Restaurant: Itaru / いたる
Neighborhood: Kanazawa, near Kenrokuen and the 21st Century Museum / 金沢市
Style: Izakaya with emphasis on Seafood
Website: http://www.itaru.ne.jp/
Many years ago, I studied Japanese in Kanazawa. I've been there in the spring, summer, and fall, but I'd never been there in winter to see the famous Kenrokuen Gardens covered in snow. Just before my new job starts, I made a quick trip to see them (and indeed it was gorgeous).
However, the other advantage of going to the Hokuriku region in winter is getting to eat great food! Food in Kanazawa is always great, but winter is the best time for seafood and so I had three great days of eating out in Kanazawa.
My friend Yasuko suggested Itaru as the first place to try in Kanazawa.
Itaru is very popular among locals, so reservations are a good idea;
you'll frequently be turned away even on a weeknight without them.
It's easy to get here either by walking, or by taxi (unlike Tokyo,
taxis in Kanazawa are not too expensive); just tell the driver "itaru honten".
Itaru is the familiar open-kitchen, counter-oriented izakaya format,
and the food has a special emphasis on seafood but encompasses the full range
you'd expect from a high-end izakaya.
This is a Japanese restaurant, so having a Japanese speaker in the group
is essential.
Some of the highlights here the night I went were the sashimi moriawase,
which of course included the Buri that hokuriku is well-known for in winter
(in fact, I ate delicious buri sashimi every night I was in Kanazawa),
Shirako (look it up), and grilled buri.
Everything here was really good, and as with most Japanese
restaurants, it's a good bet to ask the chef what's good tonight and order that.
We had a toriaezu beer but after that moved on to Nihonshu,
there was a delightful dry sake but I forgot to note the name!
A lot of food and a generous amount of sake at Itaru still only came
out to about 5000 yen per person, great food value.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Monday, December 26, 2011
Homey Cafe near Home
Restaurant: Mona Records Music Cafe / モナレコード音楽カフェー
Neighborhood: Shimokitazawa / 下北沢
Style: Homey Japanese / 日本料理
Website: www.mona-records.com
Recently my friend Katie leant me a cafe book covering Shimokitazawa and Sangenjaya. These books are available for most neighborhoods in Japan and go through listing the local (non-national-chain) businesses in a given neighborhood, with a little bit of text and a few photos of each. When I first saw them a few years ago, they weren't that useful to me, both because they're written in Japanese only and because I didn't understand the tropes of Japanese food culture as well.
Now, I can generally work my way through the Japanese text and I actually know what a lot more of the dishes are (monjya, agemon, chanko, etc.) so I can actually get an idea from a book like this where I might want to go. Since I live in the neighborhood, I would explore a lot of these places anyway, but the good thing about this kind of book is that they will find some places that are so out-of-the-way you would never see them.
The book definitely prompted me to go to Mona Music Cafe and I'm glad I did! Mona is an indie record label, from what I've explored they seem to focus on acoustic and mellow music. The second floor is the cafe and record store and the third floor is the live space where performers connected to the label play.
This article is about the cafe as a cafe though! And it's a great place. It's shoeless, meaning all the tables are low tables with cushions. The overall vibe fits an acoustic label, meaning it's low-key and very homey. There's plenty of space (rare at a Japanese restaurant) so you won't feel hemmed in. On a Monday night at 8ish it was busy enough to not be empty but not crowded.
I got one of the daily teishoku (set meals), which by the way is generally the right thing to do in Japan. It was simple fare very well-done. The main was grilled organic chicken and vegetables, and the great thing is that they were flame-broiled, meaning that the food actually had carbonization and the associated taste (carcinogens, yum!). Besides a generous bowl of rice, it came with miso soup, some sesame-oil-laced noodle/tofu, and a pickled root vegetable (the exact nature of which I couldn't identify). 900yen.
It was a cold night so I started with a pot of kocha (black tea) and followed up with their housemade ginger ale. It was nice and gingery, but like a lot of housemade ginger ale here, very very sweet. Still tasty though!
