Libertable, D'Or

Monday, working through bringing the exceptional shops up to 8 cakes, I paid a visit to Libertable at Akasaka. According to their homepage, they shut down their department store counters in March and now only have the main shop.  Glad they are still going, as they have very high-class cakes. Another nice point is that they are open late, so no problem visiting them. Was surprised that the huge selection compared to the past, though the space is the same as always, so maybe just I usually go when most things are sold-out. A relatively new cake for me, and a seasonal one, is the D'or, which is obviously in the mont-blanc family. Since my favorite from them (Charm, which they still have) also is, it seemed a reasonable choice. Besides the usual chestnut paste on the outside over whipped cream, this has an almond and chestnut center, red, rather than black, currant and fig as the fruit accent. It was definitely excellent, so I was satisfied. It's a pretty short run down there, though, and I walked back, but I'm rather lazy lately, I suppose.

Cake-off: L'Abricotier's Sicilien Figue over Libertable's Charm

Continuing the trend, I did my traveling with 10 intervals of 4-min running, starting from about 10 am. First I went to L'Abricotier to get their Sicilien Figue (Cicilien Figue? For some reason my spelling notes from the shop are especially irregular). The rain was light to none, so I could pick up a couple pictures of not very interesting parks for my map and verify that what Google thought was a cake shop was an empty lot. The construction plan posted showed mixed commercial and housing on the shopping street, so it's possible Google is ahead of itself. I came back by train, but making connections from shop to station and station to home, I still used up all 10 running intervals, so after a half-lunch, I went out again walking to Libertable and back. Since I'm reviewing my neighborhood running course through the Harajuku area, I went to the counter in Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs, which was still well stocked at 1:30 pm. Along the way, I verified the nonexistence of a shop but added a couple cafés that marginally expand the proposed new loop for southern Cat Street. On the way back, I popped into one of the chain coffee shops I was considering adding and decided not: the baked goods were plastic wrapped.

This week's cake-off cakes were both zero for two going into the third round and were marked as questionable for staying on the greats list. Against each other though, I'm happy to keep them both on it. Charm is a very creamy and sweet mont-blanc, but I'm choosing the fruity flavor of the Sicilien Figue. Looks like I'm back to owing L'Abricotier a cake. Well, I've never had their cream puff, so I'm sure I'll be able to find something new, but it's going to take a couple weeks, as I'm busy next weekend. Also probably no cake-off, but maybe a visit to new fancy tea salon.

Cake-off: Jean-Paul Hévin's La Figue over Libertable's Charm

First, let me mention Friday night's run, which was another long run that brought me to the most north and most east parts that I've done yet on any kind of neighborhood course run, reaching to Nakano Ward, not so far away from a neighborhood I spent part of one summer. This time it took about 80 minutes to reach the new loop on the neighborhood course and another 50+ minutes to run the 8 km loop. That was the Hatagaya--Honmachi--Minami-Dai--Nishi-Shinjuku loop. It was a new loop, and I was in a hurry to run it before I really knew the course or the neighborhood. I almost immediately found a flaw and had to improvise and missed on of the known parks. Also, I ran most of it with Google Map displayed, which isn't really how I want to be doing these, so I've rethought how I want to continue. Besides wanting to actually learn individual loops in the course before moving on to others, I want to do in full the pedestrian/green ways, which this course and the actually the course leading to it both have. Any I've found another public park that should be on the map, so I've added that, split the loop leading to it into two loops, and also had to slip off a couple slivers into mini-terminal loop leaves to pick up landmarks that otherwise would require even longer convolutions (I won't combine two loops if that increases the total running length).

For fuel, I had hoped to get something from a bakery cafe in Harajuku, but it had transformed into something else in the last couple days. It's really hard to keep up with Harajuku. Everything after that was long closed (the new loop and one below it are pretty heavily residential), even leaving home before seven in the evening, but I walked home and passed by Shinjuku Station, so I picked up a Sheraton Chocolat from Hakuo for 20% off. It's sort of like a pain au chocolat, with layers, but very thick layers and not very baked (or they absorbed back a lot of moisture by that time of night) and the filling was milk chocolate cream rather than just chocolate (so it was refrigerated). It was just ok as a pastry but appreciated as energy, though I didn't eat it until I reached home (no cake for Friday).

