In Search of Meat for Meal… “Honjamaka” Hidehiko Ishizuka: Memories of “The Hulk,” a Part-Time Job from the Age of 18

The first day is over and it is makanai time for all the waiters. The first night’s makanai was fried horse mackerel. It seems that even a steak restaurant cannot serve meat every day for makanai. The makanai at that restaurant consisted of only one side dish, but we were free to have another serving of rice.

I was released from my nervousness and ate three bowls of white rice with one piece of fried horse mackerel. By the last one, the fried horse mackerel was gone, so I poured French dressing over the rice and drizzled a little soy sauce on it. The waiters around me laughed hysterically when they saw me. At that time, my nickname at the restaurant was decided to be “Hulk.

The most humbling incident in my life

On the second day after we had broken the ice over dressed rice, an incident occurred. I spilled beer on a customer wearing a white skirt. I bowed my head the most in my life. I noticed that Manager Ezawa was also bowing with me. Half an hour later, I spilled a cream soda on the same customer.

But God was there, and even though I had soiled my skirt twice, the woman said, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Because of my depression, I was only able to eat two bowls of white rice at that night’s makanai.

Finally, when I went to Manager Ezawa to apologize, he said, “Don’t worry about it, because everyone is like that when they are not used to it. Ishizuka-kun, please come back tomorrow.

Both the manager and the staff were warm, as if they were one family. I found myself working there for nine years. Thanks to them, I can now hold seven plates when I go to a buffet with my family. I still see Manager Ezawa and Mr. Saito every now and then.

From the March 7, 2025 issue of FRIDAY