This is a great place to hang out and grab a meal on a cold winter's night. I'm sure I'll be back.
Neighborhood: Shimokitazawa / 下北沢
Style: Homey Japanese / 日本料理
Website: www.mona-records.com
Recently my friend Katie leant me a cafe book covering Shimokitazawa and Sangenjaya. These books are available for most neighborhoods in Japan and go through listing the local (non-national-chain) businesses in a given neighborhood, with a little bit of text and a few photos of each. When I first saw them a few years ago, they weren't that useful to me, both because they're written in Japanese only and because I didn't understand the tropes of Japanese food culture as well.
Now, I can generally work my way through the Japanese text and I actually know what a lot more of the dishes are (monjya, agemon, chanko, etc.) so I can actually get an idea from a book like this where I might want to go. Since I live in the neighborhood, I would explore a lot of these places anyway, but the good thing about this kind of book is that they will find some places that are so out-of-the-way you would never see them.
The book definitely prompted me to go to Mona Music Cafe and I'm glad I did! Mona is an indie record label, from what I've explored they seem to focus on acoustic and mellow music. The second floor is the cafe and record store and the third floor is the live space where performers connected to the label play.
This article is about the cafe as a cafe though! And it's a great place. It's shoeless, meaning all the tables are low tables with cushions. The overall vibe fits an acoustic label, meaning it's low-key and very homey. There's plenty of space (rare at a Japanese restaurant) so you won't feel hemmed in. On a Monday night at 8ish it was busy enough to not be empty but not crowded.
I got one of the daily teishoku (set meals), which by the way is generally the right thing to do in Japan. It was simple fare very well-done. The main was grilled organic chicken and vegetables, and the great thing is that they were flame-broiled, meaning that the food actually had carbonization and the associated taste (carcinogens, yum!). Besides a generous bowl of rice, it came with miso soup, some sesame-oil-laced noodle/tofu, and a pickled root vegetable (the exact nature of which I couldn't identify). 900yen.
It was a cold night so I started with a pot of kocha (black tea) and followed up with their housemade ginger ale. It was nice and gingery, but like a lot of housemade ginger ale here, very very sweet. Still tasty though!
This is a great place to hang out and grab a meal on a cold winter's night. I'm sure I'll be back.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Nippon Craft Beer Festival 2011
A little while ago, my friend Dylan and I were at Ushitora, the local craft beer bar here in Shimokitazawa, and saw the information for the upcoming Nippon Craft Beer Festival. I had heard about this festival before but missed it so we picked up tickets on the spot! (it's best to buy tickets for this event from one of the local craft bar beers, like Ushitora, CraftHeads, Popeye's, DevilCraft, or Taproom)
For your 3000-yen-ish ticket, you get a small beer glass and ten tickets. Each ticket gets you a pour (about 120ml, good-sized) of one of the 46 craft beers on tap at the event. Should you want to push your luck by trying all 46, extra tickets are only 250yen, which is a pretty good deal considering these beers all sell for 1000 yen or more a pint. There's also a little bit of food for sale for 1 or 2 tickets each, although most attendees had wisely brought a bento along with them.
The event was crowded, but not overly so. I've also been to the Great Japan Beer Festival and those tend to be so crowded that it's kind of not fun. Here, there was always room to move around and generally you didn't have to wait too long for any one beer.
They had live music as well -- visually the most interesting was the punk bagpiper who was playing when we arrived. One of the craft beer bars put together a band that played a selection of mostly folk music in English, which several of them looked like they were sight-reading (classically-trained musicians slumming?). Apparently they couldn't get quite enough groups since that group played twice, repeating the exact same setlist (including "Country Roads") each time. I'm inspired -- next year our Inokashira park group should sign up for a slot!
Anyway, enough of the event descriptions. Here were the beers I got to try. Keep in mind that this event was full of amazing beers, so even a beer I describe here as "OK" would probably be the best beer on tap at your local. Also, if you haven't tried beers with me, my taste in beer runs strongly to American-style IPAs (very bitter, very hoppy).
