Trattoria Ruzzo

I am not on the classifieds page very often, but I happened to look on there a week or so ago and someone had posted a link to the Facebook page of this restaurant that looked amazing. As soon as I checked out their Facebook page, I knew I had to go. The food looked delicious! So I texted my friend, Tani, to see if she wanted to go check it out with me and she was just as excited as I was after she saw their page.

We headed to Trattoria Ruzzo yesterday for lunch and while it was a very easy drive, it took us about an hour to get there. I want to say that a good 20-30 minutes of that was spent in really heavy traffic getting from Iwakuni to the expressway entrance in Otake. I'll give directions at the end though. Right now I just want to talk about the restaurant!!

It's a cute little restaurant as you can see from this picture of the outside -

I love the location! It's a little bit in the mountains and there is a little river that runs behind it. There is also a camping park behind it. We decided to sit on the terrace and I'm glad we did. There was a slight breeze and we were entertained by the happy squeals of the children playing in the river.

They do have an English menu, but I only took a picture of the Japanese menu. I don't remember why I didn't take a picture of the English menu.... may have something to do with the fact that I am a flake and just plain forgot. Here is a picture of the Japanese menu -

After looking over the menu for a few minutes, I realized I was going to have a very hard time narrowing it down to one dish. I wanted to try everything. Then I told myself that I would just have to come back, and that helped me decide on the Fresh Mushroom pasta. Tani chose the Eggplant Mozzarella pasta, and we decided to order a Margherita pizza to share. We also opted for the fresh pasta for 50yen more each. When he asked if we wanted regular pasta or fresh pasta, my jaw almost dropped to the floor. My brain was going a little crazy. FRESH pasta?? Yes, please! I was a little bit worried that we ordered too much food.... because we also added desserts to our lunch. Granted, we were both starving and we got a little bit of a late start in heading to the restaurant so it was past our usual lunch time.

Within minutes of placing our order, the wonderful smell of garlic being sauteed found its way onto the terrace. My nose was in heaven. Now I really couldn't wait! I was also still very excited about the fresh pasta.

The first item to come out was the pizza -

Wow! It tasted as good as it looks here. Maybe even a little bit better!

A little while later, they brought out the pastas. They looked so delicious!

This is the Fresh Mushroom pasta -

I was trying to get a good shot of the fresh pasta noodles -

Here is the Eggplant Mozzarella pasta -

The pasta was just as delicious as it looked and smelled!! The sauce was very light with a slight kick. He puts red peppers in the sauce, but you can request it without the red peppers. The fresh pasta noodles were perfect!

After all of that, we still had dessert coming!

I ordered the Wild Cherry Tart -

Tani ordered the Apple Tart -

I highly recommend Trattoria Ruzzo. Great location with really wonderful food. Prices are very reasonable. Our bill was about 3,800yen for two pastas, a pizza, and two desserts. Make sure you order the fresh pasta. Well worth the extra 50yen!

To get to Trattoria Ruzzo -

Get on Route 2 and head towards Hiroshima. Jump on the expressway in Otake and head north towards Hiroshima. Get off at the Hatsukaichi exit (500 yen). You want to stay to the left and when the left side splits, make sure you take the Route 2 option. Once you are back on Route 2, you are going to make the very first left which should put you on Route 30. You will stay on Route 30 for 20 kilometers or more (I can't remember the exact number, but you're on it for a while). Trattoria Ruzzo will be on the left. If you're going on a weekend, you might want to make reservations as they get pretty busy. The telephone number is (0829) 72-2272. There is a gentleman there who speaks English pretty well. You can also use Google maps to find your way there. That's how I got there yesterday.

I should also mention that they are closed on Thursdays.

If you go, let me know what your experience was like. I love hearing from other foodies!

Zona Italia

A beautiful restaurant with great food and an amazing view! Zona Italia is located in Itsukaichi which is near Hiroshima city. I have been going to this beautiful restaurant for a few years now, and it never disappoints. The food, the view, and the service have been wonderful every time.




They have an English menu and a couple of people on their staff speak English. Definitely a plus!


I do recommend that you go with the set. You get some appetizers, your choice of pasta or pizza, garlic bread (all-you-can-eat), a dessert, and a drink. The sets run anywhere from around 3,500yen and up. The cost depends on which pasta or pizza you choose. We all ordered the set and before we knew it they were bringing out our appetizers.

This was the view from our table that we enjoyed while we were waiting....

Just had to throw that out there. Great view.


....and then they brought out our first appetizer.

If you don't like fish or cannot eat fish, they are more than happy to substitute with something else. Just let them know when you place your order.


...and then our second appetizer



...and then our third appetizer


Did I mention the garlic bread?


One of the pastas that we ordered.

I believe this was the eggplant and ricotta cheese pasta. Yum!

