My favorite store. Vol.2 Ken Kagami "Cantina Carica ri"
Everyone has their favorite places. Restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops, cafes, bars... Because they are friends, because the food is delicious, because it's comfortable... The genres and reasons are different for each person. If there's one thing we can say, if you have such a place, it must be a rich life. So, we want that person to tell us about their favorite place. In the second part, we went to an Italian restaurant in Toritsu Daigaku Station that contemporary artist Ken Kagami and his family are fans of.
I want to keep going here with my family.
"Cantina Carica ri" is pronounced "Cantina Carica ri". My daughter, who is in her second year of junior high school, often says, "I want to go to Carica ri!" I guess it sounds good. It is a sister store of the Italian restaurant "Ri Carica" in Gakugei University, and I think it opened in 2015. I've been going there for about 4-5 years now.
My wife loves to eat and drink. She is always on the lookout for new places, and I found out about this place through her. My wife often finds restaurants for us to go out to as a family. But when we go out to eat, we go out with just the family these days. We have a repertoire of five favorite restaurants.
One of them is this place. My daughter just loves it. There are two dishes we always order. One is the garlic and tomato pichiglione. It's a kind of pasta, but the noodles are thick and chewy like udon. It's the restaurant's signature dish. The other is steak, which is thick but soft. I recommend eating it with salt. The menu is easy to understand, like pasta! Meat!, so it's fun even for families. Also, they have a wide selection of wines that we like, so the whole family is very satisfied. The naturel wines that go with the Italian food here are the best.
I also like the atmosphere inside the restaurant. There is a dining kitchen inside the U-shaped counter, so you can see what is being prepared. The male chef is always cooking skillfully, and it is fun just to watch him. The customer service of the staff is also good.
I think there are three conditions for a good restaurant: delicious food, a good atmosphere, and excellent customer service. Karika-ri has all of those things. It's also comfortable. That's why I've been going there for so many years. Even when my daughter is old enough to drink alcohol, I want to keep going there with her. And I want to have a toast with her. I hope my stomach is still healthy by then... I've been eating nothing but pickled vegetables lately (laughs).
Cantina Carica
Address: 1-5-2 Nakane, Meguro-ku, Tokyo
TEL: 03-5726-9629
Opening hours:
Weekdays 12:00-14:30, 18:00-23:00
Weekends and holidays: 12:00-14:30, 17:00-22:00
Instagram: @carica.ri
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Ken Kagami (contemporary artist)
A contemporary artist, he has released drawings and sculptures, and has exhibited at numerous art exhibitions both in Japan and overseas. He runs his own store, Strange Store in Daikanyama, where he sells his own merchandise, including T-shirts.
Instagram: @kenkagami