So there you go, a rundown on my experience at Nippon Craft Beer Festival 2011. Next year, I'll definitely try to plan ahead and actually volunteer; but in any case, I'll definitely go again.
One small hint for those of you who (apparently, you're reading here) stay all the way to the end: at about 5 minutes to 5, they declare all beers to be free (no tickets required): "Help us drink what's left!" Handy to know if you really want to get your money's worth out of the ticket ;-).
For your 3000-yen-ish ticket, you get a small beer glass and ten tickets. Each ticket gets you a pour (about 120ml, good-sized) of one of the 46 craft beers on tap at the event. Should you want to push your luck by trying all 46, extra tickets are only 250yen, which is a pretty good deal considering these beers all sell for 1000 yen or more a pint. There's also a little bit of food for sale for 1 or 2 tickets each, although most attendees had wisely brought a bento along with them.
The event was crowded, but not overly so. I've also been to the Great Japan Beer Festival and those tend to be so crowded that it's kind of not fun. Here, there was always room to move around and generally you didn't have to wait too long for any one beer.
They had live music as well -- visually the most interesting was the punk bagpiper who was playing when we arrived. One of the craft beer bars put together a band that played a selection of mostly folk music in English, which several of them looked like they were sight-reading (classically-trained musicians slumming?). Apparently they couldn't get quite enough groups since that group played twice, repeating the exact same setlist (including "Country Roads") each time. I'm inspired -- next year our Inokashira park group should sign up for a slot!
Anyway, enough of the event descriptions. Here were the beers I got to try. Keep in mind that this event was full of amazing beers, so even a beer I describe here as "OK" would probably be the best beer on tap at your local. Also, if you haven't tried beers with me, my taste in beer runs strongly to American-style IPAs (very bitter, very hoppy).
| Brewery | Beer | Style | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| プレミアムビール鬼伝説 (Japan/日本) | 赤鬼ペールルエール カスケード・アマリロ | American Pale Ale | OK/まま |
| いわて蔵ビール | スモークエール | Smoked Ale | It's amazing to taste the same kind of smoke in a beer as you get in meats or cheese, but I didn't like that taste. / いや |
| Harvest Moon Brewery | 復興 IPA | American IPA | Good but didn't stand out in this crowd / よい |
| August Beer / アウグスビール | Toshi's IPA | IPA | This is fantastic, but I knew that before the festival. This is the IPA from the new company established by the original founder of Yona Yona Ale. / もちろん Toshi's はすばらしいです。 |
| 多摩の恵 | ベルジャンウイット | Witbier | OK/まま |
| OH! LA! HO! Beer | ビエール・ド・雷電 インディアペールエール | American IPA | OK/まま |
| ヤッホーブルーイン | Yona Yona Real Ale Cask Conditioned / よなよなリアルエール カスクコンディション | American Pale Ale | OK (Yona Yona is probably the best widely-available craft beer in Japanese supermarkets. Don't hold back from buying it there!) /まま |
| 城端ビール | Dragon's Taste / 竜の味 | IPA | OK / まま |
| Brew Dog | Hard Core IPA | IPA | Omigod. This was the best beer among the tastings at the show, and was my vote for the top prize. A lot of other people apparently agreed - this took first place in the voting. It really says something about who comes to this event, because this beer is correctly named: it is an extreme version of an IPA, with overwhelming Hop flavor and strong bitterness (that's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it). / 一番のビールだと思いまして、そのショーの一番賞を受けました。 |
| Brew Dog and Mikeller | Artisan Black | Very, very black | Brew Dog was offering 30ml samples of this as a special event at their booth. And it really was a special event, this is an amazing, strong, dark, beer; more like sipping a wine than tasting a beer. What an amazing experience! |
| Baird Beer | Hop Stoopid | Right towards the end of the show, Baird opened up a new keg to hand out samples of their excellent hoppy brew. |
So there you go, a rundown on my experience at Nippon Craft Beer Festival 2011. Next year, I'll definitely try to plan ahead and actually volunteer; but in any case, I'll definitely go again.
