Robbie Swinnerton - The Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Apr 15, 2011

Namikibashi Nakamura: Celebrating spring with sake and seasonal fare

Is it too soon — postquake, post-tsunami and still mid-nuclear crisis — to eat, drink and be merry? It's certainly a valid question. The answer, for us at any rate, is no, especially if we know that by doing so we can provide a small measure of support for the devastated areas. And most especially...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Apr 1, 2011

Keats House: Simple nourishment that tastes like poetry

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." Those oft-quoted words by the romantic poet John Keats resonate here in Japan no less than in his native England. Now, two centuries after being penned, they are the inspiration for a splendid little cafe-restaurant in one of Tokyo's lesser-trod neighborhoods.

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Mar 18, 2011

Warung Bintang: A taste trip to the Bali backstreets

With all the thousands of Japanese who visit Bali each year, enjoying its beguiling climate and culture, it's a mystery why the island's cuisine does not have more adherents here. Indonesian restaurants are so few and far between in Tokyo that any addition to their number is worthy of note. When it's...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Mar 4, 2011

Martiniburger: Enjoy your burger shaken, not stirred

Martiniburger. It's a great name for a restaurant. Even before you arrive you can picture it in your mind: As sleek as a cocktail lounge, with subtle lighting, cool music and even cooler people tucking into prime patties of best beef. And you wouldn't be far wrong.

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Mar 4, 2011

On the Corner: American breakfast around the clock

The idea of the all-day breakfast — the kind found in countless roadside pit stops and blue-collar grills throughout North America — has taken a very long time to reach these shores. But finally that glaring gastronomic gap was filled last summer by the arrival of the aptly named On the Corner, just...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 18, 2011

Wanoba: Affordable eats with a contemporary vibe

One of our favorite discoveries of the past couple of months has been Wanoba, a stylish little dining bar in Ebisu that marries contemporary Japanese design with tasty, affordable food and drink — all with a welcoming, easygoing ambience.

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 18, 2011

Shokkan: Good Japanese dining that's accessible to all

Ambiance, food, value for money: These are universal factors when deciding where to eat. But when it comes to Japanese cuisine here in Japan, there's another criterion: Accessibility. How well do you fare if you don't speak or read Japanese?

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 4, 2011

Bashamichi Taproom: Where there's smoke, there's BBQ and beer

The Celebration Ale was flowing and foaming down in Yokohama last month, and for a very good reason. Baird Brewing, one of our favorite small-scale craft-beer producers in all of Japan, has been marking its 10th year in business. And it's done it in style, by opening its newest and best pub to date.

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Feb 4, 2011

Bayside brews

Plenty of beer has been sunk in Yokohama over the past century and a half since the opening of the port. That tradition is very much alive today, and the city remains one of Japan's strongholds for brewing, from mass-market suds to limited-edition craft ales.

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Jan 21, 2011

Fujiya Honten Grill Bar: cheap and tasty eats on your feet

Now that the holiday feasting is just a fast-fading memory, it's time to tighten the belt and rein in the spending. No more high-end splurges: These days we're staying strictly street level.

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Jan 21, 2011

Wine that stands out

The idea of the wine specialist "stand bar" has been around in Tokyo for quite a few years, melding the blue-collar tradition of the tachinomi (standing-only) sake counter with the more contemporary enthusiasm for the fruit of the vine. But adding a proper food menu to that equation is far less common,...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Jan 7, 2011

Sasuga Hanare: Slurping soba in more formal surroundings

There are a number of places around the city these days that combine carefully crafted te-uchi handmade noodles with refined Japanese cuisine. Few, if any, do it with greater accomplishment than Sasuga Hanare, the third in this group of innovative, stylish soba restaurants.

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Jan 7, 2011

Sasuga Bekkan: For a relaxed, stylish meal, use your noodle

Call us traditional, but when it comes to New Year it is not the Champagne and raucous party streamers we go for; it's the deep, clear fragrance of fine sake and the quiet tolling of ancient temple bells. Add some quality cuisine — Japanese, of course, with plenty of soba noodles — and we are ready...

LIFE / Food & Drink

Dec 31, 2010

The simple but profound flavors of Buddhist temple cooking

Hidden away in the quiet backstreets of Azabu-Juban, Itosho is a self-effacing little restaurant that has been serving shojin ryori (Buddhist temple cuisine) for 40 years, remaining — until recently at any rate — one of the city's better kept secrets.

LIFE / Food & Drink

Dec 31, 2010

Eat temple style at home or find the right Tokyo eatery

It seems implausible these days but, until 150 years ago or so, Japan was essentially a vegetarian country. Certainly, river fish were caught, seafood was eaten by people on the coast and hunting was part of life for those living in the inhospitable interior. But the Buddhist tenets against taking life...

LIFE / Food & Drink

Dec 31, 2010

Kansha: Living and eating Japanese cuisine with appreciation

A writer, author and longtime authority on Japanese cuisine, Elizabeth Andoh has been even busier than usual since the publication of her latest work, "Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions." Beside the extra demands of promotional commitments, for the past several years she has...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 17, 2010

Smells like great Italian — but book ahead

Even in its earliest incarnation on the edge of Hiroo, Aroma Fresca was one of the hottest tables in town — and among the hardest to reserve. It was the same story during its stay in Azabu-Juban (in the premises now occupied solely by Casa Vinitalia), and nothing has changed since its rebirth in August...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 17, 2010

Casa Vinitalia: High-end Italian for the spontaneous gourmet

Snaring a reservation at a top-end Tokyo restaurant is hard enough at the best of times. Now, with the yearend celebrations in full flow, it's nigh on impossible. But even if you haven't booked that special dinner yet, there could still be a glimmer of hope. You can always try your luck at Casa Vinitalia...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 17, 2010

Aroma Fresca: Smells like great Italian — but book ahead

Even in its earliest incarnation on the edge of Hiroo, Aroma Fresca was one of the hottest tables in town — and among the hardest to reserve. It was the same story during its stay in Azabu-Juban (in the premises now occupied solely by Casa Vinitalia), and nothing has changed since its rebirth in August...

LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE

Dec 3, 2010

Junkadelic makes its (exclamation) mark

One of our favorite funky eateries has just sprouted a new offshoot, and it's every bit as laid-back delicious. Junkadelic, the self-styled "comfortable Mexican" hangout in Naka-Meguro, already has a branch in Akasaka. This new one, which opened in nether Shibuya in late October, is smaller, more intimate...

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