Been to Manayunk? It’s still a nice area – I love all the old houses and older buildings, squeezed together in a setting that almost feels turn-of-the-century. If I could point to a downside, I think it’s not a very robust neighborhood. Based on the concentration of restaurants vs. all other types of business, it’s […]
mid-price
Sweet Lula’s, Pitman
Well, here we are back in Pitman. As some of you know, the central purpose of this trip was a CD release party wherein we played most of the CD that we had been recording for the last year or so (me via files sent from Tokyo). I mean, I’d love to see my family […]
- izakaya
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Shun, Kachidoki (いざか屋 旬)
Following the unfortunatosity that was Tsuruya, Big Bird and I ventured over to his ‘home quadrant’ of Kachidoki, where there’s one street with a few decent-looking places. The soba looks pretty good, and so did this place. It turned out OK. Any place with the audacity to call themselves ‘Season’ must have a bit of […]
- bar
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Antwerp Port, Akasaka
I’ve ruminated at length before on chain shops in Japan; in summary, if it’s a chain, but it’s a small chain, and it’s consistently good, is there a problem? Only mental, I think, because we feel disappointed that there’s no discovery element, and certainly no chef ‘cooking just for me’. The Antwerp chain has 6 […]
- Kanda
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Kotatsu ramen, Kanda (虎龍)
You could be forgiven for thinking that the name here had something to do with the blanket-covered tables that people are so delighted to slip their legs under in the winter. If you thought of the noodles as a table, and covered it with a warm, meaty blanket of mixed pork cuts, then imagined the […]
Hide Margherita, Kagurazaka
When I was in college, we used to play this game called ‘Hide the Salami’. Well, sort of. Anyway, every time I see this place I think of this phrase. And then I think of this Australian guy I knew in business school. His name was Haydn, and if you say that in the quaint […]
- izakaya
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Kudan, Gakugei Daigaku (件)
There’s a first for everything, and a slightly different personality to every neighborhood of Tokyo. This was my first time to visit Gakugei Daigaku, and I’d like to say its personality reflects a bit of its college roots. The few streets that I saw seemed cheaper and funkier than the average suburb, with a bit […]
- Kanda
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Daito ramen, Kanda (大斗)
[Nov 29, 2010 It is with no great sniffling that I alert you to the closure of this establishment. It’s now a ‘salt ramen’ specialist.] Restaurant politics are interesting in Japan. There’s a concept of family trees, and places can proudly advertise the fact that they derived their expertise from a famous parent. Do they […]
- Italian
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Taverna Gustavino, Yaesu
Folks, there’s a whole world out there in Tokyo dining. Get out there and check it out, OK? I’m just pensive about it today because I’m getting near 1000 blog posts but have barely scratched the surface. The surface scratching for today was supposed to be this little bistro that I walked past last week, […]
- Other treats
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Maruya soba, Kitami (丸屋,喜多見)
There are soba places like this all over Japan – an aging, classic building; tile or stone floor; a few knick-knacks; a mill for grinding the flour fresh. The tables and chairs are almost always dark wood, and almost always uncomfortable (perhaps they’re just built for slimmer buttocks than mine). And they’re usually good. If […]