Densetsu No Sutadon (Butadon), Shimokitazawa

First of all, you need to know that I am not a gyudon (beef bowl) neither a butadon (pork bowl) guy. When it comes to going to the ultra popular gyudon or butadon joints, I'm always the first one to poop out. I've always found the meat in these cheap-eats to be too greasy and I'm frankly almost repulsed by the way it always stews for hours in the foul-smelling (but that's my personal opinion) broth. At the same time, given the average price of these dishes at around ¥300, you can't really ask for anything gorgeous.

So you understand how skeptical I was when I first entered this new-in-the-neighborhood Butadon restaurant...
Why did you go in there if you dislike it so much, will you ask me? Good question.
Well, first of all because they opened right in front of the station and it's tough to avoid them no matter how hard you try, second of all because their recommended Sutadon costs an astonishing ¥600 which is abnormally costly for what it is, and last but not the least I realized I hadn't featured any real cheap-eats yet in this blog so it was about time I did so.

I chose the house specialty "Sutadon". Sutadon is probably an abbreviation of "Sutamina Donburi" (Stamina bowl) and a quite appropriate name considering the amount of food you get: this bowl will make you go through the day, with 400g of rice in it...
As you can see, it also comes with a bowl of miso soup and a raw egg that you top on the bowl.

The big difference between Densetsu No Sutadon and most of the other Pork Bowl places resides in the meat itself and the way they cook it.
They use a surprising Italian Whey Pork (used also to make Prosciutto in the boot-shaped country) which is known for its water-retentivity and thus its tenderness. The fat is also easy to chew and not smelly at all.

They saute the back ribs meat with their secret recipe sauce made of Awase-Joyu (shoyu mixed with Katsuo-Bushi glaze) and garlic as soon as an order comes in, so you don't get that meat that's been stewing for ages in a broth, like in some other places.
The meat was good and the garlic flavor pleasant and appetite stimulating. I thought first that there wouldn't be enough meat to go with the large amount of rice but I was wrong.

So if you're hungry and you need a filling dish that's within your holiday budget, the Sutadon is definitely an option. It's not Haute Cuisine but it's satisfying nonetheless. They also have curries and noodle dish among other things if you're not in a butadon mood. By the way, they also have a smaller size for the Sutadon, just in case you're not into big portions.

Densetsu No Sutadon is easy to find, across the McDonald's right outside the station's South Exit.

They're open everyday from 11:00am to 3:00am!

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