The evenings are long and dark. Icy winds whip through the streets. Comfort food is called for, and it pays to know where to find it. If we're in Ebisu, as often as not we head straight to Imaiya So-Honten.
Chicken is the be-all and end-all at Imaiya -- not any old poultry, of course, but top quality Hinai jidori. Small fowl with handsome orange plumage, these birds are raised in happy, healthy, free-range conditions in Akita Prefecture, and you can certainly taste the difference.
Only specific crossbreeds of chicken, reared in designated areas of the country, are allowed to be called jidori. These days there are many restaurants and izakaya serving (or claiming to serve) the meat of these noted fowl. Imaiya itself has grown into a chain with at least 10 branches. But we still like to go back to the original shop (so-hon- ten), where it all began.