There is beauty all around us, if we only look for it. Last night, frustrated by Friday’s unsuccessful attempt to by big-person shoes, I went to another branch of the same store. Lo, despite being only a quarter the size and located in a distinctly down-at-the-heels location next to an unused section of Ueno Yamanote […]
dinner
- beer
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TY Harbor Brewery, Shinagawa
This review is purely for the benefit of both foreigners in Tokyo who haven’t yet been to TY Harbor. Until Saturday night, there were three of us, but I’m sad to say I’ve now departed. As shown below, getting to TY’s huge refitted warehouse from the station is very pleasant and residential if you do […]
Saudade, Shinjuku
So I went to Shinjuku to look for some shoes. Foreigner? Wear large sizes? Tired of being laughed out regular stores for having big feet, or tired of trying to make do with the one pair of daggy brown shoes they have in your size? Hikari is your place (weirdly, I think this Kutsu no […]
Edokko, Monzennakacho (江戸娘)
Sometimes you just have a hankerin’ fer meat. And when that feelin’ comes on yuh, it’s mighty powerful. That’s when the sheep start lookin’ nervous, if yuh take mah meanin’. If your meat craving is for chickenz, and you’re in Monzennakacho, yer place of choice should be Edoko. It’s homey, authentic, and tasty. It actually […]
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 […]
- bar
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La Cabane, Ebisu (ラキャバヌ)
Ebisu is always on my mind. It calls to me. Gently, so softly that I sometimes forget it’s there, cooing its sweet song as it reclines like a pampered pet across my frontal lobe. The tiny alleys twist and turn back on themselves, concealing hidden delights and Oriental delicacies. A gentle fragrance barely disturbs the […]
- Italian
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Piatto Suzuki, Azabu Juban
Sometimes events make you question your life and the path you’ve been on. This was not one of those events. It DID, however, make me question the basis for Michelin ratings. Coming on the heels of an adequate but unenlightening Chez Tomo experience, the equally one-starred Piatto Suzuki was a pleasant and tasty but ultimately […]
Yong Jiang, Nihonbashi (甬江)
Nothing like a quick Chinese dinner on the way home. You know I’m not generally in favor of Chinese dinners, but I’m certainly in favor of broadened horizons. This place is on the 4th floor of Coredo, near Da Cibo and Quatorieme. It’s a Big Menu place – folds out to 6 pages, organized into […]
Beacon, Shibuya
Last year on my birthday I thought ‘I want steak. American-style steak.’ As a result I ended up at 57. That wasn’t bad, and it was inside an easy walk from the office (back in those heady daze when we all worked in Hillz), but I wish I had gone to Beacon. The steaks are […]
Kame, Monzen Nakacho (亀)
It takes all kinds – and the kind on display here is ‘stew and wine’ or ‘frypan bar’, depending on which sign you read. Funny thing is, this place is worthwhile!’Two guys and some pans’ could be another good tag line, or maybe ‘Japan’s cheapest wine bar’. This is very respectable – the wine list […]