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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 8, 2010

Other soba houses to discover in Kamakura

Kamakura has no shortage of good soba restaurants. Like Matsubara-an, many occupy freestanding traditional buildings. Here are three more worth tracking down on a visit to the ancient capital.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 18, 2009

Ryugin: Refined flair in the dragon's lair

It's that season once again, when we pause, look back and savor some of the outstanding meals we have enjoyed over the past year. High on that list has to be going back to eat at Ryugin last month.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 6, 2009

Tempura Uoshin: A masterclass at the counter

Tradition, craftsmanship, and understated refinement. These are attributes expected of any place serving traditional Japanese cuisine of a certain quality. When it comes to tempura, those same values are every bit as important.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 16, 2009

Tapas Molecular Bar: Elevated dining at a molecular level

Test-tube "caviar," froths and foams and taste-teasing flavor infusions, miracle fruit and desserts "cooked" at super-chilled temperatures. . . . Welcome to the brave new world of contemporary cuisine commonly known as molecular gastronomy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 2, 2009

Norabo: Perfectly simple seasonal cuisine

Returning from any trip out of the country, it's always Japanese food that we crave. No need for anything fancy: hand-chopped soba at the neighborhood noodle shop will do us fine, or perhaps a few charcoal-grilled skewers of chicken at our local yakitori counter. This time, though, having been away for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 18, 2009

Taketomijima: Southern comfort Okinawan style

Everybody loves Okinawa. Japan's southernmost prefecture boasts sun-kissed beaches, coral reefs, an easy-going lifestyle and a culture unlike anywhere else in the country. These days, the islands and their distinctive cuisine enjoy a certain hip cachet; this has not always been the case.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 7, 2009

Surf Kamakura's spicy Asian turf

A chilled bottle of Singha beer forms a ring of condensation on the table. The heady aromas of fried garlic, lemongrass and curry spices waft from the kitchen in the corner of the wooden hut. Two waitresses gossip in Thai.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 3, 2009

Enoteca inspiration brings wine and food for Italophiles

Blink and you're likely to miss Enoteca Cricca as you walk past. It's one of those diminutive hole-in-the-wall restaurants that Tokyo does so well. With a low-budget, rustic interior — whitewashed walls, exposed brick and lots of simple, hand-finished woodwork — it's clearly a labor of love and enthusiasm....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 3, 2009

Coolie's Creek: Up in the Paradise down by the creek

Coolie's Creek: What a great name for a Chinese restaurant. OK, it may not be the most politically correct moniker, but when you get there you know it feels absolutely right.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 17, 2009

Cafe Hai: MOT goes Vietnamese

It's always a pleasure to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT) out in Koto Ward. The surrounding park is calm, the architecture of the museum exemplary, and the exhibitions invariably well curated.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 17, 2009

Kemuri: Smoking up in Kanda-Sudacho

There are half a dozen compelling reasons for heading to Kanda-Sudacho. The small pocket of back streets that survived the firebombs of World War II and — so far — the ravages of high-rise development is home to some of the city's most venerable restaurants.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 20, 2009

Bruschetta, beer — this must be northern Italy

Great news. Stefano Fastro, owner-patron- chef of one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Kagurazaka's inimitable Ristorante Stefano, has just opened a new place. Better news yet, it's not a spinoff or an attempt to duplicate his original operation. In fact, it's completely different in feel, although...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 20, 2009

Brusca: Bruschetta, beer — this must be northern Italy

Great news. Stefano Fastro, owner-patron- chef of one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Kagurazaka's inimitable Ristorante Stefano, has just opened a new place. Better news yet, it's not a spinoff or an attempt to duplicate his original operation. In fact, it's completely different in feel, although...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 20, 2009

Japan meets Jamaica: ital soba in Tokyo

What is it about handmade noodles, young chefs, minuscule restaurants and hard-to-find locations? Here's another highly idiosyncratic craft-noodle shop that opened recently, which is every bit as hard to find as Nemuri-an.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 20, 2009

