Dive straight into Chef Maekawa’s degustation course with an appetizer featuring charcoal-grilled breast meat from the two chicken breeds he uses at the restaurant—Miyazaki Jitokko and Iwate Horohorocho—and seasonal vegetables served with a plum ponzu dressing. What follows is a sumptuous, filling course that includes skewered chicken meat, chicken neck, vegetables, gizzards, quail eggs, fried tofu, liver, and a soup. Next is your choice of a composed dish or a skewer of chicken oviduct and immature eggs, followed by more vegetables, a skewered chicken meatball, chicken wings, two rice dishes and two kinds of sweets.

Kishu Binchotan charcoal is laid carefully inside the grill to create the perfect heat levels for each chicken variety. Above sits an array of brushes ready to apply refined Jitokko chicken oil, sesame oil, sake, water, or whatever seasoning the chef chooses for each part. His secret rich tare sauce recipe accentuates the umami of the meat, like the Jitokko chicken skewered breast meat that comes early in the course. The gizzards have a satisfying crunchy texture and delicious flavor that deepens as you chew.

Devour the firm, chewy texture and juicy, fatty flavor of chicken neck, served with spicy pepper paste made from seasonal citrus fruits, like sudachi in June. It is just one example of Chef Maekawa’s excellent use of yuzu, lemon, sudachi, and other seasonal citrus fruits in his homemade accompaniments, such as ponzu dressing, citrus pepper paste, and mi-sansho green Japanese peppercorn miso. The wonderful flavors come through in even the tiniest dab.

The flavor of the chef’s signature tsukune chicken meatball is outstanding, accented by the fun, crunchy texture of chopped lotus root. It is topped with homemade ponzu and sprinkled with sudachi citrus zest. A combination of tiny cubes and coarsely grated flesh, the accompanying daikon exemplifies the chef’s meticulous knife skills. In June and July, when local Kaga Renkon lotus root is not available, Chef Maekawa substitutes chopped new ginger for an equally superb taste sensation.

The perfect squares of atsuage thick tofu are made in-house from locally grown soybeans. The dish arrives with grated daikon and other condiments and is enjoyed with a dash of local soy sauce. Fried fresh and grilled over Binchotan charcoal, the aromas are mouthwatering, and the delicious soybean flavors come through in every bite—a contrast between a crispy, thin skin infused with charcoal flavors and a smooth, velvety center.

For the closing rice dish, you can enjoy two wonderfully comforting varieties. The first is seasoned chicken mince topping rice, called soboro-don. The second is oyako-don, a dish of seasoned chicken pieces in an eggy sauce, whose name fittingly translates to "mother-and-child bowl." Chef Maekawa’s version is so velvety, it’s like soup, accented by delicious green onions infused with charcoal flavor.

The sweet finish to the course will likely feature Noto salted-lemon jelly atop a blancmange made with either a honey-lemon combination or Kokuryu Brewery’s sake lees.

The sake selection numbers eight varieties, including some local brews, but almost every kind of alcohol is on offer. As Maekawa says, yakitori goes well with everything. And no doubt, you’ll want to partake in a drink or two or three as you watch the chef’s masterful techniques, fanning the charcoals and grilling the yakitori to perfection, all the while your mouth watering in anticipation. Savor the whole yakitori experience in this splendid space oozing old-town Kanazawa charm.

INGREDIENTS
Maekawa uses two breeds for his star ingredient of chicken. One is Horohorocho from Iwate Prefecture, which he uses for chicken wings and liver, among others. Most of the parts, however, come from Jitokko, a local Miyazaki Prefecture variety. Maekawa tells us, “Jitokko is characterized by wonderful firm texture, strong umami, and concentrated flavor. The quality of the innards is also outstanding.” Initially, he used Date-dori—the same variety as at Torishiki. But in his continued search for a breed that suited the yakitori style he aspired to, Maekawa discovered Jitokko.

Wherever possible, Maekawa uses local vegetables. His chicken meatballs contain Kawabata Renkon, a lotus root variety grown using natural farming methods in Kahokugata lagoon just north of Kanazawa. The big, meaty shiitake mushrooms are a variety called Noto Temari. There’s the Baba Farm zucchini, cultivated using spring water; Kurosawa Farm’s corn, freshly picked each morning; and Kinameri nameko mushrooms so splendidly oversized you can even roast them over charcoals. In every case, Maekawa has built personal, trusted relationships with the growers.

The Koshihikari rice served at Hamagurizaka Maekawa is farmed in the lush green Kawaidani valley in Tsubata, Ishikawa. The soy sauce is a locally made brand, and Maekawa’s desserts feature sake lees from the historic Kokuryu Brewery. One delectable, skewered dish features quail eggs. The EL France variety is not only about fifty percent larger than typical quail eggs, but its yolks are also rich in flavor and incredibly creamy.