New Number Sugar

Saturday, I got a late start on running to Akasaka and then Tokyo Midtown to get cakes for a cake-off: first Charm from Libertable and then La Figue from Jean-Paul Hévin. Then  I went back out and scouted what I thought was going to be the next level 12 loop (it still is, but running it is no long my next priority). I got a sample from Candy Show Time (the one on Cat Street) and decided that even though I've added chocolate shops to my map, I didn't need hard candy shops. It's just sugar in a different shape, and it's unclear what advantage handmade has. I expect a machine could do a good job, though maybe it wouldn't be as pretty. Not sure yet whether Number Sugar, which has a shop just off Cat Street nearby, will stay on the map. They just opened (or are preparing to open: they were taking opening pictures when I went past, though I didn't see any customers) a big shop much closer on the southeast end of Sendagaya, which isn't really a tourist or shopping area, so I'm not sure what the idea is. Are they going to do cooking lessons there, and need the space?

Saturday was a second-round cake-off between first-round losers, but I'm happy with both as great. They both take fairly standard flavor and add something unusual to give a distinct accent. It was difficult to choose in the end, but the mont-blanc (Charm) is a really sweet cake that one could start getting tired of toward the end (at least when eating it along with another piece of cake, but only one small cup of tea), whereas I could have kept eating La Figue. Sorry Libertable guy (who I just noticed on an NHK special as I was setting up whatever recording I was actually going to watch during lunch today).

Libertable: Grace

Went back to Libertable to share the previous cheesecake and try another new cake, Grace. It was hot and in the middle of a day that I had other things to do, so I went by bicycle, though it was still a pretty sweaty business. Grace was chosen among things I haven't had because it's been in the line-up for a long time, so I figured it was a about time. This is mainly a red fruit mousse cake, which means fruity and gelatinous, so a tough sell with me. I those terms, this did not really rise above the standard, though definitely of high quality. This claims heavy (? not sure how to interpretty koku = コク in this case) cream, but the distinctive taste is the basil: actually I wouldn't be surprised if there are other spices. It was definitely good, and interesting, which their cakes usually are. The last three cakes have been excellent on average, so the shop category excellent is probably appropriate, so my focus will turn to better than excellent shops, though I've had one great cake that I'll have to get back to for cake-off, so it might not be that long before I revisit them.

Libertable: Laitir

Finally got back to Libertable, which is an excellent shop that might be quite excellent, but so I need more information. This was only the sixth cake, I think. I went by the neighborhood route and finally finished a one-way neighborhood revisiting of the Kita-Aoyama--Jinguumae--Shibuya loop and the (central) Shibuya loop. It takes about 40 minutes by the shortest route on the neighborhood course to get to the south end of Shibuya station, from which I can cross into parts south. So actually I went to the ShinQ counter of Libertable, but it worked out and they had another cake that haven't had yet (Grace) so it's reasonable to go back there again, but I'll hit the Akasaka main store if that doesn't work sometime (there are a couple shops at ShinQ I'd hit for pastries as backup.

The cake is Laitir, which is baked cheesecake with epoisses cheese and cream cheese with marc cream and marc gelatin and streusel on top (soft of a reverse crust). This is the cheesiest-flavored cheesecake that I've ever had, I think, and is a pretty substantial ball of cheese, if obviously tricky to know how to approach it (radially, cutting between streusel and marc gelatin cubes). It's not my new favorite cheesecake, but it is definitely excellent and certainly recommended to anyone who likes cheesecake. Looks like more visits to Libertable are in my future.

