Name: Salsiccia Uno
Neighborhood: Hiro-o / 広尾
Style: Italian
Website: http://www.kiwa-group.co.jp/restaurant/a100457.html
For our first round of SIGGRAPH Asia Jury meetings, we were at Polygon Pictures, so we needed to arrange a reasonably-priced dinner somewhere close by. As most of the folks in the first round were Japanese, we weren't constrained to Japanese food as we are when we have out-of-town guests, so our first plan was to go to Plates, a nice Italian place in Hiro-o.
However, I noticed a few days before the event that there was a new Italian place almost across the street called Salsicca Uno, and since they were new even three days ahead of time they could accommodate a big group on a Saturday night.
As you'd guess from the name if you spoke Italian, this is a meat, and in particular sausage, oriented restaurant. We had enough people that we got a course, but since they had a decent and decently priced Italian winelist we skipped the 飲み放題／nomihoudai/all-you-can-drink and ordered bottles of wine instead.
We had a good time with a very mixed group. As I said we were mostly Japanese and so was most of the conversation, but there were a few English-only speakers and a fair number of bilinguals. I guess as I've been here longer that's becoming the norm for me...
The antipasti was yummy and the salad was generous, but the standout of the evening was definitely the sausages: lots of tezukuri (handmade) sausages of various sorts. I didn't have any (I don't eat pork) but the assembled crew pronounced them awesome. Advised that I didn't eat pork, the chef Koji Asakura 浅倉 康治 whipped up a beef plate for me on the spot which was awesome. Great improvisation on their part.
Even with wine off the winelist, the whole bill was about Y4500 per person, very reasonable for an excellent night out in Tokyo. And we got everybody back to the station in time for their last trains, even Julian. This place is in Hiro-o so gaijin are no big deal, you don't particularly need to worry about speaking Japanese.
Completely at random, Salsiccia Uno turns out to be from the Kiwa Corporation group, which runs a couple dozen restaurants in Tokyo. My friends Nick and Naoco swear by any of the restaurants in the group, although it had nothing to do with decided to try out Salsiccia Uno! Honest!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
It's Italian, no wait it's European, no wait...
Name: bigote
Neighborhood: Shinjuku Sanchome 新宿三丁目
Style: Well, that's a complicated question
Website: http://bigote-placer.com/
After coming out of Star Trek Saturday night, we were looking for somewhere to eat, and after the usual wander through the entertainment district (in this case through Shinjuku Sanchome) we picked bigote due to its appealling second-story corner location.
Going in we found just as interesting as it looked: a combination of bare concrete and visible fittings, but with unfinished wood tables and a very summer-camp-looking table for six in the far corner.
The menu -- which we initially thought to be Italian due to the pizza and pasta -- was actually quite a bit more interesting than that. We did have a pizza, and they did a good job with the ingredients -- soft salami with mozzarella and ricotta cheese -- but they don't have a pizza oven, so it might be more accurate to call the resulting product flatbread (not that there's anything wrong with warm flatbread with salami and cheese).
However, the next couple dishes we got were non-Italian and extraordinary. The grilled New Zealand lamb was a pair of delicate lamb chops grilled to perfection, topped with a sprig of rosemary and accompanied by a couple slices of braised squash and a healthy dollop of potato... salad? puree? paste? Picking up the chop by the bone and taking a first bite, it was clear this was the hit of the night. Every last piece of meat got gnawed off of those bones, and we seriously considered ordering two more immediately (amazingly, the lamb dish was only 600 yen).
Fortunately, our sense of variety prevailed and instead we checked out the Japanese side of the menu by ordering the Katsuo tataki. Memories of the lamb were greatly dulled as this in turn became the hit of the evening. Raw katsuo grilled oh so slightly and served as sashimi... that's what I was talking about.