One of the pizzas that we ordered...

This pizza was pretty amazing. It had homemade sausage on it.

Now it's time for dessert!



This really is a great restaurant for a date night. Great food and great view!

Here is a shot of the front entrance area -



If you are going on a weekend, I highly recommend reservations.

Their phone number is - (0825) 27-2311

To get to this amazing restaurant, I usually take the expressway to Hatsukaichi. Once you exit the expressway, go to the left. You'll be on this road for a little while (20-30 minutes). The exit for Zona is the one after the Shoko Center exit. I can't remember the name of it, but I know it's the one after the Shoko Center (which is the exit for AlPark Mall). When you exit, turn left at the light. Go straight and you should see a sign on your right at the next intersection. Turn right and follow the road up for a minute, and you should see Zona Italia on your right. They do have a decent amount of parking. You can also just hop on the 2 the whole way, but I prefer taking the expressway part of the way. From Otake to Hatsukaichi is only about 500yen so the cost isn't too bad.

G.Labo

I have to warn you that the quality of pictures and number of pictures for this post are not so great. It was raining too hard on Friday night for me to lug my Nikon around so I took all of the pictures with my phone. And I kind of forgot to take a picture of the outside of the restaurant. Did I mention that it was raining REALLY hard that night?

While I love spending an evening out with my co-workers, I don't like it when it's to farewell one of them. So it was with mixed feelings that I went to dinner Friday night. As always, we had a great time and there was lots of laughing going on. G.Labo is one of my favorite restaurants for parties. I called and made reservations for our group and pre-ordered a set dinner course. It was 2,800yen per person for the meal and then some people opted to do the all-you-can-drink for 2 hours so they paid an additional 2,000yen. I didn't take pictures of the drinks, but I did get some shots of all of the wonderful food that we consumed.

First, they brought out this dish.

It was salmon on top of potatoes and it had some type of sauce mixed into it. They drizzled pesto around the plate and served it with some little pieces of crusty bread. I thought it was so yummy that I had three helpings of it!

Then they brought out the garlic bread......their garlic bread is really amazing.....I could just sit and eat the bread all night. Seriously.

When they told me they were bringing this out, I almost jumped out of my seat (maybe I did ... a little) with excitement.

FONDUE!!!!

For those of you looking at this and thinking, "Is that pumpkin there on the left?" Why, yes. It is! Chunks of heavenly pumpkin that we dipped in the this creamy, amazing cheese that was still bubbling like crazy when they brought it out to us. Ohhhh.......I'm going to start drooling all over my Macbook. That pumpkin.....and that cheese.....mmmm.......Alright, moving on.

Oh. I'm sorry. Did I just add another picture of the amazing fondue? Can you see how it's still bubbling? Okay. I'm really moving on now. I promise.

The next dish they brought out was this wonderful mushroom salad.

The mushrooms were delicious and the dressing was really good too. It had a little bit of an orange flavor to it.....a very slight taste.

Then, it was time for some steak. Typically, they serve their steak medium. I didn't think about it when I made reservations and pre-ordered for our group, but I definitely could have asked them to cook them medium-well or whatever our group wanted.

The steak was pretty tasty, but I wish they would have cut them into smaller pieces, or given us steak knives. The pieces were really big and I couldn't just bite a piece off. Now, how sexy is that image of me biting off a big chunk of steak? So glad I wasn't on a first date.

It was finally time for some pasta. At this point, I am feeling kind of full and I'm not sure if I can continue with this food mission.

What? There's mushrooms in the pasta? Well, okay.....I guess I can eat a little bit more. This pasta was pretty light and yummy. It was just tossed in oil and seasonings. Now I REALLY thought I was done.


But....then they brought this out. Oh my gosh. Shrimp in a creamy tomato sauce?? Why, sure! I can still fit some more food in my tummy.

This pasta was a little on the heavy side (must be the cream sauce), but it was good.

Our dinner also came with a choice of coffee or tea, and you they serve it hot or cold so you can choose. I got the hot tea and it was a perfect ending to a yummy dinner. But then they brought out the dessert. They brought out a platter of desserts for each table so we could choose what we wanted.

This wonderful pumpkin goodness was kind of like a pumpkin cheesecake in a cup, with a heavy pumpkin flavor. It was very creamy and very yummy. Unfortunately, I am trying to cut white sugar out of my diet completely (I know....it's okay....you can call me crazy) so I just had a very small bite. It's pumpkin and I HAD to taste it.

The chocolate cake looked very dense and very rich. Not sure if it was a big favorite at our table.

This white chocolate raspberry cheesecake was definitely a hit though. It looked really good and sounded really good. And it even came with a small scoop of ice cream on top.

