Dinner at Check and Peel’s apartment, featuring scallops and shrimp with kumquats and cucumber salsa, mushrooms on garlic toast, seared tuna with agrodolce sauce, and strawberry granita. Not pictured: extraordinary amounts of extraordinary wine. Thank again guys!
Author: Jon
Oggi dal Matto, Nishi Azabu
Hmmm, you know what happens if you continue walking up the restaurant street that curves away from the northeast corner of Nishiazabu crossing? All the expensive places go away and it turns into a nice neighborhood. With a big temple. But you have to come back to modern Japan sometime, especially if you managed to […]
Nagomi, Monzennakacho (串揚処 和み)
Yet another new place that opened in the last few weeks; the orchids are still fresh. This one is on the street by the river, and where we were sitting would have an awesome view of cherry blossoms in a few weeks. It would be worth reserving, actually. Opinions vary on the interior; I thought […]
- bistro
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Aux Delices de Hongo, Hongo
On a little street in Paris…no, this is the alley leading from the oddly-placed Hongo station to the street. Aux Delices is a multi-level affair with a semi-casual bistro down and a more formal restaurant up. It would be neat to see what the top floor does, because the price ranges of lunch options overlap […]
- izakaya
- ...
Shuan Suiko, Oshiage (酒庵 酔香)
It’s so tempting to make this another place-that-shall-not-be-named…but you oughta know about it. Not that the Suikos need any more business – Woodworth and I tried and failed several times to make bookings before finally firming our spines and locking it in 2 weeks out. Where did I find it? Not the cover of Tokyojin, on […]
- Other treats
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Otokoyama ramen, Hongo (縄麺 男山)
Have you noticed recently that it’s all about Hongo? Probably not since this is only the third post from there, but I’ve already been to 6 places that you’ll see in good course. I just started thinking, if I’m willing to go to Kagurazaka for lunch, what else is in range? Hongo – 6 minutes […]
Senmatsu, Monzen Nakacho (千松)
Late at night, and the mean streets of Monzen Nakacho are steaming. Positively malevolent, isn’t it? Yeah, not really. One of the greatest things about Japan is how safe it is. The steam here is just because it was a little wet, and the new paving was still hot. There’s always road construction going on […]
Tenpou ramen, Kanda (天宝)
There are some weird things in the back alleys of Kanda; not all of them have proper signs. This one does, and in some ways it would be better not to see it. To put it simply, it’s maid barbeque. To put it a little longer, it seems you can pick which skimpy cartoon costume […]
Darumatei ramen, Monzennakacho (だるま亭)
Recognize this place? It’s near the 7-11, on Kiyosumi Dori just north of the crossing. Used to be a different ramen place, and since they reopened with the new brandingway I’ve been thinking it looked kinda good. Also it says stuff about ‘umai sake’ on the outside, and I’m always fooled by that sort of […]
Orihara Shoten, Monzen Nakacho (折原商店)
The ‘renewal’ of stores in Monnaka continues. You’d swear this was economic vitality, but I still insist it’s the opposite – economic vitality means existing stores stay in business. The number of new shops opening in the last year is more than the sum of the preceding 5 years. Orihara Shoten, run by Ikebukuro’s Orihara […]