Going along with all of that, bigote has not only a very full bar and a set of house cocktails, but a great wine selection by the glass -- seven red wines by the glass, and none of them were refrigerated to boot! (many Japanese restaurants still serve red wine chilled... sigh). After a couple glasses of it, I no longer remember the name of the spicy medium-bodied red I had, but it complemented the pizza and lamb perfectly (it was a bit much for the katsuo, so I had to refrain from having any while the katsuo was on the palette. Of course, the katsuo was so good, that wasn't very long!).
Towards the end of the evening, the owner, Tetsuhiro Ichimura 市村 哲宏 stopped by the table to chat a bit. His other job is a record buyer for DJs, so he makes a trip to New York about once a year to pick up new records, and try a few restaurants while he's there. bigote was specially designed to be hard to categorize: they try to incorporate appropriate dishes from all over the world. I thought they were doing pretty good at it!
So, if you're in Shinjuku Sanchome for a pilgrammae to Sekaido, try stopping by bigote afterwards.
Neighborhood: Shinjuku Sanchome 新宿三丁目
Style: Well, that's a complicated question
Website: http://bigote-placer.com/
After coming out of Star Trek Saturday night, we were looking for somewhere to eat, and after the usual wander through the entertainment district (in this case through Shinjuku Sanchome) we picked bigote due to its appealling second-story corner location.
Going in we found just as interesting as it looked: a combination of bare concrete and visible fittings, but with unfinished wood tables and a very summer-camp-looking table for six in the far corner.
The menu -- which we initially thought to be Italian due to the pizza and pasta -- was actually quite a bit more interesting than that. We did have a pizza, and they did a good job with the ingredients -- soft salami with mozzarella and ricotta cheese -- but they don't have a pizza oven, so it might be more accurate to call the resulting product flatbread (not that there's anything wrong with warm flatbread with salami and cheese).
However, the next couple dishes we got were non-Italian and extraordinary. The grilled New Zealand lamb was a pair of delicate lamb chops grilled to perfection, topped with a sprig of rosemary and accompanied by a couple slices of braised squash and a healthy dollop of potato... salad? puree? paste? Picking up the chop by the bone and taking a first bite, it was clear this was the hit of the night. Every last piece of meat got gnawed off of those bones, and we seriously considered ordering two more immediately (amazingly, the lamb dish was only 600 yen).
Fortunately, our sense of variety prevailed and instead we checked out the Japanese side of the menu by ordering the Katsuo tataki. Memories of the lamb were greatly dulled as this in turn became the hit of the evening. Raw katsuo grilled oh so slightly and served as sashimi... that's what I was talking about.
Going along with all of that, bigote has not only a very full bar and a set of house cocktails, but a great wine selection by the glass -- seven red wines by the glass, and none of them were refrigerated to boot! (many Japanese restaurants still serve red wine chilled... sigh). After a couple glasses of it, I no longer remember the name of the spicy medium-bodied red I had, but it complemented the pizza and lamb perfectly (it was a bit much for the katsuo, so I had to refrain from having any while the katsuo was on the palette. Of course, the katsuo was so good, that wasn't very long!).
Towards the end of the evening, the owner, Tetsuhiro Ichimura 市村 哲宏 stopped by the table to chat a bit. His other job is a record buyer for DJs, so he makes a trip to New York about once a year to pick up new records, and try a few restaurants while he's there. bigote was specially designed to be hard to categorize: they try to incorporate appropriate dishes from all over the world. I thought they were doing pretty good at it!
So, if you're in Shinjuku Sanchome for a pilgrammae to Sekaido, try stopping by bigote afterwards.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
New Hamburger King?
Name: AS Classics Diner
Neighborhood: Near Komazawa Koen 駒沢公園, in between Jiyugaoka 自由が丘 and Komazawa Daigaku 駒沢大学
Style: American Diner / Burgers
Website: http://www.asclassics.com/
I still love the meat patties at Pakutch in Shibuya (and it's a good deal more conveniently located), but I think AS Classics is the new standard for Tokyo burgers. I had noticed the writeup for AS Classics in Metropolis' coverage of Tokyo burger stands, and so it's been on my to-do list for awhile.