I felt like we definitely got a lot of great food for our money. They do have a regular menu that you can order from. You definitely do not have to order a dinner set.

Definitely a great place for a group outing, or a date night, or even lunch. They are open for lunch and they offer some decent lunch sets. They are closed on Tuesdays so keep that in mind when you plan your lunch or dinner date. For reservations, please call (0827) 21-7916. They do get booked up pretty quickly in the evenings so even if it's for a small group, I recommend that you make reservations.

To get to this lovely little restaurant, go out Main Gate. At the intersection after the railroad tracks (Four Corners), turn right and head downtown towards the train station. At the rotary (the big round-a-bout in front of the train station), turn left. At the first light, turn left and then make the first right. Park in the pay lot on your left (or any of the lots right there). You should see a covered shopping area if you stand with your back to the main road. Go into the covered arcade and go to your right. Walk for a few minutes and you should see G.Labo on your left. It is the last restaurant on your left before you leave the covered arcade (some people call the covered arcade the "Yellow Brick Road").

Enjoy and please let me know what you think!

Maple City

When someone asks me where my favorite Italian restaurant in Iwakuni is, I always say "Maple City!"

What is it about Maple City that makes it my favorite? The food is amazing. And it's amazing every time I go. The service is always great. The ladies who work there are so nice and they are always smiling. It's also where I found the first red wine I liked. Until then I could only drink white zinfandel. Yes. I know. THAT is NOT a real wine. I don't drink white zinfandel anymore. Cross my heart. I have graduated and moved on to cabs and merlots (from what I have been told...the "REAL" wines). Another thing I love about Maple City is the atmosphere. Nice and intimate enough for a date night and yet, casual enough for an office farewell dinner.

I was lucky enough to help plan a birthday dinner for my good friend, Alma, a couple of weeks ago. Of course the first place I thought of was Maple City. So I called and was able to get reservations. I also let them know we would have a birthday girl in our party. If you tell them ahead of time, they will make something a little extra for the dessert.

As soon as we were seated, I started looking at the menu. I try to get something different every time I come, but the hardest decision is usually whether I should get pizza, or pasta. I should mention that they do have English menus. They also have a nice wine menu. In English. I was DD for the evening so I just got to taste some of the wines they ordered.

Sometimes they have these awesome sets that you can order. You choose your pizza or pasta and then add 1,500yen to the price to get a set. The set has a couple of appetizers, garlic bread (SOOOO GOOD!), a drink, and a dessert. I always get a set if they are offering it. The garlic bread is all-you-can-eat, by the way.

Now I had to decide which pasta to get. Hmmmm....so many yummy choices. Then, the word "pumpkin" jumps out at me. What is that? I see at the very bottom of the menu there is a pasta with a pumpkin cream sauce. Are you serious?! PUMPKIN CREAM? Oh. I had to order it. I love Japanese pumpkin (kabocha). I was so excited! It was almost like it was MY birthday!

The first appetizer was scallops. These were SO good!

If you can't eat fish or just don't like seafood at all, just let them know when you order and they will bring something else out for your appetizer.

The next appetizer was super yummy too!

Then the pastas started coming out.

My pumpkin cream pasta!!

Oh, it was reaaalllly good! Amazing. Delicious. I'm drooling right now.

One of our friends ordered the black squid ink pasta

We all tried it and it wasn't bad. Leaves black stuff all over your teeth and mouth though so it looks kinda weird.

For my drink, I always get a hot tea. Usually, Earl Grey. I love how they serve their tea. They actually use tea leaves and they give you a little timer to let you know when your tea is ready to be poured.

I have them bring my tea after dinner so I can enjoy it with my dessert.

Time for dessert!!!!! I couldn't wait!! Alma had no idea that we had told the restaurant it was her birthday!

Happy Birthday Alma!!! Isn't that cool??

One of our friends ordered a different set from us and this is the dessert that he got.

So purty!!

I love Maple City!! They also have some great lunch sets! They are open from 11:00AM-3:00PM for lunch and then from 5:00PM-11:00PM for dinner. They can get kind of busy on the weekends so I think it's best to make reservations. Their number is (0827)53-3319. Dial it just like that if calling from a cell phone.

To get to this amazing restaurant, go out main gate and turn right at that very first light. Follow that road all the way until it comes to a T-intersection. Turn left but stay in the middle or right lane because you will be making a right onto Route 2. Go straight on this for about 15-20 minutes (it's before you get to the big YouMe Town in Otake). Maple City is on your right. There is a car dealership across from it on your left. I want to say it's a Toyota dealership. There is a sign on the side of the street that says "Maple City Sicily" or something like that. They do have a few parking spaces in front, but they also have other parking. Turn right down the little street right next to Maple City and then take the first left. There is a small lot on your right. You can park in there.

Great place for a date night!