Name: Zona Rosa
Neighborhood: Ebisu
Style: Mexican
Website: http://www.mic21.co.jp/
We had a party for all the foreign staff at work last Wednesday to celebrate the arrival of our two newest members, Ilija and Aasa. After trying unsuccessfully to arrange a trip to Ushi-tora,
we got a recommendation for this Mexican-style izakaya in Ebisu. It's very close to the East exit from Ebisu station.
While I can't say that their Mexican food will have any North American restaurants worried, Zona Rosa is a pretty good choice for an evening of fun. We got the nomihoudai / のみほうだい / 飲み放題 / all-you-can-drink along with a pre-set course for 4000円, which pretty much kept the drinks and food coming for a good two hours. Unlike a lot of places, there's actually a good selection of cocktails among the nomihoudai list so peoplel were trying all sort of Campari and Cassis options.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Nabe + Sashimi in Ebisu
Name: kotoshinonushi / ことしろぬし
Style: Japanese (stew / 鍋物)
Neighborhood: Ebisu
Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a718300/ but that's the website for the original shop a few blocks away; for the particular location we went to see http://www.hotpepper.jp/A_20700/strJ000003134.html
My friend Jill Smolin was in town for Interbee, the huge Japanese video equipment show that's the Japanese equivalent of NAB. She had a... difficult... eating situation with her group because doesn't eat red meat, and one of the other members of her group eats almost nothing else. One night she and her daughter Phoebe broke away so I suggested they come down to Ebisu.
Despite being a Thursday, it was a holiday evening in Tokyo since Friday was a national holiday. I was actually planning to go to Umu but when we got there it was (inexplicably) closed! And here I had been worrying we wouldn't get a seat...
We wandered around a bit and chose Kotoshironushi. They had nabe and oden, both popular foods among Japanese in winter, as well as sashimi courses (Jill had a jones for raw fish after the various group arrangements). We didn't get any oden (I don't really like Oden, which is various things cooked in hot water for a long time). However, the nabe at this place was awesome. We got a big pot of various vegetables and seafood which was cooked at the table. Just before it's ready, you take a trencher of minced chicken and throw it into the pot. It cooks almost instantly and makes the whole thing into an approximation of chicken soup. It was awesome.
The sashimi course we got was also delicious, saba (mackeral) was a standout. We got a few things to add on to that (the house salad is very recommended) but the nabe fills you up pretty well.
I'm glad Jill got a chance to experience a full-on Japanese meal, and that I got to find another good place in Ebisu!
Style: Japanese (stew / 鍋物)
Neighborhood: Ebisu
Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/a718300/ but that's the website for the original shop a few blocks away; for the particular location we went to see http://www.hotpepper.jp/A_20700/strJ000003134.html
My friend Jill Smolin was in town for Interbee, the huge Japanese video equipment show that's the Japanese equivalent of NAB. She had a... difficult... eating situation with her group because doesn't eat red meat, and one of the other members of her group eats almost nothing else. One night she and her daughter Phoebe broke away so I suggested they come down to Ebisu.
Despite being a Thursday, it was a holiday evening in Tokyo since Friday was a national holiday. I was actually planning to go to Umu but when we got there it was (inexplicably) closed! And here I had been worrying we wouldn't get a seat...
We wandered around a bit and chose Kotoshironushi. They had nabe and oden, both popular foods among Japanese in winter, as well as sashimi courses (Jill had a jones for raw fish after the various group arrangements). We didn't get any oden (I don't really like Oden, which is various things cooked in hot water for a long time). However, the nabe at this place was awesome. We got a big pot of various vegetables and seafood which was cooked at the table. Just before it's ready, you take a trencher of minced chicken and throw it into the pot. It cooks almost instantly and makes the whole thing into an approximation of chicken soup. It was awesome.
The sashimi course we got was also delicious, saba (mackeral) was a standout. We got a few things to add on to that (the house salad is very recommended) but the nabe fills you up pretty well.
I'm glad Jill got a chance to experience a full-on Japanese meal, and that I got to find another good place in Ebisu!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Japanese Microbrew Heaven
Name: 牛虎/Ushi-tora
Style: Beer specialty restaurant
Neighborhood: 下北沢/Shimokitazawa
Website: http://blog.ushitora.jp/
I found this place through a notice in Metropolis, the English-language free weekly here in Tokyo. It's a godsend.
