When a restaurant is so popular you have to reserve as much as a month in advance, there’s always a concern it may not live up to all the anticipation. But no need to worry at Mimosa, when you (eventually) get to your table ...

Home-made pastrami. Espresso BBQ Pork. Crispy fried chicken. Three great reasons for making a detour — or even a special trip — to the back streets of Taito Ward. These are the stars of the show at The Good Vibes, an excellent new sandwich ...

To bring savory noodles to locales around the world, the operator of ramen chain Ippudo has had to adapt one of Japan’s best-known specialties. It took almost half a year to get the rich tonkotsu pork broth right in Europe because of the harder ...

A few years ago, Garrett Popcorn in Harajuku boasted one of the longer lines in that ever-trendy neighborhood. Yet walking by it recently there was barely any wait to get a bag or tin of the Chicago-born snack. Which means those unwilling to waste ...

When Hiroe Tanaka’s father died, he left behind something that would change her life: a recipe for fried meat on a stick. It was an act of love. His daughter adored the Japanese street food known as kushikatsu, and he’d spent endless hours working ...

As much as I love eating out in restaurants that run the gamut from high class to low, from holes in the wall, to all-you-can-eat, my heart — or is it my stomach — sings most when I’m in a good, solid izakaya (Japanese ...

Pizza’s time has truly arrived. There are plenty of places where the pizza is more like a first cousin of that fried batter staple, okonomiyaki, meaning smothered in mayonnaise — but the true Neapolitan masterpiece also has a following here. If you’re in Kyoto, ...

On a cool afternoon in mid-April, Israeli chefs Yair Yosefi and Omer Ben-Gal, co-founders of Brut Wine Bar in Tel Aviv, examine a shipment of fresh silver-skinned sawara (Spanish mackerel) from Tottori Prefecture in a tiny kitchen on Cat Street — in the middle ...

At long last, the winter has thawed out and the warmer months have arrived in Japan. Accordingly, the convenience store shelves are filled with mint-flavored products, ranging from an assortment of chocolates infused with the herb to one of the most celebrated desserts around, ...

Few people are likely to forget the first time they try shirako. The thought of eating cod sperm sacs may sound downright nauseating to the average Western diner, but those who pluck up the courage to try some are rewarded with an explosion of ...

Ramen is no longer just ramen. Japan’s favorite noodle is changing in front of our eyes, evolving into new forms that have little in common with the classic soul-food bowls of the past. Some bemoan this as the end of an era. Others call ...

Tokyo’s newest major retail emporium, Ginza Six, opened on Ginza’s main thoroughfare last month with hype and hoopla to match its massive scale. It’s primarily a vehicle for luxury brands, offering plenty of sparkle but little in the way of atmosphere. Sadly, the same ...