Hidden away on a narrow backstreet in Ogawamachi, one of Tokyo's old-school carousing districts, Misotetsu Kagiroi is far from your typical izakaya tavern. Unlike most of its neighbors, it does not sport a large red lantern outside to grab your attention. Nor are you greeted by raucous revelry as you push through the doorway.

With its traditional timber architecture and old-fashioned front door, Kagiroi seems quiet and genteel. But there's nothing overly refined about the teppan griddle that occupies center stage of the small ground-floor open kitchen. Meat or mushrooms, vegetables or chicken, everything hits the gleaming slab of steel with a slosh of oil, a succulent sizzle and a waft of savory aromas.

What's on the menu? And, more to the point, what's good? Just about everything that is given the teppan treatment. One of the highlights is the juicy miso-marinated imo-buta, a breed of pig fed primarily on sweet potatoes.