Whoa, attack of the rainy season. Someone and I didn’t have umbrellas, so when the minimal patter of raindrops in Brooklyn became a thuddingly heavy downpour in Manhattan, we were stuck in the subway exit with a hundred of our closest friends. A strolling umbrella vendor wandered through, but that was for suckers – rain […]
Michelin
- izakaya
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Sakagawa, Kyoto (阪川)
Ahhh, Sakagawa. How do I feel about you? Bruised, perhaps. Not cheated, but worked hard… Gion at night is absolute magic. You should see it. The cobbled streets, unremitting stretches of old buildings, lanterns marking places you’re never going to be allowed in to, and odd twists that leave you confused as soon as you […]
- Kyoto
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Sakurada, Kyoto (桜田)
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 […]
Hirosaku, Shinbashi (ひろ作)
Baron Destructo. Deliberately ignoring the basic research that would remind us where this nickname came from (and he came pre-named; it’s not an EOITwJ thing), let’s just say it’s been in a year since his last visit to Japan. He’s maintained, errrr, contact, with things Japanese in the interim (sorry) and here we are again […]
- Kyoto
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Sakurada, Kyoto (桜田)
Before we get to the mind-blowing kaiseki finale to this 2-day Kyoto jaunt, can we just see some random shots from the street? ‘Vehicle of God’ is, I suppose, an OK translation, but more a funny one (as you can see from the picture, it’s an omikoshi; koshi seems a little archaic to me, so […]
Sushi Isshin, Asakusa (鮨一新)
Had to work today, afternoon meeting plus some cleanup that finished around 5:30. After that, went up to Asakusa and discovered that it was Sanja Matsuri on the day, one of old Edo’s big 3 festivals. Another of them is Monzen Nakacho’s Hachiman Matsuri, which is so f-in awesome that it’s only held every 3 […]
- French
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The Modern, New York
Stood up for dinner and drinks (I now know/have known three people in advertising, and I have to say they’re all unreliable about this stuff), I fell back on a place I had been thinking of trying the night before. The Modern is the restaurant and cafe of the Museum of Modern Art, and there […]
- French
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Daniel, New York
Last time I was in New York for one night, my friend Mayu (thanks for reading!) and I went to Charlie Palmer’s Aureole. I know what you’re thinking – it’s so touristy now, and you’re over it. We went when it was still up the East Side in a townhouse, and it was nice sophisticated […]
- 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 […]