjoying cooking vegan food at home, I am often wary of it in restaurants. Just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean it’s healthy– particularly in light of some of the sugar/margarine bombs out there in the world of vegan desserts. (Readers may remember this sentiment from various iterations of “13 Things Your Barista Won’t Tell You,” which floated around the internet in the late ’00s.)

Earth Café, on the other hand, emphasizes healthy macrobiotic food and being good to the Earth and to your body. [...]