ポテトチップス和風ステーキ味醤油＆おろし仕立て

Returning from a recent trip to Spain, I was more than a bit dispirited at the Japanese food landscape. Apart from the beautiful and delicious food that permeates the Iberian peninsula, it was particularly noteworthy to notice that the iron hand of 7-11 has still to land in Spain. Convenience stores are a anomaly. In fact in many towns one is hard pressed to even find one. Of course there are large supermarkets proffering the same old same old - a quality cut above most stores in the USA or Japan - but between the mom and pop stores and the endless cafes, meat markets, bakeries and speciality shops, quality foods and drinks abound.

Vegetables, even in the off season of March were plentiful, robust, colorful and cheap - particularly compared to the anemic and overpriced greenery that gets sold at the yayoias of Tokyo.

Fish in Spanish markets is clear eyed fresh and most often de-scaled at purchase and cut to order. It's a far cry from the sad shrinkwrapped of unidentifiable fish protein that one finds at the fish markets of Tokyo. And this is Japan ferchrissakes! The ravages of industrial food production and distribution has certainly made for acceptance of the least in this neck of the woods. Despite promotion. Despite culture. And don't get me started on the beef.

Or maybe I should.

Japanese beef may have been good at one time. I don't know. I wasn't there. Cruising a Japanese meat market I still marvel at the amazingly marbled cuts of Kobe and wagyu beef. The few times I've had the opportunity to sample these good looking things, I've been sorely disappointed. Insipid at best. It even makes American beef taste good, though it's probably not as dangerous for you.

I've had good, dare I say great, beef in Japan. In Hida-Takayama, a respected beef producing region where the restaurants specialize in the local provender. But in Tokyo, no. Too far away (actually only a few hours from the main beef providers of Japan). But production and distribution on this island have become so abstract and industrial that even their most famous products - after god knows what they do on the farm, freezing and storing for god knows how long, and then god know what happens until it gets to the store - are more famous because of their promotion, rather than their quality.

But enough of my screed. This is supposed to be about fast food. So, today I bought a bag of ポテトチップス和風ステーキ味醤油＆おろし仕立て (Potato Chips - Japanese Style Steak Flavor - Prepared with Shoyu and Grated Daikon). Yamayoshi, who specialize in meat-flavored chips are responsible for this one. The package, in Engrish, proudly emphasizes "Wafu Beef" (i.e. Japanese-style beef) and states "We always produce japanese Style Steak taste for all customer's smiles." They sucked. Salty, thin and a little soggy. They actually had a "beef" taste. But it was like the taste of old grease. You know the one. The one that means a mean case of heartburn. But what should one expect from Japanese beef. Not much, these days.

And as for fast food, I believe that the best of it is the stuff that comes most quickly from the farm to the seller, rather than from the convenience store to the mouth.