Cocotte

Sometimes you don't pay attention to wonderful things that are right in front of your nose. 

That's what happened with this little Deli Cafe/Restaurant right across our apartment. It's called Cocotte. 

Usually my husband and I are full like a Fugu (blow fish) or hungry like wild boars who haven't eaten in days. It's rare that we only have an appetite. But that's how we actually, finally paid attention to this cute little deli shop on our street. 

An elderly very sweet lady, who lives right above her cafe/restaurant, runs the three-table place. She serves small dishes from shrimp gratin, fish pies, different types of salads to tiny desserts and it's easy to taste the love she puts in each dish.

I'm glad we discovered her before moving to the new place. We'll definitely come back.  

P.S.

Oh yeah! Forgot to mention that it's mostly French! Like a lot of other places I've recommended recently. :-) 

Quarante Quatre

You might remember my post about a wonderful French restaurant in the "My Town" section I put up a while ago. Well, let me recommend you yet another French restaurant in Osaka.

I’m not sure what’s going on here – before last year I’ve never really been into French food, mostly because it made comments pop up in my mind like

“too fancy”,

“you pay a tiny fortune and then you have to check your plate with a magnifying glass to locate your food”,

“the waiter looks down on you for not knowing what wine to order”,

and

“what exactly IS French food anyways?”.

In other words, I was fairly prejudiced, uneducated and ignorant about the French cuisine.

(Then again, there is justice in the world because I pay my fair share when people ask me on a regular basis whether in Germany we eat white sausage every day.)

A friend introduced me to “Quarante Quatre” and we went there with two of her friends for lunch. Although at first paying Yen 2,800 (about EUR 23,00 or US$ 25,00) for lunch felt like a tiny kick in the stomach, I joined the group in taking course B, and couldn’t have been more amazed and satisfied with what was offered.

We were served a salad with a light herbal dressing, warm baguette, an innocent looking tiny starter that took me to heaven with its creamy texture and put me softly back on my chair, a great burdock soup, another breathtaking appetizer, heavenly soft lamb in sauce with seasonal vegetables as the main dish, and an unforgettable apple dessert topped with cream that reminded us of a light version of Nutella.

Overall, it was a delight.

“Quarante Quatre” is located in Kitahama, which due to its business offices is mostly busy during the day. From the outside the place itself is fairly unrecognizable – it’s small and with it’s brown wooden design outside it slightly reminded me of a typical old-style Japanese café.

I loved their yellow napkins and pink/purple small flower arrangements on each table. They felt like spots of spring.

The staff was amazing. They know my friend well and so we might have received special attention but everyone was very kind, welcoming and always had a smile on their face.

Sometimes they have “Petit Concert” there, it seems. I’m assuming it’s French music.

And voilà, here is the link to Quarante Quatre and a few pictures.