Good food, cooked well and touched with creativity; a comfortable setting, attentive service and honest prices. Whether it's haute cuisine or a ramen shack, those are our criteria for satisfaction. Location counts for nothing: Often the best value for money is to be found well away from the bright lights, out on the streets less trod.
A case in point: Brasserie Bec, in the tranquil pastures -- compared to the razzmatazz of nearby Shinjuku, at any rate -- of Yoyogi-Uehara. Hidden away in a basement, it's way too modest to draw the well-heeled gourmet crowd, and too far removed from the hip enclaves to win mainstream media attention. But over the course of five years, it has built up a strong following, so much so that it's become a jealously guarded secret among local cognoscenti.
The entrance is unprepossessing, marked only by a small olive sapling and a simple red awning. On the bright blue door-frame it says Tirez ("Pull"). Accept that invitation and make your way inside. At the bottom of the stairs, you will be met by a waiter dressed in white, and ushered into a compact dining room with low ceilings and walls adorned with a cheerful collage of photographs, tourist souvenirs and a reproduction late-period Picasso sketch.