OSAKA -- Osaka likes to brag that it is the kitchen of Japan, where the stomach is the most important body organ. But as the guidebooks might say, "Cheap and cheerful is the rule" when it comes to establishing a decent greasy spoon in this city, which prides itself on its working-class, merchant roots.
So if you're tired of truffles, bored with Beef Wellington and you'd rather go hungry than dig into duck, put on your finest double polyester, salaryman-style lime-green suit and some cheap hair cream, place a toothpick in your mouth and drop by what is surely one of Osaka's most unique establishments, the Kanso restaurant, if it can be called a restaurant. For Kanso is neither your traditional yatai (food stall) nor, despite the array of foreign food, one of those faux "international-style" bars that offers stale nachos and pizza with unidentifiable toppings. It is, by its own admission, a "can bar," one that has been going strong for nearly four and a half years.
Here, you can choose from a wide selection of delectable delights ranging from Spam to asparagus, and enjoy them in their purest form -- straight out of the can. No need to heat anything up (there's no oven on the premises), no need to have a waiter deliver the dish to your table and no need for fancy plates or silverware, as management thoughtfully provides plastic spoons and forks upon purchase. After you've ordered, pull your food and drink up to one of the steel barrels that serve as tables in the dining area, which is actually a bare lot, open to the air in summer and enclosed with plastic sheeting during the colder months.