Per earlier comments, I feel like I’ve been eating out in Tokyo for a good while now – especially in Monzen Nakacho and at French restaurants. I guess I should stop being surprised by this, but I was pretty well knocked back when I went into a tiny sushi counter a few days ago and […]
Monzennakacho
Uotei, Monzennakacho
I’m a little unsure what Uotei is supposed to be – izakaya? Sushi? Just a fish specialist? [As the first of many asides that I assume I’ll write soon, I’ve spent most of the last 4 years thinking it was called Sakana Tei, and only just learned from the web page that it’s actually Uotei. […]
Hyakumi, Monzennakacho
Well, sometimes you just have to lash out and try a new place. This little odenya is in the category of things I’ve walked by a number of times in Monnaka’s dining alleys south of Eitai Dori without seriously considering going in. For some reason last night was it! Basically a counter, I think with […]
Issui (一穂), Monzennakacho
Is there anything better than a good izkaya? Well of course there is! Lots of things.Don’t be silly. But this place is definitely a good izakaya, which I would summarizewith the 3 F’s – friendly, fun, and fussy about food. I guess that’s 4, but I justmade it up.Issui is close to my place, in […]
Italian Café Marinara, Monzennakacho
Hey, what kind of place is this? Oh, right. Marinara has been on my ‘occasional visit’ list since I moved to Monnaka, and recently was about the 4th time (which would mean yearly visits!). It’s a long time between visits for two reasons – there are an awful lot of Italian places in Monnaka, and […]
Ogawa, Monzennakacho
In some periods my favorite place to go in Monnaka. The menu is always a single, hand-written page. That’s a little tough for me (in some places, I end up ordering what I can read!), but the writing is basically OK. Some standard and signature dishes show up every time, and these are worth getting. […]
Terada, Monzennakacho
There used to be a sad little kitchen-goods store in my neighborhood – sad because it stocked a bunch of really nice things and had a quaint, cramped interior, but rarely had customers. Perhaps the back streets of Monnaka aren’t the place to be selling Le Creuset? I was a little sad when it closed, […]
Fukahama, Monzennakacho (Fukagawa)
Right up on the list of ‘best surprises that month’ (maybe sometime around mid-late-05?) was this kaiseki-styled place that I wandered in to by myself after work. It’s really out-of-the-way – first because it’s in Monzennakacho, second because it’s actually almost 10 minutes from the station (going north, the boring direction), third because it’s down […]
Pivoine, Monzennakacho (Botan)
Periodically I walk randomly around my neighborhood, especially the streets I don’t often go to, hoping that some new little place will have popped up. One night in February I was doing just that and, several blocks south of the minor shopping street that marks the southern boundary of town, saw a new place that […]
Sushi Zanmai, Monzennakacho
What am I doing writing about a chain store with Y100 nigiri in a semi-obscure suburb (where I live)? I love it! I’ve eaten in most of the other chain places in Monnaka. I’ve eaten in some of the expensive ones too. I’ve eaten in cheap and expensive sushi places elsewhere, including Tsukiji, and I […]