A new tsukemen place opened in Monnaka a while back. In fact, I have a feeling it’s going on 2 years, but time moves more slowly for us 江戸っ子. I’ve thought many times about going, but never pulled it together. Partly it’s the plethora of other options in the dining paradise that is Monnaka, and […]
Monzennakacho
Saizeriya, Monzennakacho (Toyocho)
You will ask yourself, gentle reader, why I went to Saizeriya. Truth is, it’s not so bad, it’s dead cheap, the food doesn’t always contain excess melamine, and the only other choice in that location (Toyocho’s East 21 center, home of a new Queen’s Isetan that I was test-driving for dinner shopping) is…Sushi Zanmai. 2 […]
Sushi Yata, Monzennakacho (すし やた， 牡丹)
This place is closed, and the chef has opened his own place here. But you know, after I went to the place described below a few times, I really soured on the experience because he was a creepy dude and an aggressive biller. Now he’s recreated it, at a much higher price point. Anyway, the […]
Ichiriki, Monzennakachououou (一力)
[Jan 2011: This closed ages ago. It’s a shame, really.] 幸せ. I’m really not sure what prevented me from going into this place over 4 years of walking by it. I have a feeling it was the lack of menu outside, which is of course a frequent problem in Japan and one that any self-respecting […]
Goroku, Monzennakacho (伍六)
It’s a hard job, being a famous food writer, and my liver bears the scars for it. But I feel a responsibility to my fan, so I keep going. Tuesday night found us shlepping home (in the royal plural sense) from work, in the rain, remembering that the new restaurant we had spotted the day […]
Sushi Aoki, Monzen Nakacho (鮨あおき）
I admit, I had looked at this place before and thought it was fairly nondescript in that slightly scary sushi way where you don’t know what you’re going to have to pay. Then I looked on tabelog, found that this was the top-ranked sushiya in Monnaka, and shamelessly planned to go. I’ll go back; it […]
Hacchakiya, Monzennakacho
Ahhh, we like ramen, don’t we? Hacchakiya is my favorite ramen in Monnaka, on average. It wins for the huge bowls, curly and eggy noodles, miso-focused soups, and ample vegetable toppings. I loved it a LOT more when they had the special chashu option (I don’t know where they were getting it from, but it […]
Usagiya, Monzennakacho (Ginza)
Not a situation I like to be in, walking around Ginza with only 30 minutes to choose a place, eat, and get to an appointment. Difficult times call for desperate measures, which in this case involved noodles, rabbits and plastic. Usagiya is a hand-made udon place. These are of the nice, rough-but-springy texture that I […]
Daruma, Monzennakacho
I was browsing a food magazine at the barber over the weekend and they had a feature on ‘Downtown Izakayas’. Since everyone thinks Monnaka is so shitamachi, there were of course a few places. Daruma is the most downtown place in Monnaka, I think. For a long time I knew it as ‘the grubby-looking place […]
Ruri, Monzennakacho (るり 母ちゃん料理)
[Jan 2011: Long gone; I think this space is an udon now, but it’s on its second iteration at least since Ruri left.] I like to think that I’m a good judge of restaurants from the outside – the style, the menu, and signboard are all indicators of the care and concern of the owners […]