A Late Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Cheesecake

Merry Christmas everyone!
Well, Merry Late Christmas. Sorry, I am a few days late. Anyway, this year's Christmas was awesome. On Christmas Eve, Mrs. Ibaraki Eats and I had coffee at Coffee Bar Stove wearing our ugly Christmas sweaters and met a fellow Japanese ugly Christmas sweater-wearing comrade. We had some delicious meat from Bacchus and our good friend made us some spectacular chicken and gravy.
On Christmas Day, we got BBQ ribs and chicken from one of my favorite places in Tsuchiura, Buddy's Rib Company. I wasn't sure what we would do for dessert but my wife was already ahead of me and had booked a cheesecake for our Christmas Day dessert. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we drove to a small take-out window near Arakawaoki that only did basque-style cheesecake. This place is called Sano Basque Cheesecake.

Sano Basque Cheesecake

Sano is located in the Nakamuraminami area of Tsuchiura near the Joyful Honda on Route 6. It is a bit of a pain to get to since it is located inside of a neighborhood. I highly recommend using Google Maps to get here since you might get lost in the labyrinth of streets and houses. Once you get close to Sano, you can't miss the signs in the yard that say cheesecake and other weird things like "Don't touch the pointy plants" and "Warning the cheesecake is too delicious and highly addictive." (Yes, there is an actual sign there that says that.)
Sano has two parking spots at their shop/house. We parked our car there and walked up to the ordering window.

The Menu

Sano is a take-out-only place. You can order a slice of basque cheesecake or a whole cheesecake. For a whole cheesecake, it is better to DM Sano on their Instagram and reserve it. The slices of cheesecake depend on what is available. The menu is only in Japanese and is as follows: Plain, Strawberry, Black Sesame Seed, Almond, and Chocolate.
When we visited Sano, we grabbed a slice of strawberry cheesecake and made a reservation to get a premium plain cheesecake for the next day. We paid the nice couple, grabbed our cheesecake slice, and told them that we would see them tomorrow.

Strawberry Basque Cheesecake

What is a basque cheesecake anyway? A basque cheesecake is a bit different from a regular New York style cheesecake in which the basque has no crust and it has a caramelized burnt top to it. A regular cheesecake is all white on the top while the basque has a burnt-looking black layer to the top as you can see from the picture above. The other difference is that the basque cheesecake is creamier, way creamier. Pushing your fork through a basque cheesecake is incredibly satisfying.
So how was the strawberry basque cheesecake, which was gluten-free and sugar-free? Creamy is the main word to describe this cheesecake. Putting a piece of that cheesecake in my mouth made it feel like I was swimming in a pool full of delicious cheesecake. The flavor was tasty, but I also think this is where the sugar-free part is a bit of an Achilles heel. The strawberry flavor was very light and so was the sweetness. You mainly get an in-your-face creamy cheese flavor. I don't mind that at all, but I would like at least some hint of sweetness in my cheesecake. All and all, I did enjoy this slice of cheesecake and so did Mrs. Ibaraki Eats. She had the same opinion I did about the lack of strawberry flavor but overall she really liked it.

Premium Basque Vanilla Cheesecake

I went back to Sano on Christmas Day and picked up a whole premium basque vanilla cheesecake. What surprised me the most was how heavy it was. I could have sworn it was half a kilo.
Unfortunately, both of us were working on Christmas Day so we had to wait till late at night to have this delicious-looking cheesecake. Once I got home, we ate our ribs and chicken from Buddy's and then dug into our cheesecake. Cutting into that premium basque cheesecake was an amazing feeling. How the knife slowly slices through that thick creamy cheesecake is a feeling that everyone should experience.
I took a piece of my cheesecake and gave it a try. This creaminess level was past 100%. It was a creamy fiesta in my mouth that had no intention of stopping. Again, not a lot of sweetness to it and only a hint of vanilla, but the cheesy flavor and creaminess made up for the lack of sugar. The other thing I noticed about this cheesecake was that it was filling. Between the both of us, we were only able to finish half of it. While writing this post I still have some cheesecake in the fridge. Granted we had ribs and chicken before our dessert, but still, this dessert is hard to finish in one sitting. That just means I have cheesecake for tonight as well! Both of us enjoyed this basque cheesecake and we are glad we ordered it for our Christmas dessert.

Well, Sano, you make a mean basque cheesecake. I am impressed and hope to have your cheesecake again soon. Even though you keep some weird hours. Only opening your business on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, I hope to go by again and try your other basque cheesecake flavors.

So if you are in the mood for some creamy basque cheesecake and are around the Joyful Honda area in Arakawaoki, why not drive up to Sano and give them a chance? Who knows, you might see us there, ordering a new flavor of cheesecake to try, or two, or three.
Enjoy!

For more information on Sano Basque Cheesecake, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/sano_chee?igsh=MTg1YjZhczFxYW80cw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

2024 is almost over, and it has been quite a year. This is the year ibarakieats.com started and so far I think we are doing good. I had a lot of amazing food, tasty burgers, and fantastic ramen (way too much ramen), and Ibaraki had a lot of fun events including a weekend full of coffee. I am looking forward to 2025. I will still be trying new places, going to new events, and reporting back to you on my experiences.
I want to thank everyone for reading and for all your words of encouragement, recommendations, and even criticisms. I always love meeting people on the streets who give me their recommendations of the places they love. I truly appreciate it.
Since the New Year holidays are coming up, I will be taking my three-week vacation as always during this time of year. So no new Ibaraki Eats posts until mid-January. I wish you all a very Happy New Year and see you in 2025.
Merry Late Christmas and Happy New Year!