Sakurada is really one of the best restaurants I’ve been to. Since I posted a long and loving review of my initial lunch there, here’s a capsule view of dinner. Highlights from my perspective were: The daikon with the tsukuri (2nd row center, next to the tuna). Instead of cutting the daikon into a long […]
expensive
- Kyoto
- ...
Shoraian, Kyoto (松籟庵,嵐山)
Ahhhh, the whispering bamboo forests of Arashiyama. Strangely, it was quiet here despite it being the Saturday of a long weekend, and the one of the forced exodus from Tokyo. And it was quieter after we walked through the forests, along the river, and up the rough rock steps to the entrance to Shoraian. Down […]
- izakaya
- ...
Kyomachi, Kyoto (京町)
Pontocho. Part two for this evening. Better than part one. Contrary to all my protestations, this place faces the main alley and is bright and a little commercial-looking. Not too much though. And as soon as you get inside, it’s dauntingly old-fashioned, with a proper entrance leading up to a tatami area behind closed doors, […]
- izakaya
- ...
Kyona, Kyoto (酒と味 京菜)
The Kamogawa, at night, looking north. Learned an interesting thing about orienting yourself within the (already very sensible) street grid of Kyoto: you always have mountains on three sides, and the ’empty’ side is south. The bright lights on the west bank are the outward-facing manifestation of the much-beloved and little-penetrated Pontocho district. Maybe it’s […]
Okanaga Club, Nihonbashi Bakurocho (岡永倶楽部)
Errrrr…..this statue in Kanda, up near Awajicho (we went to Katsuman and got rattled by a big earthquake in the old building there) depicts the youth of Japan confidently ascending toward the future. Too bad about the salute. Too bad about Okanaga Club too – it has all the makings of a terrific sake-focused, upscale […]
- Other treats
- ...
Suzuki Sushi, Hongo (鮨すず木)
Down near the end of Hongo Ginza, past the fancy cured-meat purveyors and extremely hearty ramen dispensatories, a quiet little house with a fading noren waits. With bamboo. And the sign says ‘sushi’, but there’s no menu. The ‘design aesthetic’, such as it is, is the timeless one that pervades Japanese restaurants of a certain […]
Oggi dal Matto, Nishi Azabu
Hmmm, you know what happens if you continue walking up the restaurant street that curves away from the northeast corner of Nishiazabu crossing? All the expensive places go away and it turns into a nice neighborhood. With a big temple. But you have to come back to modern Japan sometime, especially if you managed to […]
- Other treats
- ...
Dai San Harumi Sushi, Shinbashi (第三春美鮨)
First sentences of reviews of top sushi places should include the words ‘hidden’ or ‘unassuming’ (or if you’re an American writer, please use the phrase ‘sushi joint’. And if you’re reviewing Kyubei, please include “more money than sense” also.). Look, I worked them in! Dai San Harumi is fairly described as a top place with […]
- Italian
- ...
Biodinamico, Shibuya
Between drinking beers at Craftheads and eating dinner at the exclusive, highly-regarded Biodinamico, we stopped off at this hip bike shop to look at their vintage and rebuilt fixed gear specimens. Only after a while did we realize that it’s actually a design firm, and we were kinda standing in their lobby while they tried […]
Ikebe Guitar Station, Shibuya (池部楽器店 ギターズステーション)
As part of my regular diversionary series, I’d like to say “I went to a great guitar store today.” [And I can say that, because this place is awesome. You thought I was leading up to a snide remark, didn’t you?]. The Ikebe complex in Shibuya is cool – more for sampling and playing the […]