Tag - restaurants

 
 

RESTAURANTS

Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 13, 2014
Let's not forget the sake at world food events
On the afternoon of April 28, at an intimate gathering in London's Ametsa restaurant, a cluster of admirers with champagne flutes in hand fluttered around chef Helena Rizzo. The Brazilian Rizzo, who helms the acclaimed restaurant Mani in Sao Paulo, had recently been named the World's Best Female Chef,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
May 13, 2014
Café Indépendants
You don't have to be hip to enter Café Indépendants, but it helps. Located in the basement of the old Mainichi Shimbun Kyoto bureau, Indépendants is the kind of cafe frequented by the artsy set. There is a version of this cafe in every city all over the world. In Cork, where I grew up, that cafe was...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
May 13, 2014
Nanaezushi: Edo-kei sushi without the sticker shock
We need to talk about sushi. First, any discussion of sushi isn't worth its wasabi without a mention of the perspicacious octogenarian Jiro Ono, star of the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," about his Michelin-starred restaurant in Ginza — you know, the one that Obama took Abe to, or was it the other...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 29, 2014
Shooters Sports Bar and Grill: A taste of America in Nagoya
Having first opened its doors in 1997, Shooters is the longest running and most successful international restaurant in Nagoya. But it is not only its longevity that makes this a great place to hang out: It also boasts friendly staff, a well-stocked bar and generous portions of Americana cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Apr 29, 2014
The Corner: Great burgers at any angle
The Corner is a tiny little nook of a place that has been running since 2011 and (although this may be contested by some) serves the best burger in town. A "New York-style bar," The Corner is keen to put the gourmet into burger making, as every patty is handmade and every bun spread with a unique secret...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE PERSISTENT VEGETARIAN
Apr 22, 2014
In search of the fruits of Okinawa's oceans
Seven years ago, I bit into a delicate variety of seaweed called umi-budō, or "sea grapes." I remember sampling a few dishes at Unjami, an Okinawan-style izakaya off Nakano Broadway in Tokyo (5-55-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo; 03-5345-5836), but the umi-budō stood out as something special. These...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Apr 22, 2014
Gohanya Isshin: a diverse menu topped by fries that wax poetic
Isshin is deceptively big, dimly lit and madly busy; but the staff are on their game. More impressive is that the kitchen produces such high-quality fare in such a demanding work environment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Apr 22, 2014
Cafe Ibaraki Yu: Former bathhouse offers a bite of the old days
The city of Ibaraki in the north of Osaka is home to Tadao Ando's Church of the Light, a modernist concrete masterpiece. Out of the spotlight, another architect in Ibaraki has been quietly but busily breathing life into buildings whose glory days would otherwise be behind them. Cafe Ibaraki Yu might...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 15, 2014
Butagumi Dining: Quality tonkatsu pork cutlets to eat and go
What's not to like about the original Butagumi? Tokyo's temple to high-end tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlets) really is the finest in town. Where else serves such beautiful cuts of premium pork — from hand-reared breeds of "heritage" pigs — and in such a classic setting?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 15, 2014
Muto: Handmade soba noodles with their own Michelin star
Who would choose to become a teuchi soba specialist? Kneading and rolling the dough, cutting it by hand, then carefully cooking and serving the delicate buckwheat noodles — it's a long, laborious job to prepare a meal that can take mere minutes to consume.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Apr 8, 2014
Inakatei: Local Kyoto cuisine heavy on the fish and veg
When faced with a six-page menu allied with a supplementary page loaded with specials and all in a language that makes less sense to you than abstract art, what do you do? Get up and leave is one answer, as proven by the nearby holidaying couple, American I assumed by accent and attire, who left shortly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Apr 8, 2014
Koenji brewpub takes an experimental approach
Growing up, I'd always thought that drinking before dusk was considered something of a no-no. When my friend suggested on a recent Sunday that we stop by Koenji Bakushu Kobo to try some jikasei (homemade) beer at 3 p.m., I pushed it to the more respectable hour of 5. By the time we arrived, though, the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Apr 8, 2014
Elk: Who doesn't eat soup with their pancakes?
Here's an odd couple: soup and pancakes. But this is how Elk, a small but expanding chain of cafes, advertises itself. The day I ate at Elk the pancake crowd was definitely in the ascendancy; there were a few soup eaters like myself, but we were in the minority. And speaking of minorities, men were so...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Apr 1, 2014
Pining for the communal flavor of Israeli cuisine
I thought I missed hummus. By which I mean: I missed being able to pick up a tub at the supermarket. But to hear an Israeli acquaintance talk of it is to learn that there is so much more to miss.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 1, 2014
Where to sip on sakura this hanami season
While sakura are definitely a beautiful sight, their subtle flavor can also be enjoyed in a cocktail. ANA Intercontinental Tokyo (1-12-33 Akasaka, Minato-ku; 03-3505-1111; www.anaintercontinental-tokyo.jp) in Akasaka is among the best places in the capital to find such a creation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 1, 2014
Pizzeria Tonino: Some of the best Italian pizza in town
Any al fresco seating is good now that the weather's warming up. If there's a view, that's an added bonus. At Pizzeria Tonino, you get to watch colorful streetcars going past from the luxury of your terrace seat.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 1, 2014
Ostü: Great Italian across the way from Yoyogi Park
The only drawback to the sakura season is that no matter how beautiful the blossoms, the celebrations can get very chilly. You need somewhere you can repair to for warmth and sustenance. If you're anywhere near Yoyogi Park, you won't do better than Ostu00fc.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Mar 25, 2014
La Tepparnya: Izakaya fare with a European twist
A few years back I spent an insufferable summer in an insufferable apartment (in a room as big as a shoebox), which I would rather forget than remember, in Juso, which is just beside the Yodo River in Osaka. Luckily, I found La Tepparnya, an izakaya that became my surrogate home. With good timing, I...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Mar 25, 2014
Sumo Cha-ya Terao: Spirit of sumo in every bowl
Chankonabe is wedded to sumo in the same way as whiskey is to the Wild West and cowboys; they're both fuel for fightin'. Terao Tsunefumi, the man behind this eponymous restaurant, is a well-respected sumo wrestler who had a career in the ring spanning 20 years, long by any measure in sports. For his...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 18, 2014
Saru: Fresh ingredients take center stage at bistro
The little enclave underneath the expressway flyover at the intersection of Shirokane and Ebisu has always attracted an interesting and idiosyncratic selection of restaurants. Saru fits in there perfectly.

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