I approach this 100th review with some trepidation (And a busted liver.). After all, Merveille IS my favorite restaurant. This is really a weird thing to say – it’s a French restaurant in Japan, and I don’t like to have favorites in anything. But I’ve been going to Merveille for almost 5 years (I can’t […]
Month: November 2008
- bar
- ...
Agave, Roppongi
Ohhh, it’s hard to remember what to write about Agave. That’s partly because it was almost a week ago, and partly because, well…it’s a tequila bar. What does one write in a review of a tequila bar except “Oh, my head?” No, I know that these days tequila is all about ‘sipping’, and in fact […]
- Other treats
- ...
Iruchi, Roppongi (Nishi Azabu)
Recently alerted to the entry of this place to the lunch scene, I fooled a friend into trekking down to Nishi Azabu for some Korean luvvin’. No, it’s not a barber shop, but it IS a tasteful and modern basement space serving chige and bibimbap that meets or exceeds expectations. The menu is a little […]
- Otemachi
- ...
Zenmaru, Otemachi (膳丸)
For the inaugural lunch of our Otemachi encroachment, we were shepherded into the basement of the oddly-named ‘First Square’ building and given a choice of two teishoku places (since I had ventured that I wanted to eat teishoku, being in the center of Japanese business and all that). Maruzen looked better, and turned out to […]
- Other treats
- ...
Kyouzen, Roppongi (京善)
Kind of an interesting place, this. There aren’t a lot of lunch places where you can feel like you’ve stepped out of Roppongi and into an altogether more civilized and Japanese environment (Umaya comes to mind, R.I.P.). I suppose for foreigners this means Kyoto style, or at least ‘traditional’ and ‘Japanese’ and ‘the kind of […]
Seizan, Roppongi (漬山)
Stepping back to a nondescript moment in time…Seizan is “the 5th floor sushi place” that I’ve been to or had takeout from lots of times. I even struggled to remember the name for this after going there yesterday. Due to its location in my office building, it tends to get visited on rainy days. Something […]
Hacchakiya, Monzennakacho
Ahhh, we like ramen, don’t we? Hacchakiya is my favorite ramen in Monnaka, on average. It wins for the huge bowls, curly and eggy noodles, miso-focused soups, and ample vegetable toppings. I loved it a LOT more when they had the special chashu option (I don’t know where they were getting it from, but it […]
- French
- ...
Narukami, Ginza
I was pleasantly excited about Narukami – the lunch course looked like (and proved to be) quite good value at Y6000 (ish). The food was interesting for a number of courses, the service was attentive, and the ‘counter’ seating was fun. Overall I’d give this about a 6 out of 10, with potentially a small […]
Usagiya, Monzennakacho (Ginza)
Not a situation I like to be in, walking around Ginza with only 30 minutes to choose a place, eat, and get to an appointment. Difficult times call for desperate measures, which in this case involved noodles, rabbits and plastic. Usagiya is a hand-made udon place. These are of the nice, rough-but-springy texture that I […]
Marugo, Shinjuku
Shinjuku sanchome is a little odd. Some standing bars, some general washoku places, one really nice-looking Italian place that was full (boooooo!!!) and a TON of wine bars! That’s just not what I expect in a reputed salaryman hangout. Marugo may be cleverly named after Margaux; it wasn’t obvious to me until I read another […]