Libertable: Tarte Apricot

Went down to Libertable for pastry or cake. As it happened, they had the fourth of the four pastries that I've seen there, so I didn't even look at cake. Baked tarts have been the last thing I've gone for in sampling pastries, presumable because I have a low expectation of them, but this apricot tart (and I'm not sure that I've gotten the name right, so when I go back for cake, which is also a priority, I should check) was definitely worth good, and slowly I came to the decision that it was excellent, and then that it was definitely excellent. I'm not even sure what a great baked tart tastes like, so I might have to revisit this, but this was pretty good. I'm not sure how to describe it in detail, but it is a pretty strong flavor but not too tart (in the sense of apricots), that is, the fruit has been well baked into mellowness. The tart bottom isn't quite caramelized, but it's in that direction, compared to just pastry, and in between is, all I know to say is, butter tart. Now I'm more interesting in trying this kind of tart at other places.

The running started with 1-min intervals of something more resembling actual running than jogging. I had a better idea about where the interruptions were, so that only took 12 min of running time to fit in 5. Then I ran to Libertable, got my cake, reused a bag at least (still used a box), and ate it on a bench in Akasaka where I was not expecting to get assaulted by mosquitoes. From there, I decided to at least get one piece of the neighborhood course out of the way, and jogged to the Hatonomori Hachiman Shrine to do the Sendagaya Southeast Loop and then run home sticking to the neighborhood route (so taking a shortcut to get there is fine, but I have follow the neighborhood route to or or from the same start point on the neighborhood route map every time for it to count as running a neighborhood course; Libertable is on the neighborhood route, but it's a ways from home along it, much more of a detour, so I'm not ready for that). I also decided to just the route to a more Google-friendly one rather than keep the old route running up the steps of Senjuin temple, though I saw someone going up that way as I passed, so it's not totally unreasonable, just a little unnecessarily and potentially obnoxious (you're sort of running right up to someone's house and then swerving into the back drive when the security lights come on in your face). It was only about 70 minutes of running, but tough due to the early hard running, plus the stairs and slopes of following the neighborhood route faithfully.

Cake-off: Bien-être's Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust over Libertable's Charm

Got a virus and went a week without cake.

Felt well enough to go out and get cake. I prepared to go by bicycle and got as far as the exit and decided leaning on the bars was too painful and instead half ran and half walk (because it's maximum-warning hot right now) to Libertable at Shibuya ShinQ to get their mont-blanc, Charm, for a cake-off. I had gotten to four untested great cakes, so I decided to do a first round. Also, I didn't trust Bien-être to keep their Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust around, though they've had it for a few weeks. These cakes are similar in that they are perfect realizations of in some ways simple types of cakes. Since I have limited access to dependable chiboust, the chiboust is the more important on my great list, so I'll give the nod to it. At some point, I'll want to compare mont-blanc to each other to see which ones are redundant.

Jean-Paul Hévin: Verrine Chocolat Singe and Verrine Matcha

No cake Saturday, as my plan to go to Cova for lunch at Shinjuku Takashimaya was foiled by them having been replaced as the third-floor café (we did eat in Takashimaya, but not at a café). Of course, nor was there running, so there is a certain fairness to that.

Sunday's plan to go to Jean-Paul Hévin at Isetan, which does not have a café (in Tokyo, you have to go to Tokyo Midtown for that), but does have a chocolate bar with a drink and verrine set, did go through and even arriving at noon, we had the place to our selves, at least initually, so early Sunday is a good time to visit there. We got two verrine sets. I got the Verrine Chocolat Singe (I'm guessing for the last word, as there is no monkey in it, just basil and yuzu) and the other was Varrine Matcha, which certainly has matcha (powdered green tea) in it. Drinks were Nature Tradition, which is a cold chocolate drink, and Thé Glacé au Yuzu (no picture), or something like that.

Both verrines were excellent. The first had chocolate apparently infused with basil, though I couldn't tell, with yuzu gelatine in the base. The chocolate mousse was quite good, though just plain chocolate and it took some effort to dig down to the yuzu. I suppose I could mix it all up at the beginning (which I wouldn't have done this time even if I had thought of it, since we were having halves and I ate the first half of this one). The matcha, of course, had the chocolate and matcha up top, so you didn't have to wait. The gelatine in the bottom was griotte cherry, though I couldn't identify it at the time other than fruit, which is probably good, because matcha is subtle enough that you don't want to pair it with too strong a fruit. A child of a shop specializing in green tea assured me that it this was really nice green tea, which I beleive and would expect. Jean-Paul does a good job respecting Japanese flavors, in my experience.

