Aaaaaaarakicho. We finally made it here, months and months after starting to think it was worth a return visit. This was really the first time I’ve explored it seriously, and it turns out to be a ‘difficult’ neighborhood. The places that look good also look scary in the no-menu-no-prices way. Believe it or not, we […]
mid-price
- bistro
- ...
Chez Andre du Sacre Coeur, Ningyocho (シェ・アンドレ・ドゥ・サクレクーレ)
Chez Andre, or Chez to his friends, has been making homey bistro fare ever since immigrating from his native Bangladesh following the poultry riots of ’89. He’s managed to put together a long-standing restaurant that captures a little bit of the magic of the Sacre Coeur, which is a Bangladeshi ritual involving chicken hearts and […]
- Ginza
- ...
Bernini pizza, Ginza (ピッツェリアロマーナベルニーニ)
Someone came up with the idea that we needed Roman-style pizza after our slightly life-changing visit to Il Tamburello. Have you noticed, gentle reader, that food is the last thing I should need at this point, and yet also the first thing on my mind? By which I mean, who’s to say no? There are […]
- izakaya
- ...
Kamotsuru, Kamoi (鴨鶴,鴨居)
You got transferred out of our team a couple months ago and became the manager of the branch down near the navy base in Kanagawa. He’s gotten pretty into the area, and invited me down to check it out for a day. He took the day off, brought his car over from home (it’s too […]
- bar
- ...
Devilcraft, Kanda
Devilquest!!! Nuts, I’ve been excited about writing that ever since I heard of Devilcraft from Woody several weeks ago. Now I find that Devilquest is just the Japanese name for Season of the Which, witch came out early this year in America. Well, Devilcraft’s opening has been anticipated for nearly as long, and they are […]
- Other treats
- ...
Tetsu ramen, Shinagawa (つけめん 煮干そば TETSU 品川店)
Yeah, it was a pretty long night. After two izakayas, I just couldn’t resist the Shinagawa ramen street on the way back to the station. At least I was able to split a bowl with someone, which in theory helped with the calorie count. In practice, don’t be silly. Tetsu is a really popular place. […]
- izakaya
- ...
Hyotan, Shinagawa (和風居酒屋 ひょうたん 品川店)
We pretty much struck out at the first place, not even completing our plan to wait there until our friends arrived but at least adding an amusing one to the file of losers. The next most likely-looking establishment was Hyotan, a few hundred meters down the road, and it turned out well. Certainly it had […]
- izakaya
- ...
Fuki, Ningyocho (地酒と趣肴 風貴)
Well, we didn’t have that much luck at Kyowa, but it was early. Walking around left us in from of Fuki, which I had previously noticed as having some of that thar sakay stuff. Initially we were impressed by the seriousness of the master, who was sitting near the cash register working on a laptop. […]
- izakaya
- ...
Kyowa, Ningyocho (活魚料理 京和)
Marketing, my friends, is a bitch. I saw this place a bunch of times and was attracted to the modest exterior and the legend “Tai-shu Kappo”, which I interpret to mean “Classy cookin’ for reg’lar folks”. Things were a little too regular when someone and I got in, to wit just one other table eating […]
Gyoro-Gyoro, Nihonbashi (魚櫓魚櫓)
Yooooooshta. It’s official. I have now been to all of the good sake places in Tokyo. Think you know another? Nope. Not good. This is the last one. Boo-yah! Good, I’m glad we could all agree on that. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that they’ve got something going on; with a head store elsewhere (Shibooya, […]