You see, Japanese beer is just fine. There's really nothing wrong with it. Except. It's all absolutely the same. Sapporo, Kirin, Asahi, and Ebisu are all light lagers, and they all come on basic, dry, and lite varieties. And in Japan, it's unheard of to stock something that's not one of those four.
Sure, occasionally a bar will "branch out" and stock a light lager from Mexico (always Corona) or Europe (usually Heineken). But outside of the "Belgian Beer Bar" specialty bars (which are cool, don't get me wrong), there's very little of the sort of tastier, hoppier, or more full-bodied beers I grew to love living in Northern California.
Thus, when I saw "over 100 beers" in the description of this Shimokitazawa establishment, I knew we had to go. One night after an installment of the Kurosawa film festival, we stopped in.
It lived up to billing! Of course, most of the 100 beers were in bottles, but in fact about 17 were on tap including, unheard of for Japan, 3 India Pale Ales! I was in heaven since IPAs are my favorite type of beer and are unheard of here.
The next pleasant surprise was that the food was yummy. It's pretty much the kind of small food orders available at many Japanese eateries, but very well-prepared and a couple dishes were standouts.
To finish off the evening, we tried a small glass of their Brandywine. If you've never tried a Brandywine before, they're a treat (my friend John Brown used to brew his own). It's a sweeter and *much* stronger beer; the name is because of the strength. Delicious, although it made a head-clearing walk home pretty much di rigeur.
Like most places in Shimokitazawa, Ushi-tora is easy to get to but hard to explain how to get to. The top right link on the website is the map, be sure to print it out and bring it along; Ushi-tora in on the second floor of a building, entrance from the balcony.
Style: Beer specialty restaurant
Neighborhood: 下北沢/Shimokitazawa
Website: http://blog.ushitora.jp/
I found this place through a notice in Metropolis, the English-language free weekly here in Tokyo. It's a godsend.
You see, Japanese beer is just fine. There's really nothing wrong with it. Except. It's all absolutely the same. Sapporo, Kirin, Asahi, and Ebisu are all light lagers, and they all come on basic, dry, and lite varieties. And in Japan, it's unheard of to stock something that's not one of those four.
Sure, occasionally a bar will "branch out" and stock a light lager from Mexico (always Corona) or Europe (usually Heineken). But outside of the "Belgian Beer Bar" specialty bars (which are cool, don't get me wrong), there's very little of the sort of tastier, hoppier, or more full-bodied beers I grew to love living in Northern California.
Thus, when I saw "over 100 beers" in the description of this Shimokitazawa establishment, I knew we had to go. One night after an installment of the Kurosawa film festival, we stopped in.
It lived up to billing! Of course, most of the 100 beers were in bottles, but in fact about 17 were on tap including, unheard of for Japan, 3 India Pale Ales! I was in heaven since IPAs are my favorite type of beer and are unheard of here.
The next pleasant surprise was that the food was yummy. It's pretty much the kind of small food orders available at many Japanese eateries, but very well-prepared and a couple dishes were standouts.
To finish off the evening, we tried a small glass of their Brandywine. If you've never tried a Brandywine before, they're a treat (my friend John Brown used to brew his own). It's a sweeter and *much* stronger beer; the name is because of the strength. Delicious, although it made a head-clearing walk home pretty much di rigeur.
Like most places in Shimokitazawa, Ushi-tora is easy to get to but hard to explain how to get to. The top right link on the website is the map, be sure to print it out and bring it along; Ushi-tora in on the second floor of a building, entrance from the balcony.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Singapore in Tokyo
Name: Hawker-style Chinese Canteen / 海南鶏飯食堂 (literally, "Hunan Chicken Rice Cafeteria")
Neighborhood: Ebisu / 恵比寿
Style: Singaporean
Website: http://www.route9g.com/map.html#2
After our trip to Singapore this June, we're always on the lookout for Singaporean food! Although this place isn't quite the equal of the venerable Straits Cafe in SF, it's pretty good!
Their signature dish is Chicken Rice, the ubiquitous hawker food in Singapore. Boiled chicken is served along with rice made from the leftover water from boiling the chicken, and of course a selection of yummy sauces. You can choose several serving sizes from ¥750 to ¥1200.
It was good to try some chicken rice, but frankly the highlight of the restaurant was the curries. This restaurant is quite a bit more upscale than the hawkers they take after, so their version of "Fish Head Curry" is "Fish Curry," made with actual meat. IIRC, it was ¥850.
