しょうちゃん吉祥寺別邸の焼き鳥など : Yakitori Kappou Shouchan

Dinner on Sunday, February 25, 2024. With my partner. "Kichijoji, this place used to be..." series. It's been a while since I've done it (lol). This place used to be Rau-ya, ``Japan's first folk music live spot.'' The store opened in October 1978. The owner, Tadahiro Wakabayashi, is an ethnic music researcher and sitar player. At first, the focus was on Asian music such as Indian music and gamelan, but over time it seems that live performances of African music and Latin music began to increase. In the 1980s, it was known among music fans as a valuable live house where you could listen to rare music. ``Pia'' also had a live schedule listed. There was a time when there was no such thing as a genre called "world music." There was a time when Shinseido only had categories such as "Brazil," "Tango," and "Reggae." Come to think of it, Hikashu's first live performance was also at Rauya. It was sadly closed in December 1998. I had a front row seat to listen to Cuban music at a special live performance a few days before the store closed. The splendor of that performance remains deep in my heart as one of the most noteworthy musical experiences of my life. On days when I wasn't performing, I worked at a cafe, and it was at Rao-ya that I first had authentic chai, I think it was around 1986. I was wondering if there was a drink like this. It made me feel like the world was so big. Wakabayashi wrote on Facebook that managing the business at the time was so difficult that it hurts to look back on it now. It hurts to read such sentences, but the existence of Raoya was one symbol of why Kichijoji is a special city. It was an important and important piece. At that time, Kichijoji was a hub for transmitting information in an era before the Internet. Raoya, along with Ohara Shoten and Peppermint Cafe, was transmitting Ethnic Cuisine culture from Nanaibashi Street. As I have written many times, Kichijoji did not naturally become the city it is today. Because it was a culturally attractive city, it attracted curious people. There were several people who contributed to this, one of whom was Tadahiro Wakabayashi. I want young people who don't know what Kichijoji was like back then to take an interest in it. Well (lol), I went to work in Murayama in the afternoon. Today we went back to Kichijoji for dinner. Enter Nanaibashi Street, turn right at the first street, and go to the basement of the building on the left. By the way, at that time, the basement was a Raoya, and the upper floors were rental rooms. In the summer right after I graduated from high school, I once rented out all the rooms and held an overnight party (lol). Now that I think about it, it's out (lol). At that time, I already knew it was out (lol). Also, after Rau-ya, there was a shop called Yuurei Izakaya (Japanese-style bar), which had no taste, and was open for a while. I had never been inside. Also (lol), the store where Suit Select is now located was at that time Katsuhiko Hibino's store. The woman who was working at the store at the time later became my subordinate. Moreover, she was attending Mr. Wakabayashi's percussion class. Well (lol), I sat down at a table, ordered a draft beer, and ordered Yakitori (grilled chicken skewers): thigh (290 yen), green onion (200 yen), skin (220 yen), bonjiri (220 yen), and meatballs (300 yen). From the vegetables, I ordered Awaji Island onions (250 yen), shiitake mushrooms (300 yen), and Fried food Prefecture Nakatsu-style fried chicken in white soy sauce (880 yen). The restaurant's recommended way to eat Yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) is to serve it with sauce, salt, or soy sauce. The peaches and green onions that I was recommended to try were pretty good. Bonjiri is also okay. The skin was not the type. Tsukune was average. I ordered the fried chicken because it said it was Nakatsu-fu, but it didn't really taste like Nakatsu-fu, if anything, it was over-fried and the seasoning got boring after one bite. And with that, we were both full. BGM is modern jazz. It was music that sounded like the new mainstream and didn't make me feel comfortable. I ordered a draft beer and my partner had a Setouchi Salt Lemon Sour instead, and the bill was 6,820 yen. Sho-chan is a very popular restaurant located in the Kintetsu Ura section of the north exit, where you can eat and drink at a cheap price. This store probably aims to raise the price range. I wish Yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) was more dramatically delicious. The number of customers was around 70-80% from beginning to end.