Asahi: Japan meets Jamaica: ital soba in Tokyo

What is it about handmade noodles, young chefs, minuscule restaurants and hard-to-find locations? Here's another highly idiosyncratic craft-noodle shop that opened recently, which is every bit as hard to find as Nemuri-an.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 20, 2009

Nemuri-an: Austere, obscure, entirely Japanese

At the recent Tokyo Taste World Gastronomy Summit, the super-chefs assembled at Tokyo International Forum paid fulsome homage to Japan and its influence on their own creative vision. Their well-honed, technologically enhanced presentations were leavened throughout with buzzwords such as dashi soup stock,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 6, 2009

A gastronomic treat

Chef alert! The big guns of global gastronomy are coming to town. The occasion is a convocation being held next week grandly titled "Tokyo Taste — the World Summit of Gastronomy 2009."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 23, 2009

The Majestic: Tasty dips for a Majestic Tet

From Halong Bay to the Mekong Delta, the flowers, fireworks and festive clothes are being readied: Soon the fun and feasting will begin. China and its vast diaspora may make the most noise at Lunar New Year, but it's no less of a big deal in Vietnam.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 19, 2008

Volo Cosi: Northern Tokyo's top- notch Italian

Another year of eating our way around Tokyo draws to its well-fed conclusion. We have dined well in 2008 — we invariably do, of course — with many memorable evenings and lunches spent at the table. Among the highlights was finally making our way to Volo Cosi.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 21, 2008

Ebisu Yokocho: Bright lights, retro style

Times are tough, money's too tight to mention, the recession is biting and credit is crunching. Red ink is the new black. Doom-and-gloom mongering is back in vogue.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 3, 2008

Mikura Ginza Honten: It's Kyoto kaiseki, but not as you know it

[Note: Mikura Ginza Honten has closed.]
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 19, 2008

Maison de la Bourgogne: A fine bistro life in Kagurazaka

At long last it's safe to come out from under the air conditioning. The heat has finally broken, our appetites have perked up, and there are some long, balmy evenings ahead — perfect for some leisurely outdoor dining.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 15, 2008

Heading to the pubs for beer and bangers

For lovers of good beer, the major event of the spring was the opening of the Nakameguro Taproom. No ordinary pub, Taproom is the Tokyo outlet for Baird beers, the craft brewery in Shizuoka Prefecture that many people — and the Food File, too — rate among the best in the country.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 15, 2008

Everything old is new again

Too often — in this column, just as in life — we have to say goodbye. So it's been a rare pleasure this year to welcome back a couple of longtime favorites that have been sorely missed during their time away.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 1, 2008

Suzuran: Chilling with chuka soba

Japan's infatuation with ramen can seem bewildering to the uninitiated. When you see lines around the block outside nondescript noodle joints in remote locations, with waits of up to an hour, it's hard not think the obsession is verging on the pathological.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 2, 2008

In the carnal realm of Sin

[Note: Sin is no longer in business.]
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 21, 2008

Shinsuke: A sip of sake in shitamachi

Slowly but surely word is getting out to the rest of the world: Japanese restaurants don't have to be formal, exquisite and jaw-droppingly pricey. Quite the opposite, in fact: Eating out in Tokyo can be casual, friendly, affordable and fun.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 7, 2008

Spain Iberico Bar Mon-Naka: Iberico comes to Monzen-Nakacho

It took a puzzlingly long time for Japan to catch on to the pleasures of the taperia. It should be a perfect fit since, after all, the exquisite Iberian custom of slowly whiling away the evening with tapas and drinks, one dish and one glass at a time, is so close in spirit to the izakaya tradition.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 15, 2008

Le Pré Verre: French freres serve up 'bistronomie'

It's always a pleasure to find a new restaurant that doesn't quite fit into any of the comfortable, well-worn categories. That's certainly the case at the excellent Le Pré Verre, which opened last November in the designer-sleek Gyre building on Omotesando-dori.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 18, 2008

Hallelujah: The fiery flavor of Korean winter

A fter all the holiday feasting, the boozing and carousing, it comes as no little relief to get back to basics. Warming sustenance is what we crave in this coldest of seasons. And few things are more comforting, to body and spirit alike, than the hearty home cooking of the Korean Peninsula.

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