The Nature Tradition (cold chocolate) was also excellent. It had been a while since I had had this. Unfortunately, the cold Yuzu tea was more like icewater flavored with yuzu juice, especially by the end, so I can't recommend it, but it was good to okay.

In the evening, I went for a run (about 24 minutes) and then walk (considerably longer), first to Libertable, at which I found a new pastry and bought it, justifying this by my not having had cake or pastry Saturday. This time, it was the Feuilletée au Almonde, which was definitely exactly like an almond croissant, specifically the type where there is almond paste both inside and outside as coating, on which there were also almond slices and a lot of powdered sugar. It was excellent, but not ideal for me, somehow. It was a little moist for me, I thought, and yet my other suggestion for how to improve it would be to add almond liquor, so I probably don't know what I'm talking about. Anyway, they remain  as a top tier place for pastries for me, so I'll get back there again to try to score something else this week. They also had an apricot tart today, as well as the two pastries that I have already posted on. I asked whether they had the same line-up everyday, and the counter person said that it varied and didn't offer any details, so I left it at that. If they don't have a new pastry for me next time I go, I also want a new cake from them, which so far has not looked like a problem, despite them still having at least most of the old ones.

In other information, Toshi Yoroizuka has both their great Cassis and Saint-Marc, but the Marunouchi JPH has switched to regular JPH cakes from having their own line, so I've lost access to Orly. I hope they put it the line-up again. I've had the (non-coffee) current new cakes from JPH now, but when I was in for the verrines, the menu included a tart that won't be available until later in the month, so now I'm looking forward to that.

Bien-être, Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust

Friday, I went back to Bien-être, jogging a little over 2 km of the roundtrip. At the shop, I tried the current pistachio chiboust, Pistachio and American Cherry Chiboust, in their eating space (there were 4 other customers eating). Not sure that American cherry is as good as grapefruit, but it's fine and provides a different texture from other components that grapefruit can't. Anyway, this thick tart under a thick layer of chiboust is still unlike other cakes that I have regularly, so I can say that this is great, like the previous version that seems to have a very short line-up life. Now I really did to do a first-round cake-off, but I'm busy this weekend and some of next.

Thursday, I got back to Libertable, also running just 2 km of the roundtrip and walking the rest. That time I got the regular Feuilletée. It looks more like a croissant than the chocolate one does and was more bread-like inside than I expected. However, the texture is less like a typical croissant than the chocolate version was. It has a kind of chewiness that actually made it more interesting, which made it excellent to me. I hope they make some other pastries, though these two might be the only two I've seen; if they don't have one next time I go, I'd also like another new cake, but I should make sure to ask them about their pastry schedule.

Cake-off: Très Calme's Mont-Blanc over L'Abricotier's Le Piemont

Last day of the month and a Saturday. Can't ride a bicycle due to right arm and shouldn't type much, but tried even longer walks to see whether I'm ready to start running next month. My foot seems good enough.

Two walks: 8+ km to L'Abricotier to get Le Piemont (oddly, their signature cake wasn't out yet, even after 11 pm. They were just getting to putting out the Sicile. Came back by JR Chuuou line, so still had some walking to do at both ends. After lunch, walked to Très Calme by not the best route and got their Mont-Blanc, which is also their top cake with me and generally. Came back by a cheap but not close way, this time Toei lines, I think.

This was a battle of underdogs, both in terms of shops that are on the way down on my list and also cakes that lost the first round. Le Piemont is chocolate and nut cream, was well as chocolate and nuts, so good stuff. Still like it a lot, but not sure I need to keep in on the great list; will have to review in the third round. The Mont-Blanc was in a similar situation, though in the end I felt that it had a distinctive taste that I wanted to keep, so it remains safe, as well as the winner.

Yesterday, I failed: F. Cassel still did not have a cream puff for me and I've run out of pastries at Dalloyau (under my restricted definition, which calls certain things sweet breads and leaves them for a different evalutation, basically the completely soft stuff).

