Review excerpt: Lunch is a slightly pared-down kaiseki meal, but it never feels like chef Nakajima is cutting corners, and includes a lot of seasonal food.

The chefs at Tepparnya make good use of the teppan, the hot plate that dominates the kitchen counter, and so should you. We had a rump of tender beef steak served on a chopping board with Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper ...

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 ...

It's not just that owner-chef Shinichi Araki has a hotline to the best and freshest in nearby Tsukiji market. He understands exactly what's at the peak of its season, and how to prepare it.

I was there for the French toast: voluminous, coquettish, accompanied by a twirl of soft-serve ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Besides all the usual cuts of chicken, there are lots of good things wrapped in bacon, such as asparagus, mushrooms and even mochi rice cakes. You'll also find tofu, seafood, spuds and veggies all primed to go on the charcoal.

Incredible handmade soba. I had kamojiru soba, a bowl of sauteed duck served with noodles thin enough to thread through the eye of a needle, and topped with sansho peppers; this is food approaching edible art.

At Hanakujira the person to watch is the cook holding the tongs; like a musical conductor he sets the rhythm and the tone of the restaurant, and it is from his vat that all good things come. Oden is a year-round food, but best ...

The specialties at Bettei are Gin-no-kamo, a variety of Barbary duck raised in Aomori Prefecture; and fresh vegetables grown in the market gardens of Kamakura on the Shonan (Kanagawa) coast just south of Tokyo. Put the two together and you're all primed for one ...

The cafe is designed to let in as much light as possible, hence the name Greenhouse. The best seats are by the windows, which stretch up to the vaulted ceiling and offer expansive views of a modern Japanese garden with a fabricated waterfall.

In the hierarchy of Kyo ryori, 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.

Gogyo's secret weapon is kogashi ("burned") ramen. For each bowl, a couple of ladlefuls of lard are heated up in a wok and then ignited, filling the kitchen with billowing fire and smoke. The charred residue is then tipped over the noodles, giving the ...