Mini Post: Banzai Naporitan

It has been a while since I have done a mini post. I thought long and hard about what my next mini post should be about but nothing came to mind. Then, last Tuesday night, the Ibaraki Eats Duo was shopping at Costco and Mrs. Ibaraki Eats made a beautiful suggestion for dinner that I love hearing, "Let's go to Banzai Naporitan."

Banzai Naporitan

I have written about Banzai Naporitan before so I won't be putting a lot of details in this mini post. I will post the link to my old post at the end of this mini post.
My wife and I headed to the Sakura area of Tsukuba after our Costco adventure to have ourselves a fantastic naporitan dinner. Walking into Banzai Naporitan is always a treat. We took a counter seat and checked out the menu. The way it works at this restaurant is your order the size of your naporitan and then your toppings. There are a lot of toppings to choose from—different cheeses, fried eggs, meatballs, bacon, potato salad, and so much more. That night, I went for the special and my wife got a simple naportian with two fried eggs and parmesan cheese.

Mrs. Ibaraki Eats' Naporitan

My wife decided to go simple that night. She ordered the nami (normal) size naporitan with two fried eggs and parmesan cheese. After she received her piping hot naportian, she sprinkled some parmesan cheese on there and got to work.
She was in spaghetti heaven. The parmesan cheese wasn't the stuff you buy in a plastic cup from the supermarket. This was real and delicious parmesan cheese that tasted like the owner just made it that day. You know what I loved about this dish? Getting the egg yolk with the pasta. That deliciousness is on a whole other level that would make professional chefs cry tears of joy.

Mr. Ibaraki Eats' Naporitan

There was no way this guy was going to get a nami size. I ordered the chumori (a bit bigger than normal) size and I ordered the special naporitan. This spaghetti brought meatballs and melted cheese. It looked glorious. I couldn't wait to get my work in there.
The owner makes the meatballs himself and the melted cheese is blow-torched to perfection. Imagine this, look at the picture above, and imagine plunging your fork into the mountain of melted cheese and pasta. Your fork sinks lower in this cavern of cheese and deliciousness. You twirl the fork and wrap the cheese and pasta around it, you feel that the fork has skewered something at the bottom. Then you bring your fork out of that amazing pasta mountain and realize that you have gotten melted cheese, spaghetti, and a meatball on your fork. You bring this amazing combo into your mouth and are transported to a land of pasta happiness. That is what happened and that is how I felt when I took my first bite, and all other bites were not disappointing. By the way, when do you think my naporitan got cold? Never! All the naporitans are served on a hot skillet so you never have to worry about eating cold pasta.

The Ibaraki Eats Duo is always happy to drop by Banzai Naporitan for an amazing spaghetti dinner. The pasta is amazing, the cheese is fantastic, the owner is incredibly friendly, and it is just an overall great place to go and have a nice dinner. I hope to see you again soon Banzai Naporitan. Be it at the restaurant or maybe at the Tsukuba Festival where you will have a food stall set up.

So if you are in Tsukuba and are in the mood for some pasta, I implore you, to give Banzai Naporitan a chance. Who knows, you might see me there, happily eating a naporitan with a look of bliss while having tomato sauce on my face.
Enjoy!

If you would like a more in-depth post about Banzai Naporitan, check out my post on the old Ibaraki Eats website:
https://regaladom24.wixsite.com/website/post/delicious-naporitan-with-bacon

For more information on Banzai Naporitan, check out their Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/naporitan_is_banzai/