It's a beautiful weekend in Tokyo, so I was out for a bike ride along the Tamagawa. Usually I get out to the Tama by riding out Komazawa-dori from my house in Nakameguro, and on the way back today I noticed that's where AS Classics is. It's right near the corner of Komazawa-dori and Jiyuu-dori, by Komazawa Olympic Park (I have no idea why the park is called that, does anyone know?), so it's not particularly convenient to any train lines.
Unlike any of the other burger places in Tokyo, AS Classics is going for the whole American diner thing, so they have stainless steel and a lot of vintage American ads all over the place. For this time of year, they have a few outdoor tables, which is a bonus. Like most of the customers I saw there, I ignored the other menu options and went straight for the burger: cheeseburger straight up -- I love Teriyaki Burgers but I figured I should give the new restaurant a chance to present their default.
First off, AS Classics makes their own buns, and it shows -- they're oh-so-slightly crunchy on the outside, none of the bad squishiness. Secondly, they've got the fixins' part of a hamburger down: Full slices of tomato, lettuce, and onion come with the burger.
None of that would matter if the meat was substandard, but no worries there: it was well-cooked (medium but not medium well), and super-juicy, which is of course a key for hamburgers. My patty actually had a little bit of not-fully-ground meat left in it, suggesting the hamburger is being locally ground (I haven't waded through the Japanese of the website to know for sure).
Unlike most burger places in Japan, AS Classics serves the burger directly on a plate: none of the V-shaped paper dripping catchers you get at most places. Thus, the plate got pretty drippy by the time the burger was gone a few minutes later, which is always a good sign.
They have lots of drink options, both non-alcoholic (shakes, natch) and beery (a nice selection of American and Mexican beers, plus Budweiser).
The only negative regarding AS Classics concerns the fries. They were cooked nicely, but even for Tokyo the portion is pretty small. Worse yet, unlike the care lavished on the buns, fixins', and patties, they were clearly from frozen: slightly mealy on the inside. They could do with some lessons from In'n'Out about how to make the fries match up to the burgers.
Neighborhood: Near Komazawa Koen 駒沢公園, in between Jiyugaoka 自由が丘 and Komazawa Daigaku 駒沢大学
Style: American Diner / Burgers
Website: http://www.asclassics.com/
I still love the meat patties at Pakutch in Shibuya (and it's a good deal more conveniently located), but I think AS Classics is the new standard for Tokyo burgers. I had noticed the writeup for AS Classics in Metropolis' coverage of Tokyo burger stands, and so it's been on my to-do list for awhile.
It's a beautiful weekend in Tokyo, so I was out for a bike ride along the Tamagawa. Usually I get out to the Tama by riding out Komazawa-dori from my house in Nakameguro, and on the way back today I noticed that's where AS Classics is. It's right near the corner of Komazawa-dori and Jiyuu-dori, by Komazawa Olympic Park (I have no idea why the park is called that, does anyone know?), so it's not particularly convenient to any train lines.
Unlike any of the other burger places in Tokyo, AS Classics is going for the whole American diner thing, so they have stainless steel and a lot of vintage American ads all over the place. For this time of year, they have a few outdoor tables, which is a bonus. Like most of the customers I saw there, I ignored the other menu options and went straight for the burger: cheeseburger straight up -- I love Teriyaki Burgers but I figured I should give the new restaurant a chance to present their default.
First off, AS Classics makes their own buns, and it shows -- they're oh-so-slightly crunchy on the outside, none of the bad squishiness. Secondly, they've got the fixins' part of a hamburger down: Full slices of tomato, lettuce, and onion come with the burger.
