I find myself in the curious position, dear readers, of wanting to recommend a place that really irritated me even while I had a good time. Cafe Comme Ca has a LOT of things going against it, but the cakes are incredibly beautiful and taste pretty good too. Strike 1 – it’s a clothing-branded […]
recommended
- izakaya
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Takaban, Awajicho
Tuesday night, I wanted…information. I figured if I got You drunk, then by hook or by crook I’d get some. He was already unstable as we were leaving the office – look how blurry he is here. We walked up to Takaban, which I visited some time ago alone, sans camera, while waiting for someone […]
- Italian
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Ristorante Frick, Aoyama
August brings hard times for big men in Tokyo. When colleagues go to Hong Kong or Hawaii and come back talking about how the weather is worse in Tokyo, all we want to do is retreat to our air-conditioned rooms and laze on the couch. Or maybe go out for a touch of elegance. As […]
- izakaya
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Nekoya, Tsukiji (ねこ屋)
How would you come up with this concept? “Stylish, private basement izakaya with homey food served by a youngish female master in kimono, with an outstanding sake selection. And everything cat-themed.” Everything. Well, it’s a good place, and the Woodsman deserves all credit for coming up with it when the rough plan was an evening around Tsukiji. Neko-san […]
- Other treats
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Ganko ramen, Takadanobaba (がんこ)
If you’re willing to make a good effort, and you’re a little relaxed about time, you can go all sorts of places for lunch. Like Baba, home of 100 ramen shops and various college girls in costume. What’s up, sailor? Walk up toward Waseda, going with the flow of kids on their way to school. […]
Coulis, Shintomi
The photo gallery on the web site shows a range of semi-artful but fully fresh-looking dishes. Vegetables are everywhere. So are construction pictures, and the last of the series is a couple with a young child, backs to the camera, looking at the completed kitchen. No doubt, Coulis is a labor of love. With quality […]
Matoi ramen, Jimbocho (まとい)
Do you think a little thing like pouring rain is going to stop lunch from happening? nnnnnnno, it’s not. It will produce some concessions though. If you go underground, you can can get from the office to the subway without seeing sky, and then you can take the train one stop north to Awajicho, which […]
- izakaya
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Yamato, Morishita (山登)
Sometimes people ask how I find all these places. Much like Eddy Merckx describing his approach in training to be the world’s best cyclist as ‘Ride lots,’ I spend an inordinate amount of time looking. Seek and ye shall find. I actually find the looking almost as enjoyable as the finding and eating, because it’s […]
Fujiya, Nihonbashi (フジヤ)
Around my place, we adhere to the ‘dirty is good’ philosophy. This may get you in trouble in, say, India or Vietnam (where I prefer to say ‘dirty is deadly’), but in Japan health standards are such that you’re never going to get sick from restaurant food. Fujiya exhibits layers of steamed-on grease from long simmering […]
- beer
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Popeye, Ryogoku
Well, it comes down to this – I’ve waited until now to write about one of the best places in Tokyo. The WORLD, even! THE WORLD! Phew, this is off to an exciting start. If you like beer, you’ll agree with me. If not, skip the rest. These two guys probably knew what they were […]