The ramen burger that ate New York
It's too early to tell if Aug. 3, 2013, will go down as a landmark date in culinary history, but for the hundreds of people who lined up that morning at a food fair in Brooklyn, New York, the excitement was palpable. The crowds ...
A nostalgic nibble on lasting favorites
As Japanese families return to their hometowns for the traditional summer holidays, cries of "Atsui!" ("Hot enough for ya?!") give way to feelings of natsukashii — a sense of nostalgia triggered by the sights, sounds and tastes of childhood.
Cheap or fancy Chinatown feasts
Dining doesn't get more democratic than in Yokohama's Chinatown, where visitors can spend big bucks on a single meal or fill up on steamed buns for a single coin. Here's a personal guide to some notable dishes; in the spirit of the neighborhood, there's ...
It's no surprise that the Japanese get serious about eating and drinking come late spring, as yatai food carts roll out, a bevy of fresh vegetables appear on restaurant menus and the annual festival season begins to heat up. This year is no different, ...
Chains that bring local dishes to you
Thanks to Japan's comprehensive network of bullet trains and regional airports, it's easy for the culinary adventurer to sample local specialties at their point of origin.
Running with the ramen hunters
Ramen is to Japanese food as school-girl uniforms are to porn — the animating fetish that sustains an entire industry. Helping to scratch the noodle itch is an army of bloggers whose dispatches are consumed with voyeuristic glee. The numbers are against them — ...
Foodie Media 101: Eat all about it
Every Monday night at 7, Japanese TV viewers are treated to the sight of comedians being locked inside a fast-food restaurant. Formica tables take the place of iron bars, and instead of three square meals a day the cast is fed a steady diet ...
Snacking on squid guts and soybeans
Doritos and Budweiser, canapes and Champagne, jamon and Tempranillo — when it comes to happy hour, everyone has their favorite combination of booze and umami-infused treats.
Food festivals: all yesterday's parties
The best of 2012 The inaugural Tama Geta Shoku no Saiten in Hachioji offered locavores a chance to sample the creative cuisine of western Tokyo. Thirty vendors showed off dishes such as motsu yaki-udon, a bowl of beef tripe and noodles from the town of ...
Japan's white-collar feeding grounds
Forget izakaya, soba restaurants and divey Chinese eateries — if you really want to see salarymen in mass munching mode, catch them in their natural habitat at the office shokudō (cafeteria), where colleagues rub shoulders daily over a tray of freshly made rations. Besides ...
Women — the essential B-kyū ingredient
One of the most welcome things about the B-kyū gurume (B-grade gourmet) boom is that it's rescued dishes such as ramen and katsudon from the clutches of salarymen. The down-home cooking that constitutes the bulk of the B-kyū menu is now widely appreciated ...
Diversifying Japan's biggest food festival
From its origins as a regional festival in the backwaters of Aomori Prefecture, the B-1 Grand Prix has attained a status of Fuji Rock-like proportions. The seven-year-old event, which attracts enthusiasts of local cooking from around Japan, almost single-handedly kick-started the country's obsession with ...
