Hey everyone! I usually release a new post on Friday night, but seeing as how we have a four day weekend and the Olympics start on Friday, I decided to release this one a little early.
A month ago, I got a message on Ibaraki Eats from a staff member of an Italian bar in Tsukuba to come and try their food. I was really excited because this was the first time I had ever gotten a message like that. I told the wife about it and we made plans to go during dinner time. Off we went on a rainy night to Tokyo Bal Garden Terrace.
Tokyo Bal Garden Terrace
There are two Tokyo Bals in Tsukuba. The wife and I went to Tokyo Bal Garden Terrace which is in the Kasuga area and pretty close to Tsukuba station. As I stated above, I had received a message from a staff member to come and try their food. Before I continue I should probably say a few things:
Firstly, I want to be treated like a regular customer so I did not let the staff know when I was coming. They knew I was coming that week but not what day or what time. Secondly, I don't announce who I am when I arrive. Again, just want to be treated like a regular customer.
Anyway, the wife and I parked next to the outside dinning area and checked it out.
Outside Dinning
For my long time readers, you might realize that I love outside dinning. (Except in summer when mosquitoes make a buffet out of me.) So when I saw Tokyo Bal's outside dinning area, I was very impressed and sad. Impressed because it looks like such a nice area to have dinner. It has both a romantic feel and a hang out feel to it. Sad because it was raining and the wife and I were not going to be able to eat their that night. I hope to be able to enjoy the outside dinning area in the near future.
Inside
The first thing that caught my eye when I walked in was their huge pizza oven. Tokyo Bal has a beautiful looking pizza oven and I couldn't wait to try their pizza. Everything on the inside looked pretty new. There was a TV playing a soccer match which leads me to believe they broadcast live sports events there.
The wife and I sat at our table and checked out the menu.
The Menu
I was checking out the pizza menu until the bottom left part of the menu stopped me in my tracks. "They have calzones." I said to the wife. "What's a calzone?" She asked. I answered "It is what we are trying tonight." It has been years since I had a calzone, so seeing it on the menu really surprised me.
On the pizza menu, everything on the right side is tomato sauce base pizza and everything on the left side is cheese base pizza.
The Menu Continued
The next page on the menu has salad, antipasto (appetizer), caldo which I believe are hot dishes, secondo which seems to be mostly meat dishes, pasta and dessert. The wife and I didn't really order anything from this page. It would have to wait for next time.
Appetizer Special
Tokyobal had a real nice appetizer special. You can pick three appetizers for 1200yen or five appetizers for 1500yen. This was the specials for that day so it probably changes every day. From the top right down we have: balsamic marinated grilled egg plant, tara escabeche (I think that's fish), a little prosciutto, marinated octopus and celery, caprese, cream cheese and iburi gakko (kind of radish). From top left down: cheese for the day, pickles, fruits tomato with a peach sent, pork belly spread.
Sangria and Minestrone
Being from Miami and of Hispanic background, I judge mojitos and sangrias harshly. I really wasn't expecting much when I ordered it, but then I got to try Tokyo Bal's sangria and I have to say I was impressed. The fruit with the red wine was really tasty. It kept me cool and refreshed the whole time. It would be nice if they had given me a little spoon to eat the fruits inside.
We were also given a small cup of minestrone. Not a big fan of minestrone but I actually liked this one. It was quite delicious and it didn't have that overpowering taste of tomatoes in it.
Appetizer
We decided on three appetizers. The first one was the pork belly spread on bread. The spread was really creamy and went well with our toasted bread. Next, was the cheese of the day. Of course I was going to order that. If I am not mistaken, the cheese of the day was cheddar and camembert. The cheddar was a bit dry but not bad. The camembert was gooey and delicious as it should be. Lastly, the prosciutto. We both liked the prosciutto by itself, but I recommend wrapping it around the camembert cheese.
Ortolana
For veggie lovers, this is the pizza for you. It comes with broccoli, zucchini, assaperagus, paprika, and cauliflower. That is a lot of vegetables. This is a veggie pizza but there are anchovies in it. When you grab a slice, be careful of the sliding vegetables. Make sure you fold your slice a little bit. I took a bite out if my slice and thought that the garlic with the anchovies were really nice. You could taste all the different vegetables in there with some good cheese. To be honest, it was a good pizza but it wasn't my cup of tea. I will try a different pizza next time.
Spicy Oil
If you a a fan of spice, give this oil a chance. It isn't extremely spicy but it has a nice kick to it. I poured it on my pizza and absolutely loved it. I highly recommend pouring this on your slice at least once to give it a try.
Calzone
This was the first time the wife had ever tried a calzone. I was really excited for her to try it. When she first looked at it, she said it looked like a giant gyoza. We both laughed and one of the staff members came over and asked if we wanted him to cut it for us. We said yes, and he cut it into four slices with steam rising out of the calzone and a delicious smell of cheese and ham. Wait, ham?
Inside the Calzone
I am used to having a calzone that has pepperoni, cheese and tomato sauce. This calzone was way different. It had ricotta cheese, mozzarella, cooked prosciutto, truffle oil and an egg. Not sure what the egg was doing in there. The melted cheeses, the cooked prosciutto with that hard shell was amazing biting into. You got a lot of cheese in the middle and then this delicious flavor of cooked prosciutto behind it. The ricotta cheese mixed with that mozzarella cheese followed by that prosciutto was genius. It was great. It wasn't the average calzone that I am used to but I really enjoyed it. The great thing was the wife really liked her first calzone and that made my night.
After we were done, we payed for our dinner and headed home. Dinner time was a bit expensive so the wife and I want to come during lunch time. From what we saw on the menu on the door, the lunch seems really cheap. 1000 yen for a lunch set.
I named this post "Italian For Everyone" because I also saw dishes for vegans and vegetarians. I saw a pizza for vegans that looked interesting. I am sure it is hard for vegans to find a place to eat, especially in Ibaraki. Thankfully, Tokyobal is one place you can enjoy.
So if you want to have an awesome calzone and delicious sangria, why not heard over to Tokyo Bal Garden Terrace. Who knows, you might see me there, enjoying their lunch set with some great outside dinning.
Enjoy!
For more information on Tokyobal Garden Terrace, check out their website:
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