In honor of that particularly Japanese custom of creating instant tradition ("Since 1999"), this last column of the year peers forward by looking back. Here are just three of the many new places we have visited and enjoyed during the past 12 months but never got around to writing up.
Not only are they all new, but each in its own way represents the evolution of how Tokyo goes about the business and pleasure of eating right now on the cusp of the millennium. Like virtually every other restaurant, cafe, bar or izakaya mentioned by the Food File, they are worthy of your time, attention and hard-earned spending power.
What does an exclusive, old-school French restaurant in the heart of expense-account territory do to survive when the prevailing mood is in favor of less pomp and circumstance, more casual surroundings, plenty of wine to glug on and greater value for money? In the case of l'Ecrin, the answer is to open a rotisserie.