Even more important, they have the delicious Singaporean panbread called Roti Prata. Unlike many Singaporean places where it's an appetizer with its own dipping sauce, here it's a rice substitute. So get several (they're priced at ¥180 per) and soak up that yummy fish curry.
We also had a vegetable dish, whose Oyster Sauce wasn't what I was expecting -- but my Chinese food expectations have been set by San Francisco, so I'm reluctant to call their version wrong.
I'll be back! Good date restaurant, open-air windows in the summer.
Neighborhood: Ebisu / 恵比寿
Style: Singaporean
Website: http://www.route9g.com/map.html#2
After our trip to Singapore this June, we're always on the lookout for Singaporean food! Although this place isn't quite the equal of the venerable Straits Cafe in SF, it's pretty good!
Their signature dish is Chicken Rice, the ubiquitous hawker food in Singapore. Boiled chicken is served along with rice made from the leftover water from boiling the chicken, and of course a selection of yummy sauces. You can choose several serving sizes from ¥750 to ¥1200.
It was good to try some chicken rice, but frankly the highlight of the restaurant was the curries. This restaurant is quite a bit more upscale than the hawkers they take after, so their version of "Fish Head Curry" is "Fish Curry," made with actual meat. IIRC, it was ¥850.
Even more important, they have the delicious Singaporean panbread called Roti Prata. Unlike many Singaporean places where it's an appetizer with its own dipping sauce, here it's a rice substitute. So get several (they're priced at ¥180 per) and soak up that yummy fish curry.
We also had a vegetable dish, whose Oyster Sauce wasn't what I was expecting -- but my Chinese food expectations have been set by San Francisco, so I'm reluctant to call their version wrong.
I'll be back! Good date restaurant, open-air windows in the summer.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Gyoza and Nothing but Gyoza
Name: Hakone Gyoza Center / 箱根餃子センター
Style: Gyoza!
Neighborhood: Choukoku no Mori in Hakone / 箱根の彫刻の森嬖
Website: http://www.gyozacenter.com/
Thanks to Ben's guidebook reading and persistent reminders, after we finished up at the Hakone Open Air Museum, we decided to walk a few minutes uphill to find a Gyoza specialty restaurant he had read about.
It was fun! We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table (it was a holiday weekend, after all), but then we sat down and selected from among the 20 or so kinds of Gyoza available (happily for me, including chicken and beef Gyoza). Everything we had was good, including the local Hakone-san / 箱根山 sake that Hunter tried!
While munching through all the food, we decided that a Gyoza specialty restaurant would do just fine in SF -- any restaurant investors out there?
Style: Gyoza!
Neighborhood: Choukoku no Mori in Hakone / 箱根の彫刻の森嬖
Website: http://www.gyozacenter.com/
Thanks to Ben's guidebook reading and persistent reminders, after we finished up at the Hakone Open Air Museum, we decided to walk a few minutes uphill to find a Gyoza specialty restaurant he had read about.
It was fun! We had to wait about 20 minutes for a table (it was a holiday weekend, after all), but then we sat down and selected from among the 20 or so kinds of Gyoza available (happily for me, including chicken and beef Gyoza). Everything we had was good, including the local Hakone-san / 箱根山 sake that Hunter tried!
While munching through all the food, we decided that a Gyoza specialty restaurant would do just fine in SF -- any restaurant investors out there?
Monday, August 27, 2007
Finally, decent Italian
Name: Pizzeria D'oro
Style: Italian
Neighborhood: Ebisu / 恵比寿
Website: http://www.metius-foods.com/
On Shuzo's recommendation, I checked out this Italian restaurant about 20 minutes from work. It's pretty good, possibly the best Italian I've had yet in Tokyo. I'm told even better Italian is available -- for a price -- but this will do. The mista antipasta was great, lots of yummy bite just like antipasta should be, and the pasta main course was good (Carbonara).
Of course, it's not cheap enough for everyday eating, but at least I know somewhere to go when Italian is needed now!
Style: Italian
Neighborhood: Ebisu / 恵比寿
Website: http://www.metius-foods.com/
On Shuzo's recommendation, I checked out this Italian restaurant about 20 minutes from work. It's pretty good, possibly the best Italian I've had yet in Tokyo. I'm told even better Italian is available -- for a price -- but this will do. The mista antipasta was great, lots of yummy bite just like antipasta should be, and the pasta main course was good (Carbonara).
Of course, it's not cheap enough for everyday eating, but at least I know somewhere to go when Italian is needed now!
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