None of that would matter if the meat was substandard, but no worries there: it was well-cooked (medium but not medium well), and super-juicy, which is of course a key for hamburgers. My patty actually had a little bit of not-fully-ground meat left in it, suggesting the hamburger is being locally ground (I haven't waded through the Japanese of the website to know for sure).
Unlike most burger places in Japan, AS Classics serves the burger directly on a plate: none of the V-shaped paper dripping catchers you get at most places. Thus, the plate got pretty drippy by the time the burger was gone a few minutes later, which is always a good sign.
They have lots of drink options, both non-alcoholic (shakes, natch) and beery (a nice selection of American and Mexican beers, plus Budweiser).
The only negative regarding AS Classics concerns the fries. They were cooked nicely, but even for Tokyo the portion is pretty small. Worse yet, unlike the care lavished on the buns, fixins', and patties, they were clearly from frozen: slightly mealy on the inside. They could do with some lessons from In'n'Out about how to make the fries match up to the burgers.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sign-ing On
Name: Sign
Neighborhood: Daikanyama
Style: Western-oriented cafe
Website: http://www.transit-web.com/shop/cafe/sign-daikanyama/index.html
Today I went to Sign, a cafe right outside the station in Daikanyama, and I had two things I had never had before, both of which were really good:
A Shandy Gaff is a drink that's half beer and half ginger ale. I've known about them for a long time, but I had never actually had one, in large part because most American ginger ale is too sweeet for me. Fortunately, ginger ale in Japan is usually quite dry, and so when I saw this on the menu at Sign I went for it. On a warm sunny spring day, a Shandy Gaff is just the thing! I'm a convert.
The second item doesn't have a name, but it was great nonetheless: gravilox with potato pancakes. This appetizer was three small silver-dollar-sized potato pancakes, and a generous amount of gravilox covered with olive oil, salt, and pepper, with a side of sour cream. You put a little sour cream on the potato pancake, plopped a piece of gravilox on top, and enjoyed! It all felt vaguely Jewish. The only bummer is that Japanese sour cream isn't very good. It's too hard and not sour enough, some good old Quality Checkd from Safeway would have been an improvement.
Neighborhood: Daikanyama
Style: Western-oriented cafe
Website: http://www.transit-web.com/shop/cafe/sign-daikanyama/index.html
Today I went to Sign, a cafe right outside the station in Daikanyama, and I had two things I had never had before, both of which were really good:
A Shandy Gaff is a drink that's half beer and half ginger ale. I've known about them for a long time, but I had never actually had one, in large part because most American ginger ale is too sweeet for me. Fortunately, ginger ale in Japan is usually quite dry, and so when I saw this on the menu at Sign I went for it. On a warm sunny spring day, a Shandy Gaff is just the thing! I'm a convert.
The second item doesn't have a name, but it was great nonetheless: gravilox with potato pancakes. This appetizer was three small silver-dollar-sized potato pancakes, and a generous amount of gravilox covered with olive oil, salt, and pepper, with a side of sour cream. You put a little sour cream on the potato pancake, plopped a piece of gravilox on top, and enjoyed! It all felt vaguely Jewish. The only bummer is that Japanese sour cream isn't very good. It's too hard and not sour enough, some good old Quality Checkd from Safeway would have been an improvement.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Portugal in Tokyo
Name: Manuel Marunouchi
Neighborhood: Marunouchi
Style: Portuguese
Website: http://www.manuelm.com/marunouchi/
The last night all of my SIGGRAPH Asia friends & Co-workers were in town, Kanako organized a get-together of friends at this basement restaurant. It's a small personally-run place in the basement of one of the giant buildings in Marunouchi, and Portuguese food turns out to be a similar take on Iberia to its Spanish neighbor -- lots of small plates, with highly varying spices.
The standout dish of the evening was the beef stew, which we ended up ordering three times (we were a big group of about 12 by the time everyone made it), but there was lots to love here -- pork dishes, vegetable sides, and of course an excellent wine list.
