Went to Tsukiji today, to make a new friend…hi! I’ll give you a little pointer for free – go after lunch on Saturday, before the shops close, and blocks of tuna like this will be half-price. This ended up being the same price as a watery-looking specimen half the size in the grocery store. You […]
Author: Jon
- bistro
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Le Mont St Michel, Mejiro
Decamping from Takadanobaba station quite early in the game, I had plenty of time for a walk around. I know the Waseda-Baba corridor is famous for ramen, but I wanted to see what else there was. I’m here to tell you that it’s not particularly exciting (and the walk up to Mejiro is even less […]
Yamakyu, Kanda (山久)
Every time I eat an oyakodon I think of Paul Simon; I can’t help it. It’s not very original (because I write it every time as well) but that’s one of my favorites among his songs. Oyakodon itself is a hard thing – I think it’s not really appealing to foreigners in its truest form. […]
- izakaya
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Kurumaya, Nezu (車屋)
McNoonan and I were kinda onna roll after going to Koyu – we had eaten through what we wanted on their menu, but were far from done talking. Fortunately the streets of Nezu are filled with funny little places, and I picked this one. Not a great pick, I’m sorry to say, but we ended […]
- izakaya
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Koyu II, Nezu (呼友)
Waiting on the subway platform for McNoonan to show up after work, I thought to myself “There’s nothing like a little goth-loli-spotting to get the evening started right.” Nor is there anything like a Black Punch to get this partee started, but where we were going, there’s no black punch. Just deserted streets where it […]
Sicilia, Roppongi (シシリア)
With Baggio fully reserved, we found ourselves strangely stuck in Roppongi on a rainy Wednesday. This place Sicilia was recommended from a bit back, when they were in a grubbier and cooler space where people used to scribble on the walls (as pictured on Tabelog). Now they’re on the hill down toward Akasaka, in a […]
- bar
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Good One, Kanda
Good one indeed. Woody and I were set to re-visit Hanakago (yeah, it’s that good, especially if you reserve so you can get sashimi from the shop next door). I had reserved for 7 but it turned out we could both get there earlier, and that left us standing outside with 30 minutes of freedom (except […]
- izakaya
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Otsukiya, Kanda (おつき屋)
Much in the same way that Alvin Lucier famously once got wicked stoned and recorded himself sitting in a room for several hours, today I came up with the idea of mangling meaning through recursive translation. Of course if this were done by a good human translator, it could come out sensibly. So let’s leave […]
Hakata Tenjin, Ochanomizu （博多天神）
Good lord and butter, this was the first shop that I’ve needed an Ochanomizu tag for?! Ah, I see, it’s because I wasn’t as good about location tagging when I was but a pup, and when I visited the Go! Go! Curry outlet right next door to this ramen chain in Ochanu, I just said […]
Carne, Monzen Nakacho
If you count the previous two posts, this was the third place in Monnaka that I’ve been thinking of going to for years and finally made it to all on the same evening. Like the other two, it was pretty disappointing. As a self-appointed restaurant-picking expert and all-around Monnaka booster, I don’t feel good about […]