It was one of those hot tips that come our way from time to time. This one, though, was delivered with a caveat: "A fantastic little French place, as good as any in town for the price; but the location's so obscure no one knows about it. It's called Le Dessin."
We certainly hadn't heard of it — nor even of Ushigome-Yanagicho, the nearest subway station. But our interest was piqued. Within days we had a table booked and were scanning our maps of the Oedo Line and nether Shinjuku Ward. We were also keeping our fingers crossed that the journey would be worth it.
The recommendation was right on the button. Even if you lived nearby, you'd probably call the neighborhood obscure. And you'd need to have a keen eye to guess that anything of great interest lay behind Le Dessin's unassuming frontage, with its anonymous door opening onto an unlovely stretch of Okubo-dori.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.