This month's Everyman Eats column brings you popular culinary affordable oddities from Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures — served with a dash of local culture.

Any food-inspired map of Kanto will have a big fat star over Tokyo's Tsukishima district, an enclave of eateries devoted to a single dish: monja-yaki. The 70-odd restaurants along the main Monja Street drag each have their own take on the recipe, which has a base of flour, water and flavorings that might include katsu sauce or dashi broth. From there, it's pretty much anything goes — dried shrimp, squid, pork and vegetables are added to the mix and cooked by diners into a slurry on a tabletop griddle. The everything-and-the-kitchen-sink version at Monja Mugi (1-23-10 Tsukishima, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; [03] 3534-7795) is particularly noteworthy (¥1,450).

The culinary heritage of Kanagawa often reflects the prefecture's maritime roots, and Yokosuka kaigun curry is no exception. Originating from the contacts between Japanese and British navies during the Meiji Period, the dish is made from a simple roux, meat (beef or chicken), carrots, onions and potatoes. It's evolved into a type of Kanagawa soul food and, as at Yokosuka Kaigun Curry Honpo (1-11-8 Wakamatsu-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa Pref.; www.yokosuka-curry.com), is universally served with white rice, salad, chutney and milk (¥1,200).