Thursday, I was successful at getting a pastry from Libertable for the first time. This was Feuilletée au Chocolat, where the first part just means a layered-type pastry, so pretty generic as a name. It sort of combines the best of croissant and pain au chocolat, so I completely approve and am calling it a great pasty. They are now my top priority for pastries. I might have tried to stop by there when I failed yesterday, but it was already going to be my longest walk of the month, so I didn't want the detour coming back from Ginza.

Libertable: Charm

Before the rain got worse again, I cycled to Akasaka to bring the last of the excellent shops up to 5 cakes blogged. Since the Grace was not available (I wonder whether they alternate, since it was yesterday, though it could have sold out, of course), I went with Charm, which is a fairly standard mont-blanc with a fairly nonstandard ingredient for other ships, porcini (mushroom). I couldn't really identify the porcini (though it is supposed to be nutty, so, used correctly, I probably shouldn't detect it in chestnut without a lot more experience with porcini) and it was fairly standard in construction, meringue base under whipped cream, under chestnut paste, but it was perfect for me as far as what I like in a mont-blanc, so I'll say that it was great.

In other happy news, although I remain committed to no running this month, my commute walk was pain-free (I might have felt a ghost sensation at the end of one pass, but not pain). I might start doing some basic training to build up my ankles starting this weekend and soon try farther walking. My hands will be happy to get away from bicycling, as my wrists and fingers aren't that strong).

Short run to Libertable and back: Zenith

Had some skin problems yesterday and some different weird stuff going on today, but decided that my body rhythm is screwed up from not enough sleep and weird hours over the weekend, another reason I may have to quite the long runs in the summer (which is drawing to a close). I'm hoping running in the evening will help reset my clock.

Anyway, I still tried and maybe am okay doing just a short easy run to Libertable, where they had Zenith for 848 yen. This is one of two of their specialties (the other is Luxe, black truffles and chocolate). It's a Calvados (a special French apple brandy) chiboust and caramelized apple, on top of an apple-flavored foie gras fran in a butter tart crust. I'm really sorry that I looked up what was in it, but it was delicious, I have to admit. I'd like to stick to vegetarian cake (no one has admitted to using lard yet, but I know that there is special lard that is important for French baking: it's the belly fat that you want), though, so maybe not again. The last cake I haven't had from there, the Grace, should be safe, with "red fruit" (raspberries?) and basil creme brulee; I don't mind killing herbs so much.

Frustrating run and Libertable: Vert

So I figured out why the drone was up yesterday. It was probably a trial run for today, when people filled streets and intersections trying to get a free view of fireworks over Meiji Jingu Gaien. It was messy until I got to Aoyama Road west of the Gaien area. Also it was hot, I had to go back once from something forgotten (but I did find the bug spray), and I did not run that far.

Today, they did not have the Zenith, so I got the Vert from Libertable for 604. It's very similar to yesterday's, actually, in that it is very fancy, very pretty, obviously good quality, not cheap, and yet very weak on flavor without being bad. It a creme mousseline (Hollandaise sauce) of Itanian pistachios, some fennel (visible on top), and lemon gelatin. Still two more cakes to try from there. So far, the Crystal is best, and that's not actually cake.

Homemade pizza was great, though. Think I'll make it again tomorrow, and then I really need to clean the kitchen. No running or cake expected.

Running slopes and stairs to Libertable: Crystal

The rain stopped most of the time and otherwise was not significantly different from the rain of sweat. Still, it was a late start due to work, so I had an excuse to not stray too far. I did my usual steepest slope loop near the Soka Gakkai campus/complex three times and did two and a half times around the pair of stairways at the nearby main neighbor shrine, and some other regular slopes before heading around Akasaka Palace and visiting Libertable again for the Crystal, which is a shu cream which is mostly hazelnut praline cream, which is different. For 388 yen, it is pretty reasonable and very good. It had been since Sunday that I had had a professionally made cake, so I would have bought the Zenith if they had had it, but this was still a good choice.

I also completed the rum banana tart and have to say, eh. I like bananas in my yogurt for breakfast, but I guess not otherwise. I've never had anything else with bananas where I appreciated them, just I had this tart recipe (from the cookbook that came with my oven) and wanted to try it. The custard and shell are still fine. I wonder whether I could substitute peaches. Run and peaches go together, don't they? I've still got 80 ml of rum, or about 5 more 14 cm tarts. 

