Keisuke has a bunch of different ramen shops and deserves a lot of credit for being creative. The first one I went to was the ‘lobster noodle’ place, which is like a very light, lobster-flavored ramen (and nothing like the lobster noodles you might get in Southeast Asia). That one’s called “Second Generation Keisuke”, so […]
cheap
- Kanda
- ...
Musashino Aburasoba, Kanda (武蔵野油学会)
Ahhh, I just love the name here – “Oil Study Meeting” or if you wanted to be extravagant, “Scientific Society for the Study of Oil”. ‘Musashino’ refers to an area of Tokyo that was formerly famous for beef carpaccio. These guys now occupy the space where Nocchi was in western Inner Kanda (it’s actually on […]
- Other treats
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Yojinbo, Todaimae (用心棒 本号)
Hongo Sanchome – a curious neighborhood. On one hand, the well-educated or at least well-traveled among you will recognize this as the famous red gate of Tokyo University (Todai), the ‘Harvard of the East’ (or the ‘Wesleyan of Wa‘ if you prefer), and the neighborhood is roughly jumbled with used book and expensive antique stores. […]
- izakaya
- ...
Higashitei, Tokyo (東亭, 八重洲)
This alley has a certain draw for me, and hopefully for you too. Since the time I wandered into a place here with Ding (in fact, the sign you see in the top right of the shot is that place), I’ve been wondering if there were other places of equal quaintness and quality. There may […]
Katayama, Kiyosumi Shirakawa (天ぷら 片山)
Today was the day of the big fish ‘n’ sake party, and I was out shopping. This is ont he way to the sake store, but the sake store was closed and I had already bought a bunch. My favorite rice store is right near the sake store – they always have at least half […]
- Italian
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Picasso, New York
As mentioned previously, the diversity of New York is startling. This is a bare-bones pizza place serving American-style Italian food prepared by Puerto Ricans, named after a Spaniard who lived in France and is most famous for not being an asshole. The name made you think it was going to be some kinda hoity-toity Spanish […]
- Kanda
- ...
Touran ramen, Kanda (桃蘭)
It’s an ill-advised wind, my friends, one that blows in from Kanda. It blows you down little alleys like this and into shops that aren’t likely to be very good. There’s a certain romance to seeking out hidden gems, but this is Tokyo. Depending on your reckoning there are 9 to 50 million people, and […]
- izakaya
- ...
Mifune, Kanda (三船)
Mmmmm, so appetizing. Why ever did I pass on this place? No, I was having one of those indecisive days where I just walk around by myself for exercise, and eventually pick a place for a quick lunch before getting back to the office. The dining landscape has shifted a bit in Kanda; in fact […]
Hantejiya, Yurakucho (韓豚屋 有楽町店)
Y’know, ages ago I stopped in to another branch of this Korean pork-BBQ specialist chain for lunch (where I had cold vegetarian noodles, but hey). I regretted not being able to bring you a picture of the sign, a big internally-lit cartoon pig head that shoots steam from its nostrils. I don’t regret that any […]
- Kanda
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Unasho, Kanda (うな正)
I know, I know, I swore off places worthy of the ‘sad’ tag last year. This was an accident. It was really late, and I was discombobulated by a bit of stomach distress, and it must have become mental distress, because I started thinking that eel on rice would settle things down. Not so much. […]