We would have been remiss if we didn't finish with a glass of port, so I had the Tawny -- pleasure I haven't had in Tokyo for quite awhile. This place isn't expensive for what it is, but that's still to say you're not going to get out for less than 5000yen per person unless you totally abstain from the alcohol. And with a winelist like this, that would be wrong.
Neighborhood: Marunouchi
Style: Portuguese
Website: http://www.manuelm.com/marunouchi/
The last night all of my SIGGRAPH Asia friends & Co-workers were in town, Kanako organized a get-together of friends at this basement restaurant. It's a small personally-run place in the basement of one of the giant buildings in Marunouchi, and Portuguese food turns out to be a similar take on Iberia to its Spanish neighbor -- lots of small plates, with highly varying spices.
The standout dish of the evening was the beef stew, which we ended up ordering three times (we were a big group of about 12 by the time everyone made it), but there was lots to love here -- pork dishes, vegetable sides, and of course an excellent wine list.
We would have been remiss if we didn't finish with a glass of port, so I had the Tawny -- pleasure I haven't had in Tokyo for quite awhile. This place isn't expensive for what it is, but that's still to say you're not going to get out for less than 5000yen per person unless you totally abstain from the alcohol. And with a winelist like this, that would be wrong.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Classy Wine Bar
Name: Acqua Gradita
Style: Wine Bar
Neighborhood: Ohashi (btw Shibuya and Sangenjaya)
Website: None, but I put it on my Google Maps here. Phone is 03-3461-0424.
At the izakaya I had mentioned I loved wine, so for our second stop we grabbed a cab over to Acqua Gradita, since Asami knows the master from his previous job.
This is a very nice wine bar in Japanese style, meaning you come in and sit at the counter where you chitchat with the master as well as with your friends. Every glass of wine is a new adventure, which begins with a negotiation with the master as to what kind of wine you feel like right now.
In truth, the wine list isn't that big -- if there's a group and you have a couple glasses each, you'll start to see the limits -- but the conversation always makes a brief stop worthwhile, especially since the selections mostly change over time.
The master (Tetsuya Fuijta) is pretty English-friendly, but as far as I could tell it wouldn't be right to say he speaks English. Expect to conduct yourself mostly in Japanese here.
Style: Wine Bar
Neighborhood: Ohashi (btw Shibuya and Sangenjaya)
Website: None, but I put it on my Google Maps here. Phone is 03-3461-0424.
At the izakaya I had mentioned I loved wine, so for our second stop we grabbed a cab over to Acqua Gradita, since Asami knows the master from his previous job.
This is a very nice wine bar in Japanese style, meaning you come in and sit at the counter where you chitchat with the master as well as with your friends. Every glass of wine is a new adventure, which begins with a negotiation with the master as to what kind of wine you feel like right now.
In truth, the wine list isn't that big -- if there's a group and you have a couple glasses each, you'll start to see the limits -- but the conversation always makes a brief stop worthwhile, especially since the selections mostly change over time.
The master (Tetsuya Fuijta) is pretty English-friendly, but as far as I could tell it wouldn't be right to say he speaks English. Expect to conduct yourself mostly in Japanese here.
Being Okinawan in Shimokitazawa
Name: Champ-rouse / チャンプル〜
Style: Okinawan / 沖縄の料理
Neighborhood: Shimokitazawa / 下北沢
Website: None but Tablelog entry is here
Before I came to Japan I didn't even know there was such a thing as Okinawan cuisine. Now it's one of my favorite things to eat here! Last weekend I got to introduce my friend MJ to one of my regular Okinawan places, Champuru~ (they write it with a tilde to indicate the last sound is extra-long).
Okinawa used to be an quasi-independent kingdom called the Ryuukyuu Islands until the late 19th century (for comparison, it was only about 30 years later that Japan took control of Taiwan). The culture there has a lot of non-Japanese influence through Taiwan, various Polynesian ties, and China, and that shows in the cuisine. While a lot of the ingredients are similar Japanese food, there are also a lot of different elements (and as MJ pointed out, less shoyu overall). Because of the old name, Okinawan food is also called Ryuukyuu cuisine (琉球の料理).
