We’re used to family restaurants in Japan offering their own unique takes on western dishes, with what might best be described as mixed results. But this item on the new seasonal menu at Jonathan’s sees the restaurant branch out into stripped down, über-simple food that’s had some customers questioning: can you really call that a side dish?!
Yes, the ambitious new menu at Jonathan’s includes this item: a single piece of broccoli.
▼ A thing of beauty, after all, is a joy forever.
ぐるぐる途中に遅めのランチを……と思ったときに見つけた斬新かつ、意欲的なメニューツキ。
二度見した。 pic.twitter.com/Y8gwdddF4B— 💔失恋レッド公式💔 (@tsukiuta1) October 7, 2014
“Wandering around, I dropped in for a late lunch”, explains this Twitterer. “This is what’s on the new menu – I did a double take!”
The broccoli on offer here is a super-limited edition seasonal treat from Hokkaido. The cooler summers of Japan’s most northerly island make it ideal for growing broccoli, and Hokkaido produces more broccoli than any other region of Japan.
Of course, there’s nothing particularly strange about serving individual vegetables as a side dish, but its simple presentation on the picture menu has brought out that, “What, just a piece of broccoli?!” instinct in many a Jonathan’s visitor. Another Twitter user, on ordering the new item, declared it “even more brazenly just a piece of broccoli than I thought!”
▼ “Ordered the Hokkaido broccoli. It was pretty big! I feel adventurous lol.”
http://twitter.com/2006Revolt/status/516127987188514816
Not everyone was happy, though.
▼ “I ordered fries and broccoli at Jonathan’s, but my friends all laughed at me. WHY?!”
ジョナサンでブロッコリーとフライドポテト頼んだらみんなに笑われた。なぜ？ pic.twitter.com/8hlPhaQjVl
— F (@Fuyuhama19) October 4, 2014
Our friends over at Naver Matome even bring us this story about a Jonathan’s employee persevering to explain the short-term broccoli status to a non-Japanese person:
▼ “At work today, I didn’t know how to explain to a foreigner that the broccoli was sold out, so I just said ‘NO BROCCOLI’ hahaha.”
https://twitter.com/rina_kakera/status/515460857489149952
In the event of NO BROCCOLI, incidentally, some branches will actually be serving Hokkaido corn, a better-known specialty food from the region.
If you’re in Japan and there’s a Jonathan’s near you, this “super-limited edition” Hokkaido broccoli is available daily from 10:30am to 6pm while stocks last. Let’s just hope it’s “YES BROCCOLI” when you rock up for brunch or a late night brassica binge.
Source: Naver Matome
Featured image: Twitter/@tsukiuta1, edited by RocketNews24