‘Sparkly’ was the order of the day, and that means ‘dining bar’ to me. This place practically jumped off the map, being almost new and also right behind Ebisu’s west exit. The atmosphere was all that, and oddly enough, the food was quite good. As with most big dining bars, there are quite a few […]
expensive
- French
- ...
Tableaux, Daikanyama
As a public service, I meant to post a comment that plenty of tables were available at all the major hotels for New Year’s Eve dinners. Seriously – I decided at the last minute (30th) that I wanted to go somewhere glamorous and started calling. Park Hyatt, Penninsula, Shangri-La and others all had tables for […]
- bar
- ...
Albente Champagne Cafe, Ebisu
Several champagne cafes have opened around Ebisu in recent years (I say this like I know). Now that I have a little more experience of them, I’d say that they’re oriented toward luxury consumers – hardly surprising for champagne. Check out this place – they distinguish themselves by being your champagne-drinking home-away-from-home, and also by being […]
- izakaya
- ...
Miharukoma, Ikebukuro (三春駒)
I made some early New Year’s resolutions for 2010, and they were as follows: 1. Drink more sake, especially in izakayas that specialize in it 2. Drink more champagne, especially RM or ‘grower’ champagne (grape to bottle by one firm, as opposed to the NM model adhered to by all the famous names) 3. Drink […]
Sant Pau, Nihonbashi
You know Sant Pau, right? If you don’t know that it’s a Spanish 3-star restaurant, and one of the few 3-stars worldwide headed by a female chef, then you probably know it as the fancy place nestled in behind Nihonbashi Coredo. As Volleyball and I confirmed today on our special “Holy Cow We Survived a […]
Brasserie Yoshi, Ginza
Ginza is a hard neighborhood for the casual diner or eager bar hopper who’s not on an expense account. It’s easy to wander into a place (well, easy if you’re not scared to see what’s behind Door Number 3) and find that they have a solid seating charge plus healthy drink and service fees. Still, […]
- bar
- ...
Golden Gai, Shinjuku
It’s great to have foreign visitors – the effort to do something fun with them can really take you out of your normal zones. I hardly never go to Shinjuku, but in the course of this one night was able to visit a bunch of the famous sights, ending up with drinks in a randomly-picked […]
Katsuman, Kanda （勝漫、淡路町）
Is fratricide acceptable in the pork community? According to reliable sources, the chef of Yamaichi used to work at Katsuman before leaving to open his own tonkatsu restaurant. 1 block away. With a similar menu and style. Personally, I’d be pissed unless there was some kind of blessing or compensation involved. Honestly, the style of […]
Sakura (The Prince), Hakone
Well, as I always say, when life gives you lemons, write an extended blog rhapsody about the simple, pure life you’re living in Tuscany and how essential a simple squeeze of lemon juice is to your everday enjoyment of the finer foods in life. Is the sarcasm coming across? I had to go away for […]
La Bombance, Nishi Azabu
It’s interesting to come back from Kyoto and immediately have what amounts to a kaiseki meal, albeit in a dark, stylish, hostess-friendly setting in Nishi-Azabu. It’s even more interesting to meet completely new people especially when they come with their own nicknames – Baron Destructo and Deluca Cheesemonger. You can tell I didn’t assign those […]