The classic Okinawan dish is what the restaurant is named after: Goya Champuru. Goya is an extremely bitter melon that's common in Okinawan cuisine, and Goya Champuru is sliced bitter melon with seasoning, pork and eggs (when I get it, I ask if they can make it with fish to avoid the pork). It's yummy and warm, but not heavy like a nabemono. You can get Goya Champuru (frequently referred to as "Goya Jumble" by English speaker, although the word's origin is different) in a lot of izakaya in Japan, but Okinawan restaurants do it best.
Another classic item that's not on the printed menu, but is often available as a daily item, is sea grapes (that's a literal transation of the name: 海ぶどう / "umi budou"). If you don't speak Japanese, write that one down so you can ask for it. They're an edible seaweed that looks like a miniature bunch of grapes. They have a fascinating crunchy texture and are really fun to eat.
The only downside of Champuru~ is that it's a bit difficult if you don't speak Japanese. I almost always chat with the staff to find out what's on special that day and make most of the choices from that (the last time we got not one but two awesome tofu dishes), with the result that I don't really remember what any of them were called. And, the staff doesn't speak English, so it's best to go with someone who's at least at the level of negotiating food orders.
Shimokitazawa is one of my favorite neighborhoods, so I'm grateful to Makino-san for introducing me to this place. If you're thirsty afterwards, be sure to head over to Ushi-tora for a Japanese craft beer!
Style: Okinawan / 沖縄の料理
Neighborhood: Shimokitazawa / 下北沢
Website: None but Tablelog entry is here
Before I came to Japan I didn't even know there was such a thing as Okinawan cuisine. Now it's one of my favorite things to eat here! Last weekend I got to introduce my friend MJ to one of my regular Okinawan places, Champuru~ (they write it with a tilde to indicate the last sound is extra-long).
Okinawa used to be an quasi-independent kingdom called the Ryuukyuu Islands until the late 19th century (for comparison, it was only about 30 years later that Japan took control of Taiwan). The culture there has a lot of non-Japanese influence through Taiwan, various Polynesian ties, and China, and that shows in the cuisine. While a lot of the ingredients are similar Japanese food, there are also a lot of different elements (and as MJ pointed out, less shoyu overall). Because of the old name, Okinawan food is also called Ryuukyuu cuisine (琉球の料理).
The classic Okinawan dish is what the restaurant is named after: Goya Champuru. Goya is an extremely bitter melon that's common in Okinawan cuisine, and Goya Champuru is sliced bitter melon with seasoning, pork and eggs (when I get it, I ask if they can make it with fish to avoid the pork). It's yummy and warm, but not heavy like a nabemono. You can get Goya Champuru (frequently referred to as "Goya Jumble" by English speaker, although the word's origin is different) in a lot of izakaya in Japan, but Okinawan restaurants do it best.
Another classic item that's not on the printed menu, but is often available as a daily item, is sea grapes (that's a literal transation of the name: 海ぶどう / "umi budou"). If you don't speak Japanese, write that one down so you can ask for it. They're an edible seaweed that looks like a miniature bunch of grapes. They have a fascinating crunchy texture and are really fun to eat.
The only downside of Champuru~ is that it's a bit difficult if you don't speak Japanese. I almost always chat with the staff to find out what's on special that day and make most of the choices from that (the last time we got not one but two awesome tofu dishes), with the result that I don't really remember what any of them were called. And, the staff doesn't speak English, so it's best to go with someone who's at least at the level of negotiating food orders.
Shimokitazawa is one of my favorite neighborhoods, so I'm grateful to Makino-san for introducing me to this place. If you're thirsty afterwards, be sure to head over to Ushi-tora for a Japanese craft beer!
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