When you hear that a restaurant serves French-style cuisine, it tends to conjure up images of a formal place with a pricey menu. However, I recently discovered a restaurant that has a pleasantly casual atmosphere and offers French inspired fare at reasonable prices–Bistro HOBO. The specialty here is authentic gibier (game) cuisine.
Fresh ingredients are acquired daily and the menu is based on what quality provisions are seasonally available. In order to best draw out the flavors of the meats, the restaurant expertly uses bone and other portions of the animal in things like sauces. Wasting as little as possible also honors the animals’ “sacrifice”. Owner Daisuke Matsumoto says of preparing his gibier cuisine, “Life is precious. I take great care to keep this in mind when cooking.” Matsumoto spent 4 years in Canada studying as a chef. 7 years ago he opened Bistro Graine Marche in the Noge area. He created Bistro HOBO 2 years ago to highlight the concept of gibier cuisine.
Most of us expect fowl to resemble chicken, but the meat of the Yamabato (turtle dove) is red and sinewy. It comes mixed with sauteed mushrooms in a sweet sauce (whole bird ¥4000 / half ¥2000). The Honshu Venison Fillet (¥1600) is exquisitely prepared to be tender and juicy. Served in a thick, aromatic sauce, the savoriness explodes in your mouth. It will have you craving a fine wine to pair with it. Fittingly, Bistro HOBO specializes in natural wines.
Recently, we often hear the term “organic wine”, referring to wine made with grapes grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc. Natural wine takes this one step further by employing only natural yeast and eschewing the use of additives and preservatives. The wine therefore cannot be stored for a long time and should be enjoyed while young. The aroma of the grapes is conspicuous. Bistro HOBO carries many varieties of natural wine on its menu including red, white, orange and more (¥680~/glass)
As winter approaches, animals in the wild are filling up on nutrients. This season is thus considered ideal for gibier. I highly recommend a visit to Bistro HOBO for a taste of this specialty. If you have less adventurous diners in your group, worry not: Matsumoto has many standard items on his menu, too.