Health food is something I’ve always been suspicious of (sorry Mom). I associate ‘healthy’ with a lack of flavor, which is unfair except that it often seems to mean limiting salt to a stultifying degree and reducing cooking techniques to steaming (you may disagree on this one, but I think steamed things are boring). Mikuni, […]
Marunouchi
Da Paulo, Marunouchi
Many’s the time I’ve been mistaken, and many times confused. And many’s the time I’ve thought of having lunch at Da Paulo, but all the seats were being used. Today Linji and I were luckier. Being 1:30 had something to do with it. Da Paulo turned out to be pretty good, but less exciting than […]
Vin Rouge Vin Blanc, Marunouchi
Based on the plastic-impregnated green paper tablecloths and the yoshoku-ish menu, I expected this to be another box ticked on Shin Maru’s 5th floor (and that decor is a bit declasse for the location, although the prices aren’t). It was a bit better than that, with some nice simulacra of foreign foods falling comfortably under […]
Funabashiya Tempura, Marunouchi (船橋屋,新丸５)
Boring post, dead ahead. Aye aye cap’n! Hard astern!! This place is always crowded. During lunch hours they have 8 or 10 chairs outside, and a good portion of the time they’re in use. This means that the place is either really good or else is just plain popular for no good reason, which happens […]
Katsukichi, Marunouchi (かつ吉,新丸５階)
Probably a boring post, but let’s see where it takes us, OK? At least it will be tangential, I can promise you that. On a sunny late-summer day that only increased the twinges of autumn that have been percolating in the air all week, I asked Ponkan to go out for lunch. She said that […]
Hibiki, Marunouchi (響)
Monday nights out always get me kinda down, and it sure doesn’t help when they’re for work. Nevertheless, this turned out pretty well, more for work reasons than food reasons. Hibiki is best described as a chain izakaya gone upscale – it’s attractive and well-presented, but there’s something pretty soul-less about it that shows through […]
Konokara, Marunouchi (このから,新丸５)
OK, OK, I’m converted. I like oden now. I no longer think they’re a bland, monotonous blot on the Japanese culinary landscape. In fact, next time I have visitors, I’m taking them to the truly charming-looking head store of this truly charming branch in Shin Maru. Many’s the time I’ve walked by, and over time […]
Enoteca – The Lounge, Marunouchi (Yurakucho)
Do you like wine? It’s OK either way, but if you do, I think you must have been to or at least heard of the Enoteca chain. With 30 locations nationwide to serve you and 12 just in Tokyo (my favorites are the Tokyo Station’s specialty ‘champagne and half-bottles’ shop and the Marunouchi ‘Lounge’ shop […]
Pagliaccio, Marunouchi
This, I like to think, is the Olive Garden done for Tokyo. I know we already have Saizeriya and Popola Mama, but how else should you describe it when a chain specializing in Chinese restaurants (which I love, btw – tantanmen and gyoza) branches out into Italian? The difference, as you’ll be expecting, is that […]
Beck’s Coffee Shop, Tokyo
Well, completism runs rampant, but I’m able to tick off another item on the under-track extravaganza. In my defence, I did go to a genuine fine-dining restaurant on Saturday (in case you missed it, nestled among the dross) and had never been to a Beck’s before. The oddest things about this Beck’s experience were as […]