One small hint for those of you who (apparently, you're reading here) stay all the way to the end: at about 5 minutes to 5, they declare all beers to be free (no tickets required): "Help us drink what's left!" Handy to know if you really want to get your money's worth out of the ticket ;-).
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Do the Funky Cucina
Restaurant: Funky Cucina UNO / ファンキー・クッチーナ・ウーノ
Neighborhood: Kichijoji / 吉祥寺
Style: Italian
Website: Tabelog here
My friends Dylan and Katie introduced me to their newest find in Kichijoji: Funky Cucina UNO, or as everybody calls it in English, the Funky Cucina. It immeidately shot to the top of the Tokyo price-performance leagues for antipasti-style Italian!
Funky Cucina is a small place off of Inokashira-kouen in Kichijoji; it's just outside the park entrance near the intersection of Kichijoji-dori and Inokashira-dori. We arrived about 6:30pm on a Saturday and were almost the only customers, but by 8:30 the place was filled up so based on your timeframe reservations may be appropriate.
They got started with the o-toshi which was a small cup of yummy Gazpacho, perfect for the hot summer weekend. That and the fresh-baked italian bread took us off to a good start. We were a group of six so we got to try a lot of things but there were three standouts. Counting down from #3 to the top, they were:
In general Funky Cucina UNO is a great value. The wine list at Funky Cucina reflects this: while they have a lot of expensive wines you're welcome to explore, what's amazing is how many extremely affordable and drinkable wines they have. You can upgrade to the 2500円 level after you're done exploring the 1995円 list, and no I didn't slip a 0 there.
The bottom line is that (especially in a group) you can have a great meal here very reasonably. We got a truly filling meal including a generous amount of wine for 4500円 per person (though naturally dialing up the wine list can change that). It makes a perfect capper to a pleasant day spent in Inokashira Park and has the same kind of relaxed vibe.
The master (whose name I sadly didn't catch) grew up in Canada and speaks perfect English, although the staff will prefer Japanese. Enjoy!
Neighborhood: Kichijoji / 吉祥寺
Style: Italian
Website: Tabelog here
My friends Dylan and Katie introduced me to their newest find in Kichijoji: Funky Cucina UNO, or as everybody calls it in English, the Funky Cucina. It immeidately shot to the top of the Tokyo price-performance leagues for antipasti-style Italian!
Funky Cucina is a small place off of Inokashira-kouen in Kichijoji; it's just outside the park entrance near the intersection of Kichijoji-dori and Inokashira-dori. We arrived about 6:30pm on a Saturday and were almost the only customers, but by 8:30 the place was filled up so based on your timeframe reservations may be appropriate.
They got started with the o-toshi which was a small cup of yummy Gazpacho, perfect for the hot summer weekend. That and the fresh-baked italian bread took us off to a good start. We were a group of six so we got to try a lot of things but there were three standouts. Counting down from #3 to the top, they were:
- The tuna tartare with avocado was beautifully done, and again a perfect dish for a summer night. We got two!
- We got one dish Dylan couldn't enjoy due to his vegetarian tendencies: a unbelievably tender garlic-roasted piece of steak (flank steak if I'm not mistaken)
- The topper of the evening though, was one where Dylan's previous exploration served us well: an exquisite truffle risotto. If you think of truffles mostly in conjunction with chocolate, this will take you by surprise. The delicate, earthy taste of the truffles is well-matched by the risotto, and how in Japan they can afford to put that much truffle on a dish that's only 1200円 I have no idea. Go try this soon before they come to their senses and raise prices!
In general Funky Cucina UNO is a great value. The wine list at Funky Cucina reflects this: while they have a lot of expensive wines you're welcome to explore, what's amazing is how many extremely affordable and drinkable wines they have. You can upgrade to the 2500円 level after you're done exploring the 1995円 list, and no I didn't slip a 0 there.
The bottom line is that (especially in a group) you can have a great meal here very reasonably. We got a truly filling meal including a generous amount of wine for 4500円 per person (though naturally dialing up the wine list can change that). It makes a perfect capper to a pleasant day spent in Inokashira Park and has the same kind of relaxed vibe.