Almost forgot that I took the next picture. I correctly judged that it would still be clear at night with my shaky hand. This is on Aoyama Street near where the loop around Akasaka Palace grounds runs into it going clockwise.

Running for speed, home-made custard tart

Updated the weekday map somewhat, but removed the courses, since it's too much trouble to keep it updated. Instead I labeled more relevant landmarks.
Did the 1325 m around Meiji Jinguu Gaien in 6 min 10 sec, which bests my times from last week but is still not so fast. (Did I do a mile in 6 minutes in high school, when I was running a lot?)
Went down to Neues, which had the usual stuff and not what I was looking for (or I need to review), and Libertable, which had the Dahlia that I had had before, so I updated the Libertable post, now that I've confirmed what I had. Coming back meant going around the Akasaka Palace loop. Sort of winged it through the area west of there, taking the hills and half looping back, then taking another slope. I ran over an hour total.
At Libertable, I got a very buttery bread with potato (didn't find pieces, so maybe the flour), for 291 yen, which is high for a tiny bread (it's about 10 cm across, maybe) but okay. It was good.

I didn't get cake for two reasons. One is this:

the second third of the custard in a shell (one of two baked, although I have the dough ready for a third). The shell was a success, in that it holds custard, but since it is butter, flour, sugar, and one egg, it basically tastes like butter. I ate half of this at lunch and the second half with cherries at dinner. A lot of cherries (the second reason), because every year the company gives us 1 kg of already ripe cherries (if you get them shipped, they'll already have turned by the time that you get them, so I pick them up at work). Questioning whether the money could be better spent on something else is not appreciated, so it's cherries every year from the same place; don't consider how it affects the end-of-fiscal-year bonus.

My plan had been to make a banana rum tart tonight, but it was a late work day, so maybe tomorrow. I could substitute cherries, but I want to try the recipe reasonably by the book at least once. Tomorrow is rough weather, although it should mostly pass by the evening. We'll see if running is possible.

Hill running and Libertable: Dahlia (updated)

Today I did hills. Yesterday, I just did not want to move and wondered why I run at the beginning, which went away after less than 2 km. Today the knees were sore from the beginning, but got fine pretty quick. I ran through the regular neighborhood ringed by Yotsu Sanchome, Yotsu, Akasakamitsuke, and Shinanomachi stations. Instead trying to add hills, I just did some loops to use the ones I like more. Seemed to work.

Went to Libertable for cake. Despite being right on my usual path, I've only got cake there twice before. Both times, it was high-quality cake that I never want to have again. The first was Luxe, which is chocolate mousse with black truffles; very interesting, and I'm not sorry that I tried it, but it's not for me. The second was Robuste, with is a disk on edge, with hazelnut praline, chocolate, and almond, but the banana and passion fruit inside did not really do it for me (bananas are for breakfast to me, not for my cake, although I've got my eye on a rum, banana, custard tart recipe). This time I was going for the Zenith, figuring if I didn't like that, then I'd call it quits for them (although it's been at least a year anyway). That was not there at 8:30 or so; they are open until 9 pm, which is great, and they had multiple customers in front of me and a lot of people were coming down from the big, obvious rich shrine across the street, whose well-lit, tall, high-quality stone stairs I selfishly ran up and down a couple times, though mostly by the side paths, not the main stairs which bridges a road and has an escalator beside it, though I don't know why. Is there a beer hall up there? It was mostly guys in suits, although since the other side is government buildings, maybe there's a path that's more convenient than walking around.

What I actually got was this:

which is chocolate mousse, raspberry ganache, and lychee cream, called Dahlia (ダリア), which I think is 669 yen. The outer fruit coating is about the right consistency, not too sticky and the inside lychee cream, though lacking a distinct taste, balances the mousse. This was not wow-this-is-great good, but well balanced and excellent quality. Still not sure whether Libertable is a great cake shop, but it's in the running. It's got the ambiance and prices, and it is convenient enough that I'll try again..