Do you like that whole ‘private dining’ thing? Kazusa is practically unlabeled, with only a high second-story sign saying the name in stylized, half-unreadable script to let you know that the nondescript building on the quiet stretch of road south of Telebi Asahi is the right one. The door doesn’t open unless you know just […]
Italian
Farsi Largo!, Nihonbashi
Farsi Largo is Italian for ‘big joke’ (large farce, get it?) but there’s no joke about the cooking here. Good ingredients and good preparation, very professional. The worst thing about the place is this sign on the street, and the crummy old stairwell that leads down to it. Inside is clean and modern; it could […]
Taverna da Cibo, Nihonbashi
Boy, things change a lot if you don’t go to a specific building for a while. For this business lunch, the person I was meeting suggested Trattoria da Cibo. I said “Oh sure, the pizza is good there,” and he said “No, that’s the pizza place. This one is separate but on the same floor.” […]
Grape Gumbo, Ginza
Remember last year when I went to Mardi Gras? Always meant to go back, but the pressures of needing to try new places have thus far kept me from their door. Grape Gumbo is the father-restaurant of Mardi Gras, with a similar menu and style, so I feel like I’ve been back now – new […]
- Italian
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Pizzeria Ghitaro, Gaienmae
What could be more American than eating pizza and going to a baseball game? I guess doing it IN America would be a bit better, but let’s not pick nits. This place sits out in plain view in a big brick plaza off Aoyama Dori between Bell Commons and the entrance to Gaien; it was […]
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 […]
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 […]
- Italian
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Trattoria Kantini, Kanda
There’s a series in the New York Times at the moment called ‘What You Get For…‘ The amount changes, but they always show you a house somewhere. At the moment there’s a $300k house in San Antonio that’s over 100 years old but completely remodeled. It’s also close to a entertainment area, if the article […]
Barbara Marketplace, Marunouchi
No kidding, that’s what they call it. I asked them to consider changing the name to Barbara Martieplace, but they didn’t seem to get the joke (and neither will any readers, except 3 by my count). Y’know though, this was a really nice lunch! I’d even think about it for an after-work sorta dinner. Their theme is ‘A […]
- Italian
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Gopal, Shimokitazawa
Shimokita: Lunch, a little clothes shopping (the Thai and Vietnamese fake Polo shirts are getting old), look for the great espresso place I saw last year but didn’t visit…just a normal day off, but thankfully not a Saturday or Sunday. A Thursday. Seeing this cold pasta on someone else’s plate made me want to order […]