Treasured Time追憶の味、特別な時間

It is morning at the hotel. The staffs are straightening up the lounge and getting ready to welcome in a special customer. Nick has been coming to the hotel for years, and he arrives a little ahead of schedule. Standing at the lounge entrance, he is led to his regular table. Looking at the scenery through the window, Nick says he can vividly remember the way things used to be. “I would come to the bar and lounge here before the hotel was rebuilt. The view from the bar on the tenth floor overlooking the Imperial Palace was spectacular. I can clearly remember even now the first time I was here.”

――Nick first visited the hotel 30 years ago. He ordered a steak sandwich from the bar’s lunch menu. He had no work scheduled that afternoon, so he ordered a glass of Bordeaux to go with it. The bartender that day was Hiroyuki Miura. Nick is fond of Japanese culture and in Miura’s service he perceived the heart of Japanese hospitality. Miura would kneel while taking orders, and this was particularly impressionable; it was not the custom in Europe or America where Nick was born and raised.

“Without even asking, I was given highly considerate service in all sorts of ways. Thanks to the hospitality of Mr. Miura and the hotel’s staff, I had a very pleasant, peaceful experience.” For the next 20 years, Nick would come to the hotel each week on Thursday at noon for a leisurely lunch. He would sit at a corner table against a window with a view and have a steak sandwich and red wine. As time went by, Nick came to relish his Thursday afternoons at the hotel. “I was busy with work at the time and had a lot of stress. There were times I was truly exhausted, so I needed a place to de-stress. Coming to the hotel helped me maintain my psychological balance.”

Fast-forward to 2012. Palace Hotel Tokyo had reopened after being rebuilt from the ground up for a new era. The restaurant, bar, and lounge menus were also renewed, and this included the steak sandwich, which was rearranged with new ingredients and sauce. When Nick tasted the new version, he was shocked; the flavors he was so used to had changed completely. While supportive of the hotel’s new beginning, his living and work situation had also gone through a number of changes and his visits became less and less frequent.

Around nine years passed. One night, by coincidence, Nick’s daughter was seated next to the hotel’s general manager at a dinner gathering. She had not discussed her father during the meal, but after it was over she had the opportunity to speak privately with the general manager. “To tell you the truth,” she said and began telling the general manager why Nick no longer visited the hotel as much. “My father loved having the hotel’s steak sandwich with a glass of Bordeaux. He gets nostalgic over it; he really misses the taste.”

One item off an old menu. One customer who adored it. The hotel had not realized it until that day. Could they do something? The conversation sent the hotel on a quest to recreate the old recipe.

The chef of the bar and lounge at the time had become the hotel’s assistant head chef; he was still there in the kitchen. Could he revive the recipe after so many years? The general manager, Miura, and the assistant head chef searched their memories as they attempted to recreate the flavor. They got close but were uncertain of the decisive last steps. To get the sandwich exactly right, they decided it would be best to call in the expert for a tasting, so they contacted Nick.

He was surprised to get the call but consented immediately. Nick joined the taste-testers and after some back and forth to get every detail just right, the old steak sandwich was reborn. It was named in honor of its biggest fan: Nick’s Special Filet Steak Sandwich (Japanese Beef). A premium beef filet on toasted bread with french fries on the side. The simple combination allows for the full enjoyment of the flavors of the ingredients themselves. For Nick, it was like being reunited with an old friend.

“I don’t think a hotel or restaurant in America or Europe would think to name a menu item after one of their regulars. I was surprised when the hotel called, but delighted by it. The flavor of the sandwich though is something that’s been passed down by the hotel’s staff. It reflects the hotel’s heartfelt ideas and kind and considerate service. I think part of why the sandwich is so good is because of how much Japan values hospitality toward customers; it’s part of the culture.”

――Nick is here at the hotel this afternoon. He is sitting in the lounge next to the window looking out at the moat, the water flickering and the sunlight filtering down through the trees. A tranquil scene unchanged from 30 years ago. A staff member approaches him and asks about his order. Nick meets his gaze and says with a grin, “Yes, I’ll take the usual.”