Woodberry Coffee is an excellent spot for coffee, salads, grilled cheese, and more. Woodbury has a few branches in Tokyo including in Shibuya. The Ogikubo branch is big with seating on three floors, including the rooftop. The Buddha Bowl salad includes quinoa, chickpeas, and a beet hummus. Woodberry Coffee Suginami-ku, Momoi 1-2-2 https://woodberrycoffee.com #foodsaketokyo #foodsakeogikubo…
Tag: bargain eats
Cheese Toast
Cheese toast at Dixans Patisserie et Café in Kanda, a short walk from Suidōbashi Station (and the Niwa Hotel). I have many clients staying at the Niwa Hotel. I hear such good things about the property. Great staff, nice rooms, and centrally located. It’s a good value hotel. Rates this week look to be about…
Jingoro
Local noodle shop for handmade udon and soba. This hearty serving of thick Musashino style udon and soba is less than $6. Jingoro 甚五郎 Tōkyō-to, Kokubunji-shi, Honchō 3-12-2 http://www.jingo6.com/sp/menu.html
bread, espresso &
bread, espresso & is an excellent bakery with several branches including Omotesando and this café in Shibuya at Miyashita Park on the second floor. Breakfast morning set here includes cheesy toasts, including one with truffles, or this cheese omelet with salad. It was busy on a recent weekday morning open from 8:00 a.m. Popular shop…
Osaka Dotonbori
Dotonbori area in Osaka is a great part of the city to visit. It’s along a river and at night the city lights up. Jyuu en pan is a hot pancake like bread that is filled with cheese. It is shaped like a ten yen coin, hence the name jyuu en (ten yen) pan (bread)….
Easy Curry
We love curry in Japan. Most often we make it from scratch, but I do keep pre-cooked curry packs in our home for rainy days. These simply need to be cooked in the pack in hot water – usually for about 5-7 minutes. To cook in the microwave I open the pack and move the…
Kaoriya Soba
Had a fantastic soba meal at Ebisu Kaoriya. Started with a flight of saké. Included a half-order of dashimaki tamago savory omelet, soba yaki miso, and tsukemono pickles. All very good. My favorite is always the miso with buckwheat groats. This one included julienned ginger. These three dishes are lovely with the nihonshu. The otameshi…
Ginza Vomero Pizza
The lunch set at Ginza Vomero is a selection of pastas and pizzas, appetizer plate, and coffee. A great value at ¥1430 ($10.50). Vomero is located behind the Kabukiza theater. It is between Tsukiji and the main Ginza shopping street. Vomero is a popular restaurant so avoid the main noon dining time. Several vegetarian options….
Saito’s Coffee Kissaten
Saito’s Coffee has been in business since 1948 (Showa 23). On a quiet back street between Kanda Station and Mitsukoshi department store. Before work the kissaten coffee shop was quiet. Most of the customers walked in for a cup of hand drip coffee for a bargain 250 yen ($1.90). To sit down inside away from…
Kaitenzushi Haneda Ichiba at Tokyo Station
Haneda Ichiba is a kaitenzushi conveyor belt sushi inside of Tokyo Station. The company sends seafood directly from the fisherman to their restaurants. Fresh seafood at a better price as the product does not go through Toyosu Market. It’s a fun shop. Perfect on this day as I was with my kid. https://hanedaichiba.com
Matsumoto Kissa Senzu Wagashi
Kissa Senzu serves modern and traditional wagashi sweets inside of the historic Kaiundo confectionary shop, opened in 1884 in Matsumoto. Monaka, a crispy wafer is served with a flight of three types of red beans (smooth, chunky, and whole). A fun way to compare the textures. Dorayaki of two small pancakes stuffed with sweet anko…
Tachikawa Rainbow Spice Curry
Rainbow Spice, just one minute from Tachikawa station’s South exit, is sliver of a shop. Seven counter seats overlooking an itsy-bitsy kitchen. Rainbow Spice makes the curries from scratch and doesn’t use flour but yogurt as a thickener. This lunch was a double curry of a pork vindaloo, tart from wine vinegar with tender meat,…
