Friday, Feb. 3, 2012
Botan
Botan: Put a little sukiyaki fire in your belly
On one side of the battered shōji screen with its panels of flimsy washi paper, the sleet and biting wind. On the other, a small old-fashioned hibachi brazier, its coals glowing softly. There's no contest: At Botan, the charcoal wins ...
Friday, Feb. 3, 2012
Kanda is crammed with revered restaurants
The narrow pocket of Kanda comprising Sudacho and Awajicho boasts half a dozen restaurants that are among the most venerable in Tokyo. Like Botan (see main article), the buildings date from the late 1920s, boast superb wooden architecture and have ...
Friday, Jan. 20, 2012
Restaurant full? Head to code kurkku's bar instead
Given the considerable media buzz that accompanied the opening of Yoyogi Village — and the involvement of Il Ghiottone's chef Yasuhiro Sasajima — tables are still at a premium at code kurkku. But even if you can't snare a reservation, ...
Friday, Jan. 6, 2012
Uchiyama
Uchiyama: Subtle delights of a brand new year
The holidays are behind us now, but it's still the season for celebrating the New Year. From mochi rice dumplings to mikan mandarins, there are so many festive foods in Japan. Few are more auspicious, or supremely delicious, than madai, ...
Friday, Jan. 6, 2012
A dedicated dashi bar you can put stock in
Nothing is more important in Japanese cooking than dashi, the fundamental cooking stock that underpins every aspect of the cuisine. There are many ingredients that can deliver a boost of umami savor, both natural (konbu seaweed or shiitake mushrooms) and ...
Friday, Dec. 23, 2011
New venues made Tokyo tastier in '11
Another year comes to an end, with the usual round of Christmas and bōnenkai "drink the old year to oblivion" parties. Except, of course, it was not just another year. And though we will all be glad to put it ...
Friday, Dec. 2, 2011
Nighttime nibbles served by the pint
A mound of oysters on the half shell, with a pint of intense hop-driven IPA on the side. It's a combination that could well get to be a habit this coming winter, if we can only get over to Otsuka ...
Friday, Nov. 18, 2011
Atelier d'I
Plenty of wine — and food to match
For the longest time, one of our most vociferous complaints about Tokyo was that there weren't enough wine bars worthy of the name. These days, thankfully, we are spoiled for choice in every price range. One of the best of ...
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FEATURES
What to eat and where to eat it
Friday, Jan. 27, 2012
Banishing demons one bean at a time
Feb. 3 marks the Setsubun festival, or Risshun — the start of spring. And with it come the demons. Luckily there is a food-based ritual dedicated to driving these monsters from your home for another year. ...
Friday, Jan. 13, 2012
Kansai eateries offer new flavors for 2012
Businesses in cities around Japan seem to open and close at an alarming rate — and a new year inevitably means new restaurants. Here's a guide to some dragonly new and recent arrivals in the Kansai strongholds of Kyoto and ...
Friday, Dec. 30, 2011
Rice takes prized, symbolic yearend form
Shōgatsu (New Year's) is the most important holiday on the Japanese calendar, and the dishes associated with it are laden with symbolic meaning. While the colorful foods of osechi, packed attractively in jūbako (stacking bento boxes), are the flamboyant attention-catchers ...
Friday, Dec. 16, 2011
Dishing up a delicious Kansai Christmas
Thought you might be stuck with a KFC bucket this Christmas? Luckily it's not too late to make holiday dinner reservations in Kansai — plenty of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe hotels and restaurants still have tables open, so there's no ...
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DRINK FEATURES
Wine, sake and other favorite potables
Friday, Jan. 13, 2012
KANPAI CULTURE
Raise a sake cup to Chinese New Year
I've already started planning my dinner menu for the Chinese New Year on Jan. 23. Like many Chinese people around the world, I look forward to the lunar New Year with great excitement. My love of this holiday has nothing ...
Friday, Dec. 9, 2011
KANPAI CULTURE
Why I finally warmed up to hot sake
The first time I tried sake, it was served piping hot, as was the custom in North American sushi restaurants at the turn of the 21st century. My friends and I clinked our tiny sake cups as we nibbled on ...
Friday, Nov. 11, 2011
KANPAI CULTURE
Local brewery brings sake to Toronto
Toronto's Distillery District, located on the site of the now defunct Gooderham & Worts Distillery (which was once the largest whisky producer in the world), is a charming enclave of restored brick buildings housing upscale boutiques, cafes and galleries. When ...
Friday, Oct. 14, 2011
Staving off the bulldozers for one more round
Tokyo is roughly divided into styles and cliques. Neighborhoods delineate and categorize, often in keeping with the cool factor of their inhabitants: Omotesando, Aoyama and Harajuku for fashionistas; Shibuya for party kids; Koenji for earthy music fans; and Shimokitazawa for ...
Friday, Sept. 30, 2011
Sake circle raises a glass for Tohoku victims
A buzzy atmosphere of excitement hung in the air as sake fans lined up for the Wa ni Naro Nihonshu charity sake tasting last Friday afternoon. As attendees streamed through the front doors of Tokyo Dome City's vast Prism Hall, ...
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