I went looking for a Matsusaka beef lunch and arrived at Donta. Closed. Next came Tando: full, with about a 30-minute wait.
Tando. Donta. Two different restaurants with names my brain had filed together. One was shut; the other had too many customers. Lunch was demanding more attention to names than expected.
I filled the wait with a cheeseburger
A phone could get me through 30 minutes. But I was hungry, and there was a McDonald's nearby. So I ate a cheeseburger.
It solved the immediate hunger. It also used stomach space I was supposedly saving for Matsusaka beef. Like watching another film while waiting for the main feature, I had started the entertainment early. I still hadn't seen how much food the actual lunch would bring.
Matsusaka beef, with more Matsusaka beef
At the table, I chose a Matsusaka beef hamburger steak set. Then I spotted an upgrade: replace the plain rice with a Matsusaka roast beef rice bowl for an extra charge.
Instead of rice alongside the meat, there was meat on the rice too. Another serving of Matsusaka beef was waiting behind the first.
My understanding of the order on that visit was ¥1,550 for the set, plus ¥700 for the upgrade: ¥2,250 altogether. Getting both for that price was tempting. This is a visit account, not a promise of today's price; check the menu when ordering.
The food arrived. It was good. Then it hit me: the cheeseburger had been unnecessary. The hamburger steak already looked satisfying, and the rice had become a roast beef bowl. The burger from 30 minutes earlier joined the fight from inside my stomach. An ambush sent by my past self.
Check the name and hours together
Tando and Donta are separate places. Before visiting, match the name and opening hours using Tando's official site, its listed lunch menu or Donta's listing. Hours and menus can change.
The long-awaited Matsusaka beef tasted great. This lunch had simply become meat, more meat, and the earlier cheeseburger.
I could wait 30 minutes for a table. Next time, my stomach needs to wait too.