Matsumoto cohiludo Oyaki
We are visiting Matsumoto in Nagano for winter holidays. One of our first stops was at the charming cohiludo café. It is on the main street leading to Matsumoto Castle from the station. Oyaki are stuffed dumplings, a local dish from Nagano prefecture. My favorite is the Nozawana, a mustard green leaf – also a…
Kyobashi Isehiro Yakitori
Not far from Tokyo Station is one of my go-to yakitori shops. Isehiro has been grilling chicken skewers for over one hundred years (est. 1921). The tsukune chicken balls, my favorite in the city, have a meaty texture. Isehiro calls these dango on their menu. When I worked at Takashimaya depachika down the street I…
Mugi to Olive Clam Ramen at Manseibashi
Mugi to Olive has been on my ramen radar for a while. The chef behind the restaurant is trained in French cuisine. Ramen bloggers and Japanese media, both print and television, rave about the clam soup ramen. But it jumped to the top of my list after seeing it mentioned in this great piece in…
Nakameguro Onigily Cafe
The Nakameguro area is filled with many great restaurants, including my favorite pizzeria, Seirinkan. Just a short walk from Nakameguro station is Onigily Cafe. Onigiri is perhaps the quintessential comfort food in Japan. Rice stuffed with a savory filling that is often wrapped with nori. I almost didn’t go in as the spelling of onigiri…
Food Trends – Shio Pan
As it looks like rainy season has come to an end and summer is officially here it has suddenly become hot. Temperatures soared overnight and for this Minnesotan, the heat is unbearable. Increased salt intake is recommended for heat exhaustion or for acclimating to the heat. A baker in Ehime prefecture came up with this…
Taco Rico
I don’t remember when I was so excited about a new restaurant. Taco Rico is in the Ark Hills complex in Roppongi. There are a handful of tables in the brightly lit restaurant, but most of the diners over the busy lunch hour were taking their lunches to go. The shop reminds me of Chipotle with…
Tokyo Station Sushi Sei
Sushi Sei is a popular sushi shop at Tsukiji Market that has a branch inside of Tokyo Station. There is often a line of salarymen outside of the shop before it opens at 7 a.m. The breakfast options include sashimi or donburi (sashimi over a large bowl of rice). There are also two versions of ochazuke….
Shibuya Murgi Curry 印度料理ムルギー
Murugi has been on my Go List for about twenty-five years now. Famous for its curry, and the unusual presentation of the tall rice behind the curry. The popular dish is the tamago-iri curry, curry with a hard-boiled egg (1,050 JPY). It is served with a small portion of a fruit paste, to be mixed into the…
Tsukiji Toritoh
Over the winter break it was announced that Tsukiji Inner Market (Tsukiji Jonai) will be moving to its new home in November of 2016. We have been very busy with our Food Sake Tokyo tours as customers are wanting to see the historic market before then. I have written about Toritoh in the Tsukiji Outer…
Ginza New Castle Curry ニューキャッスル – CLOSED
So sad to say that this is now closed. We will miss you New Castle. New Castle ニューキャッスル Chuo-ku, Ginza 2-3-1 03-3561-2929 11:00 – 21:00 (Saturdays until 17:00) Closed Sundays and holidays No website An old style curry shop, in an old building in a very modern part of town, catches your eye. The shop…
Orimine Bakers near Tsukiji Market 築地のパン屋「オリミネベーカーズ」
A great little bakery near Tsukiji has opened up and is definitely worth checking out if you are in the area. The name of the shop is printed in gold on the windows, reminds me of Balthazar Bakery in Soho. You can’t miss its green and white awning and the green exterior. The breads range…
Kakigori Shaved Ice 氷
