Tokyo story #13
You may recall a statement I made in an earlier travel post:
Time Out magazine’s food critics identified the Top 19 pizzas in the world and the number 3 spot was Pizza Marumo, in Tokyo.
So on our first full day in Tokyo, where do you think we headed….?
(Hey! We may be creatures of habit, but we are always seeking out THE BEST foods and beverages for YOU…)
Our pizza pilgrimage took us to a trendy, cool, neighborhood, called Ebisu, filled with stores selling edgy, vintage clothing that was popular on Venice Beach, in LA, in 1967.
At the pizzeria, we met Yuki Motokura, aka Mr. Marumo, who owns the world’s No. 3 Pie Palace.
We ordered four pizzas, personally made by the Prince of Pizza, Yuki.
The first pizza was schizophrenic — half marinara, half Margherita. Both halves were delicious, and the crust was thin and perfectly cooked.
The other full pizzas were:
Japanese Umami, heavily brushed with shiitake cream sauce that is flavored with Pecorino, mackerel, bonito flakes, konbu, green onion, sesame and soy sauce. …
Bismarck 2.0, a Margherita pizza topped with thin slices of prosciutto and two soft, runny eggs.…
My favorite pizza (below) was called Teriyaki Boys, which, loaded with chicken sausage, was vaulted into the pantheon of pizza-dom with its topping of spicy mayo, dashi, terryaki sauce, mozzarella and Japanese black chili - oooh, soooo good!
The crusts of all the pizzas were textbook perfect — yeasty, slightly crackly, yet slightly chewy, though adding finishing oil (olive) to each perfectly cooked pizza wetted each crust a bit, making the dough slightly soggy. Points off.
To complete our midday taste test, we ordered wood-fired, Wagyu rump cap, roasted in the pizza oven. Close your eyes when biting into a slice of this heavenly beef and you could be eating a mousse of meat — the steak dissolves in your mouth. It may be the most sensual piece of Wagyu that I have ever tasted.
For dessert, I strongly recommend the house affogato….
Pizza Marumo is at 150-0022 Tokyo, Shibuya, Ebisuminami, 1 Chome−11−13.
Tel: +81-03-6683-1973.
Reservations required through abelog.com, or tablecheck.com
One Tokyo pizzeria down…. and two to go…. stand by…
Jim
Getting hungrier and hungrier, every time I read! What fun!