Usataro is quite close to Monnaka crossing, on one of the southside streets. It has an appealing facade with big windows, lots of bottles, and red paint on most of the exposed surfaces. Looks like the kind of place that could be good even if it’s a bit formulaic. Why did it take me almost […]
Author: Jon
Miyoshi, Monzen Nakacho (みよし)
Have you heard of Tatsumi Shindo, the odd little bricked pedestrian street near Monzennakacho crossing that holds a solid 20 counter-only izakayas and drinking holes? It should be fun, but it’s not, not so much. It’s the kind of place you want to love, but doesn’t feel at all welcoming. Still, I have a constant […]
Brasserie Paul Bocuse la Musee
Years I’ve meant to go to this place. Years. How long has it been open? Even before that I wanted to go there. Even before that. Why? It’s inside the museum, but more importantly it’s located on top of a giant inverted concrete cone in the lobby. If you sit near the edge, it’s sort […]
- bar
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Nashville, Ginza
After more visits than I care to admit to Rocky Top for live bluegrass, it was finally time to try one of the other Ginza country music live venues. Nashville is the obvious contender (there’s also one near Yurakucho called, enticingly enough, Banjo, but I’m not sure if they hav bands or not), but I had […]
- Ginza
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Mogami, Ginza （最上）
Until now, the only kushiage place I’ve really loved (or been to an appreciable number of times) has been Isomura. I’d probably still tell you to go there first for the funky country-style atmosphere, almost like a mix of American tacky country and Japanese farmhouse, and of course for the great fry at decent prices. […]
Hannariya, Nihonbashi (はんなりや)
It’s always a sad day when someone leaves a great firm like mine. It’s even worse when it’s one of the very few people that you can really count as a friend. I wanted to find something a little special for this lunch with Linji; Hannariya turned out to be really nice, but not that […]
- French
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Galerie Coupe Chou, Shinjuku
Have you read any of my rants about ‘old French’ in Tokyo? This is a term I coined soon after arriving in Japan, when I ate at Chartreuse in Roppongi. It refers to the abundant class of ‘first wave’ Japanese-French restaurants. These were opened by quirky guys who thought Europe was awesome 25 years ago and went […]
Xi’an, Kanda (西安)
Well, Ricky and I are in the same boat despite working for different companies now, and it’s nice to get together and rehash the situation. It’s even better when he throws out a great idea for a place to eat; thinking back, it seems like his good ideas are mostly Chinese. Crazy stuff though – […]
WW, Marunouchi
Funny, I knew I’d been to WW before (World Wine, the bar side of Luke Mangan’s Salt branch (saltfork?) in Shin Maru) and had to go back to make sure I didn’t post it. Turns out it was all the way back in January 09, years ago, when I met the Curmudgeonly Old Bastard for […]
- Kanda
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Sushi Dining Tatsu (辰)
With a bunch of critical meetings keeping important people busy or out of the office, plus temperatures nudging the high 70’s and clear skies, today was the ideal occasion for a long lunch. And long it was. I corralled Ponkan into visiting my favorite new neighborhood, the little corner of northerly Kanda with Mimasuya and Hanakago […]