The master (whose name I sadly didn't catch) grew up in Canada and speaks perfect English, although the staff will prefer Japanese. Enjoy!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Better than your average Japanese Indian
Name: Dhaba
Neighborhood: Marunouchi
Style: (South) Indian
Website: http://www.dhabaindia.com/
My friend Jin organized a meetup here just as she was running out the door to go snowboarding. While Dhaba isn't a revelation, it is a cut above most Indian restaurants in Japan. Curries are a little spicier than most, and even the Papadams had a bite to them. It's definitely a good option if you're in the Marunouchi area.
Neighborhood: Marunouchi
Style: (South) Indian
Website: http://www.dhabaindia.com/
My friend Jin organized a meetup here just as she was running out the door to go snowboarding. While Dhaba isn't a revelation, it is a cut above most Indian restaurants in Japan. Curries are a little spicier than most, and even the Papadams had a bite to them. It's definitely a good option if you're in the Marunouchi area.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
そば ^ max
Name: 香り家 / Kaorika
Style: Soba
Neighborhood: 恵比寿 / Ebisu
Website: None, but see http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130302/13001653/
My friends Naoco and Nick introduced to this awesome soba restaurant, which is surprising considering it's right near my house and not near theirs! I have nothing but props for this place. They have a whole variety of interesting drinks (an awesome nihonshu whose name begins with kiku, nigori umeshuu, and sobayu+sobashochu among others) and a lot of good food to warm up with (the dashimaki was really good, as was the chicken tataki). But of course it's a soba restaurant so the highlight was the soba at the end. As advised by our guides we order the gomadare (sesame sauce) soba, which is thicker than typical soba but oh-so-good. And of course drinking the leftover sauce with sobayuu afterward is equally awesome.
After this win-win experience I can't wait for the next place they've promised to introduce me to, Spoon in Shinjuku 3chome.
Style: Soba
Neighborhood: 恵比寿 / Ebisu
Website: None, but see http://r.tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130302/13001653/
My friends Naoco and Nick introduced to this awesome soba restaurant, which is surprising considering it's right near my house and not near theirs! I have nothing but props for this place. They have a whole variety of interesting drinks (an awesome nihonshu whose name begins with kiku, nigori umeshuu, and sobayu+sobashochu among others) and a lot of good food to warm up with (the dashimaki was really good, as was the chicken tataki). But of course it's a soba restaurant so the highlight was the soba at the end. As advised by our guides we order the gomadare (sesame sauce) soba, which is thicker than typical soba but oh-so-good. And of course drinking the leftover sauce with sobayuu afterward is equally awesome.
After this win-win experience I can't wait for the next place they've promised to introduce me to, Spoon in Shinjuku 3chome.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Pie that Mama Makes
Restaurant: Mama Tarte Daikanyama / ママタルト代官山
Neighborhood: Daikanyama (duh) / 代官山
Style:Pie Shop
Website: http://daikanyama.st/mamatarte/ but http://www.coocle.jp/sh/21499/ has more info
Oops, I realized I never posted about this place. When you have a hankerin' for full-on American-style pie, this is the place. There are a sprinkling of pie shops all over Tokyo, but to be honest, most of them aren't all that good. This place, despite being busy, has a pretty relaxed feel and a great selection of pies. It was awhile ago when I went, so I don't remember the exact items we got, but every piece of pie was great.
They do have non-pie "real food" items as well, which were tasty but very limited in selection, so go here because you want some dessert!
Neighborhood: Daikanyama (duh) / 代官山
Style:Pie Shop
Website: http://daikanyama.st/mamatarte/ but http://www.coocle.jp/sh/21499/ has more info
Oops, I realized I never posted about this place. When you have a hankerin' for full-on American-style pie, this is the place. There are a sprinkling of pie shops all over Tokyo, but to be honest, most of them aren't all that good. This place, despite being busy, has a pretty relaxed feel and a great selection of pies. It was awhile ago when I went, so I don't remember the exact items we got, but every piece of pie was great.
They do have non-pie "real food" items as well, which were tasty but very limited in selection, so go here because you want some dessert!
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