This is a puzzlement – I didn’t expect to find a decent French place right near the station in Tamagawa (not Niko-tama, the one farther south). But there it is – walk toward the river, cross the tracks, and there’s a very palatable, brick-fronted restaurant. If you live there, I’m sure you already know. The […]
Month: November 2009
- French
- ...
Comme d’Habitude, Sangenjaya
As the latest in our series of neighborhood explorations, Sangenjaya had a few things against it. I’m unreasonably biased against the Denentoshi line (dunno why), and as far as I could tell, Sancha was a bit too…industrial. Finally, the weather was gloomy all day. but after a late start we persevered and headed there. It […]
Compound Cafe, Sangenjaya
Some cafes are so hip that you feel better just sitting in them. And some are so far beyond that, they just make you feel old. I felt old here, but in a weird inside-out sort of way since the interior was old too. In college, I had a house with 3 other guys. It […]
- French
- ...
Mardi Gras, Ginza
Once in a while everyone comes to a point in their life where they visit a famous restaurant. Mardi Gras is a famous restaurant in Tokyo, being as the chef left another famous restaurant, Grape Gumbo, to set out on his own. I’ve seen it featured in various ‘celebrity chef’ features in Tokyo Calendar et […]
- Italian
- ...
Sabatini di Firenze, Tokyo
Being graced with the company of my good maaaaate Rin-ji, I felt like it was time for something special (besides, it was her turn to pay). Out of the choices I offered (any building with ‘Maru’ in the name) she chose Daimaru, which is largely unknown to most Otemachi dwellers. This is because it’s far […]
- Kanda
- ...
Hanezushi, Kanda (羽ずし)
Marketing themselves as a ‘sushi izakaya’, this place may meld the best of several money-making worlds. By limiting counter space (to about 4 seats) and focusing on tables (with about 150 seats), they can streamline production (I think the fish was pre-sliced), accept larger groups, and build a more festive (drunk) atmosphere. Good call, I […]
Hong Fu Gyoza (紅虎餃子房)
Perfectly meeting the requirements of today – a place that’s a decent walk from the office, but all underground (if desirable), offering spicy noodles and fried dumplings. Yesterday’s spicy noodles got me thinking about having ‘spicy noodle week’ but I don’t think I have enough stamina to do that every day. And I missed Monday, […]
Xian, Kanda （西安刀削麺 酒楼）
Well, if you can read those kanji you’ll know that I had toushoumen for lunch today. I was pretty happy about it too – I thought this place was good. Toushoumen are a sort of performance-art food, a little like the picci that were on the menu at Il Pacioccone last Friday night. By this […]
- curry
- ...
Farm, Tokyo
Saturday, I bought a ramen magazine that focused on recently-opened stores. Surprisingly, it had quite a few places in my general neighborhood. Disappointingly, I had been to most of them! One that I remembered looking good was in the basement of the Asahi/Nihon Building – I had been perhaps unfairly biased against it because of […]
Ichiryu, Akasaka (一龍)
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week, this Korean place seems to serve its limited menu mainly to Koreans working in the Akasaka area (of which there are many, especially at night. That’s why there were various tables of women with big hair and fur coats even late at night.). It’s tasty and soothing, a […]