Colorful salads, bentō, and sets with wine- or beer-friendly small bites are offered at RF1. The chicken salad and some of the bentōs are marketed as including “half day’s worth of nourishing vegetables” in the meal. An antipasto set includes cured ham, cheese, quiche, and roasted vegetables. Sausages, shrimp ajillo, corn cream croquette, caponata, and fried…
Month: February 2024
Berg
My go-to breakfast at #Shinjuku Station @berg_shinjuku_tokyo. Love this morning set for a bargain ¥429 ($2.85). Open from 7:00 a.m. and it’s a popular shop with those in the know. Several Johnny Cash songs played in the background. A clash of cultures: kissaten, American music, and German meats. If you’re not an early riser come…
Kakeru
Fabulous flight of coffee drinks at @koffee_mameya_kakeru. Fascinating to see many expressions of the same bean. Some highlights include the milk-steeped coffee and a milk-steeped coffee mixed with a cacao vinegar that is strained through a paper filter separating the whey from the curds. Sweets are paired with the coffee including a cassis stollen with…
Kashiwaya
Kashiwaya is a kaiseki restaurant on a quiet back street in Nihonbashi. The multi-course meal is rich with seasonal ingredients. Chef Yoshiyuki Kashiwabara was a chef in both San Francisco and in Singapore for over two decades. Both he and his wife speak English and can help answer questions about the dishes and it’s a very…
Fujie Labo
Onigiri breakfast at Fujie Labo at Tachikawa Station. The brightly lit cafe is part of the Yamamotoyama family, Tokyo’s oldest tea shop which dates back 330 years. Two onigiri with a cup of tea, hot or cold, for only 500 yen ($3.50) is the morning set from 7:00 – 10:30 a.m. I picked gyu shigure,…
Tsukiji Peppers Cafe
Te-chan, Tetsuya Iwase, of @tsukijipepperscafe. Peppers Cafe is on a quiet side street. Te-chan’s main business is spices. He used to live in Pittsburgh and speaks fluent English. Peppers Cafe is a channel for him to share fresh black peppers cured in salt. The peppers have a soft texture with a little crunch. Delicious on…
L’Evo
Gastronomy tourism is a big part of why tourists are coming to Japan. L’Evo is an example of a restaurant featuring hyper-local ingredients and worth a journey. Chef Eiji Taniguchi’s restaurant is in the mountains of Toyama in the village of Toga in the remote Nanto district. The menu features local seafood and game with…
Tonki
Tonki tonkatsu pork cutlets. This branch is in Kokubunji which is much easier to get into than the Meguro restaurant. The tonkatsu is very different as it isn’t covered with the shards of panko. My friend cooked at the Meguro restaurant. As I recall the pork was dipped in egg, flour, egg, then a fine…
Wazaya
Wafu pasta, Italian dishes with Japanese ingredients, is always a comforting meal. Here scallops and Japanese mushrooms eringi, kikurage, and shimeji in an uni cream sauce. Here at Pasta Wazaya near Mitaka Station on the JR Chuo line. It is in the area of Inokashira Koen park and the Ghibli Museum. The menu is long….
Mochitsuki
Mochitsuki, pounding sticky rice to make #mochi at #Masuizumi #sake brewery in #Iwase, #Toyama. Here with Boris Priesol who is one of the founders of the hip Kobo brewpub down the street. We stopped by to say hi and were lucky in our timing to get a taste of the mochi which included #kombu #kelp….
Ginza Hangetsu
Ginza Hangetsu double curry 🍛 of coffee pork and ginger chicken with turmeric rice. Perfumed with fresh spices. Sliver of a shop on a quiet Ginza backstreet. Friendly staff and an English menu. Excellent value at ¥1,200 ($8). Ginza HangetsuChūō-ku, Ginza 6-4-15
Ehōmaki
Today in Japan is Setsubun, the last day before Risshun, the first day of spring in the old Japanese calendar. While homes first day of spring in the old Japanese calendar. While homes with kids will throw dried soybeans at someone wearing a devil’s mask chanting “out with the demons, in with good fortune”. If…
Akomeya
Akomeya is a fabulous shop to stock up on pantry staples, rice, condiments, and tableware. There are a few branches at Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Shibuya, and Shinjuku. The main shop in Kagurazaka is organized over two floors and includes a restaurant. The beautiful space was designed by architect Kengo Kuma. Bookmark @akomeya_tokyo if you love cooking…
abats Charcuterie
Mind blown by the impressive line up of charcuterie at Kagurazaka abats charcuterie. Worth the journey across town. Pate de Campagne, duck and almond saucisson, truffle liver mousse, and pork rillettes. I will recreate a French bistro at home with Bricolage dinkel bread of spelt, pumpkin and sesame seeds. Bon appetit! abats Shinjuku-ku, Yamabukicho 332 …
Food Sake Tokyo 