A few days around the house and I was mildly bored. Since there are a nearly-endless series of neighborhoods to explore, and no time like the present to get started, I did a quick search on the Interwebs and then went to Takadanobaba. I don’t know how the name came about, but the ‘high field’ […]
French
Pivoine, Monzennakacho
Friday I took the day off from work to get legalized again – as they say, it’s no fun being an illegal alien, and I’m not interested in deportation. But getting legal doesn’t take very long, and the weather and my spirits were both so good that I wanted to do something nice. There are […]
Brasserie Paul Bocuse, Tokyo (大丸１２階)
In the past I’ve said more than once that Les Brasseries Paul Bocuse are not a good thing. This is based on one particular visit I made to the Yurakucho branch; the food consisted of standards prepared in a barely competent way, and the prices were high. Today’s lunch was altogether more satisfactory, although in […]
Le Nougat, Ginza
It seems to me like Da Nugget has been open for years. It hasn’t though – it’s going on two. It’s probably something about the classicist bistro decor that makes it hard to determine how long it’s been there. There are several floors though, so the bright, somewhat hard aspect of the ground floor may […]
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Murase, Ginza (村瀬)
Ginza is an entertaining area. Really, it’s kind of known for being entertaining. I like to think that it’s more adult in style though, or even middle-aged. The two main things are brand shops and hostess clubs, so there are plenty of things for affluent 50-year old Japanese couples to do. Just not together. I’ve […]
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Bistro Marsanne, Kanda
Hey hey, drop what you’re doing and go to this place for lunch! I was really impressed. It seems to be worth a ‘top 10’ mention for area lunch options, although it would be worth another visit to confirm. Maybe next year… Lunch today was with Ding, who hasn’t slept all week (full time job […]
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The Modern, New York
Stood up for dinner and drinks (I now know/have known three people in advertising, and I have to say they’re all unreliable about this stuff), I fell back on a place I had been thinking of trying the night before. The Modern is the restaurant and cafe of the Museum of Modern Art, and there […]
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Daniel, New York
Last time I was in New York for one night, my friend Mayu (thanks for reading!) and I went to Charlie Palmer’s Aureole. I know what you’re thinking – it’s so touristy now, and you’re over it. We went when it was still up the East Side in a townhouse, and it was nice sophisticated […]
- bistro
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Le Point Ouest, Kamakura
On the way back from Enoshima, we did the touristy thing and took the Enoden, the small, old, electric train that meanders carefully through a series of cute neighborhoods between Fujisaki and Kamakura. (Incidentally, I don’t recommend taking it to get to Enoshima. We got off the main train line at Fujisaki, as close as […]
- bistro
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Souvenir, Toritsu Daigaku
A deeply nostalgic trip, this, for several reasons. First, I used to do nothing restaurant-wise but look for places like this – reasonably-priced bistro French. Finding this took me back to those days (hey grandpa). Second, even though I’ve spent very very little time in France, the faux nostalgia created by a good bistro is […]