A flavor that wins over three generations.

Trattoria Trenta

He says he doesn't have particularly strong opinions about ingredients overall, but the essentials — pasta, oil, and cheese — are all carefully selected, sourced directly from Italy through a Japanese coordinator based there. The signature "Monte Mare" is a spaghetti dish where the umami of abundant seafood and mushrooms tangles beautifully with medium-thick noodles. The squid is domestic, and the clams come from a contracted supplier in Chiripu, in eastern Hokkaido. The seasoning is simple — just salt and pepper. A squeeze of the accompanying lemon makes each ingredient's flavor stand out while still harmonizing together. Despite its generous portion, it goes down smoothly to the very last bite. The shop's vegetable dishes are also well regarded — the "Vegetable Antipasto," a quick toss of 15 to 16 kinds of fresh vegetables with salt and olive oil, has a particularly loyal following. Depending on the season, vegetables are sourced from a contracted farmer in Ishikari.

For 31 years now, the shop has occupied the second floor of a building along the streetcar route — a floor that has reportedly seen as many as eight other shops come and go in that time. Even so, Matsushima has never lost his motivation, continuously refining flavors found only at Trenta, drawing on input from his wife who runs the front of house, and from sharp-palated regulars. That he freely publishes his recipes on the shop's website speaks to his character. Come New Year's, Matsushima says he can hardly wait for the holidays to end so he can get back to cooking. Even the handwritten menu names lined up on the blackboard beside the counter, and the wine descriptions scrawled by hand on the recently installed wine server, carry a certain playful charm. It's the kind of shop that makes you trust it enough to already be thinking about what you'll order next time.