Tag - restaurants

 
 

RESTAURANTS

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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 18, 2014
Ajisen: Seasonal seafood and more in Tsukishima
There are many reasons for heading across the Sumida River to Tsukishima. Most of them involve monja, those griddle-splattered, dogs-dinner "pancakes" that are Tokyo's unconvincing answer to the okonomiyaki of western Japan. The one blessed anomaly is Ajisen.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Mar 11, 2014
Pastry goods the color of White Day
If you're looking to impress a special girl in your life but want to keep things simple and easy on the wallet, Shiseido Parlour launched a line of white sweets this month that will be available until White Day (March 14). The custard pudding (¥451), roll cake (¥546) and éclair (¥367) are all made...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Mar 6, 2014
Go out for drinks and take the kids with you
With their "Kampai!"-bellowing salarymen, bible-sized menus and endless rounds of cheap beers, izakaya have long been an integral part of Japan's nightlife.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Mar 4, 2014
Where German-sausage fans can find the best of the wurst
"After 11 years I finally found it," a German colleague told me over lunch the other day. He wasn't talking about the perfect job. He was talking about currywurst, sliced sausage smothered in ketchup and curry powder. It's a diner or street-food dish, most popular in Berlin. To understand the popularity...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 4, 2014
Kagari: Creamy soup and noodles worth lining up for
Tracking down tiny, one-counter restaurants in Tokyo's narrow backstreets can often feel like the proverbial haystack needle-search. No such problem finding Kagari. The giveaway is the perpetual line of people outside.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 4, 2014
Fuku: Your new local yakitori stop
Yakitori is neighborhood food, not destination dining. When you feel like nibbling on skewers of grilled chicken, you don't go across town; you head for your local. If you're lucky, it will be good. But it's unlikely to be as good as Fuku in Yoyogi-Uehara.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 25, 2014
Hanakujira: Steamy scenes from the oden pot
Hanakujira is an all-society restaurant. At 5 o'clock on a Monday evening, the air still frigid with cold shock after a recent snowstorm, Osaka's great and ordinary are packed inside (and queuing outside) to get close to the steaming vats of oden. There are families with young ones, friends, office ladies,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Feb 25, 2014
Sobakiri Karani: The noodle shop you wouldn't suspect
The only clue that this is a soba shop is from the inscription on the noren curtain, but even that I didn't notice until leaving. That's not to say while passing by you don't slow down and look inside in wonder. I had pegged it as a hipster joint; there was an expensive fixed-wheel bicycle chained up...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 18, 2014
Bettei: Duck shabu-shabu you'd be quackers to miss
Even a lingering winter has its upsides. The longer and harsher the conditions, the more appealing it is to sit down to a bubbling, warming nabe hot-pot — especially if it comes with a dash of contemporary style, as it does at Bettei.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 18, 2014
Bistro Aligot: French pie and mash at its best
Aligot: a traditional dish from central-south France, made from mashed potatoes blended with melted cheese, butter, cream and garlic. Aligot: one of Tokyo's tastiest, most unusual and atmospheric little bistros.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Feb 11, 2014
Okudohan: Fresh ingredients would be on the menu if there was one
In the hierarchy of Kyo ryōri, or Kyoto cuisine, obansai is at the bottom. Essentially it is home cooking that has wound its way from the homestead to the restaurant. At Okudohan it remains uncomplicated and comforting — as it should be.

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