Bit of a dissapointment here – looking for a cafe to kill some time between lunch, shopping and dinner, this seemed like the obvious choice in Aoyama (since, for example, the Henri Le Roux cafe was packed to the rafters, and has nothing to do with him beyond the name anyway). For those few readers […]
cheap
- Other treats
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Chiyomatsu ramen, Shibuya (千代松)
Shinjuku is a noodle town. A spicy ramen noodle town. Geez, that worked for me on so many levels. Whaddya think, Sam? So every time I go to Shibuya, I got lost, OK? Yes, it’s a sign that I’m getting old (and this “Ooh, it’s your year” business isn’t helping). On this particular jaunt I […]
Otakou, Nihonbashi (お多幸)
It’s official – as of this year, I like oden. Still have to get to the famous north-Kanda outlet Konakara, but Otakou was a good prelude to that. Closer to Nihonbashi than Yaesu, it’s a bit of a walk from Otemachi. If you make it, I’m sure you’ll be pleased by the dark, yellowed interior […]
- Kanda
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Hakata Fu-ryu (博多風龍)
Well, I think I finally know enough about ramen to say: I prefer Hakata ramen. Of course, I’ve been saying for ages that Ippudo is my favorite, so I should have realized this, but I was lazy about the research. And I still am, but at least I noticed that all the places with those […]
- bar
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Upset the Apple Cart, Shinjuku
Shinjuku 3-chome is an odd little block full of bars, serving as something of a slope to allow the declination of standards as one goes from Isetan’s glamorous flagship store east into 2-chome (no offense). This, to me, is what Shinjuku is all about – more adult than Shibuya, where they listen to pop music. […]
- bistro
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C’est la Vie Nagano, Shinjuku
After planning to visit the Salon du Chocolate at Shinjuku Isetan, it seemed almost like a requirement to visit one of the many eastside Shinjuku bistros afterward. I cast about with my new favorite tool, Google Maps (seriously – just search for ‘bistro’ or whatever you want, within the neighborhood that you want, and you’ll […]
Ciappucino, Yoyogi
A funny little place that looks like a bistro but in fact specializes in…tea and pancakes. Like 20 varieties of tea, which you can get all afternoon as a set with a cupcake, and a large number of pancake varieties, for example the daily special of Caprese – pancakes with mozarella, basil and tomato. Ooooo-kei. […]
- bistro
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Le Cafe du Coin, Kanda
Full of odd contrivances, but I liked this place quite a bit. I think if you’re in the area it’s a good lunch; at night it could be good and would certainly be cheap. Foodologically, they concentrate on simple bistro dishes, and winistically, the focus is on les biodynamiques (shizenba?) at normal prices. The coffee […]
- Kanda
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Kisaku, Kanda (吉作)
Still plenty of things hiding in plain sight in Kanda…this place is across the street from the chirashidon place of 2 weeks ago; somehow I never looked at it before. They have half a dozen lunch sets, all of which are normal and yet diverse. For example, I had the sashimi set, which came with […]
- bistro
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Bonheur Place, Nishi Eifuku
Eiiiiiii- fuku? Once in a great while, we venture out to odd places. And in this case not even the bustling metropolopolis of Eifuku, but the western suburb thereof. I needed to meet The Recruiter, had no particular objection to travel, and suggested we might as well meet 2 minutes from his house. He suggested […]