The heat and humidity of Tokyo summers can be overbearing. What better way to cool down than with kakigori (shaved ice sweets). As a child visiting my family in Japan in the summer that is one of my fondest memories. Kakigori topped with sweetened condensed milk (ask for miruku) and garnished with some sweet azuki…
Umezono in Asakusa 浅草の梅園
Umezono 梅園 Taito-ku, Asakusa 1-31-12 台東区浅草1-31-12 Phone: 03-3841-7580 10:00 – 20:00, closed Wednesdays and 2nd Tuesday http://www.asakusa-umezono.co.jp/ (Japanese) Just off of the Nakamise Dori the corner shop is easy to recognize from the red paper umbrella and benches in front of the shop. Umezono in Asakusa, opened in 1854, has a strong following for anmitsu,…
Magurobito Kaitenzushi in Asakusa 浅草のまぐろ人
**** Note, this shop has closed. Magurobito まぐろ人 Taito-ku, Asakusa 1-5-9 台東区浅草1-5-9 Phone: 03-3844-8736 Monday – Friday (11:00 – 15:00, 17:00 – 22:00) Saturday (11:00 – 22:00) Sunday and holidays (11:00 – 21:00) http://www.magurobito.com/ (Japanese) Magurobito is kaitenzushi (revolving sushi) with a good value and a selection of seasonal fresh fish. It is very…
Cheap Eats in Ginza – 2/2
The slightly spicy curry served at this nostalgic mom-and-pop shop has long been a neighborhood favorite. The small wooden building looks out of place among Ginza’s designer boutiques and department stores, and the cooking is simple as well: one curry served in four sizes, each named after a station on the Keihin-Tohoku line. The handwritten…
Tokyo Bargain Dining
Elaine Louie, who is a fellow author at The Little Bookroom, has penned this great article for the New York Times on cheap eats in Tokyo. Here is her book on Cheap Eats in London: http://www.littlebookroom.com/savoirfare.html
Tokyo Cheap Eats – Kanda Yabu Soba
UPDATE: Kanda Yabu Soba caught on fire on February 19, 2013. 40 customers and employees were in the restaurant during dinner service when the fire was noticed. Everyone was safely evacuated. A spokesperson for Kanda Yabu Soba has said on NHK news the following day that the restaurant hopes to reopen in six months. If…
Tokyo Bargain Dining – Maisen Tonkatsu in Omotesando まい泉とんかつ
If you have not had tonkatsu in Japan you probably have not experienced the juicy pork cutlet with the crispy panko breaded. This served up with a hot bowl of rice and a large haystack of julienned cabbage does not disappoint. Season the cabbage and pork with some tonkatsu dressing, a dark, sweet, thick sauce…
Tokyo Cheap Eats – Tsukiji Market’s Yoshinoya
Yoshinoya is a popular fast-food chain famous for its gyudon, thin slices of beef cooked with onions and a sweet soy sauce are ladled over a bowl of rice. A branch of Yoshinoya is in New York City on 42nd Street. The first shop in the chain dates back to 1899 and was located near…
Tokyo Cheap Eats – Oedo Kaitenzushi 大江戸回転寿し
As a fishmonger, Shinji is always craving sushi. There are many ranks of restaurants, even within the kaitenzushi (revolving sushi). Ooedo Kaitenzushi came highly recommended for its variety of fresh fish at a reasonable price. Ooedo has several locations throughout the city. This one is near Okachimashi, just south of Ueno station and near the…
Tokyo Bargain Dining – Nihonbashi Yukari
I am often queried for good but affordable restaurants in Tokyo. One of my favorites for lunch is Nihonbashi Yukari with 2002 Iron Chef winner Kimio Nonaga. The basic lunch starts at about 2,000 JPY (around $20 USD). If you want to splurge, the Yukari bento, an uspcale bento, is about 3,675 JPY (about $35…
B Kyu Gourmet – Cheap Eats in Tokyo B級グルメ
Here are some of my favorite restaurants that won’t break the bank. This article first appeared in Metropolis on November 5, 2009. http://metropolis.co.jp/dining/local-flavors/the-b-list/ The most sought-after tables in recession-hit Tokyo can be found at so-called B-kyu gurume restaurants. These eateries typically specialize in a single cuisine—soba or tonkatsu, for example—served in simple settings without the lacquerware…
Food Sake Tokyo 