Friday, April 20, 2012
L'As
New French restaurant does things differently
It is always a pleasure to discover a great new restaurant — and even more so when "new" means a lot more than just "recently opened." L'As is a small place with a young crew and a location that is ...
Friday, April 6, 2012
Kita-Kamakura En
Kaiseki course as delicate as blossom
It's been a long countdown, but finally spring has liftoff. The buds and leaves are out, and so are those all-important cherry blossoms. And there is no finer way of appreciating them than from a table with a good menu ...
Friday, April 6, 2012
Where to wander for a springtime sakura snack
The pink mist descends and sakura fever sets in. Resistance is futile: Get out there under the petals, gaze, imbibe, revel and cavort. And then, as the evening chill sets in — as it inevitably does at this time of ...
Friday, March 16, 2012
Yoshihashi
Top-class sukiyaki at a fraction of the price
Elegance, refinement, exclusivity: These are qualities only to be expected at any high-end Japanese restaurant. Affordability? Think again. Or, rather, think different. That's the way to approach Yoshihashi. ...
Friday, March 16, 2012
Tohoku eatery serves up a northeastern menu
Zunda-mochi dumplings, hatto-jiru soup, hittsumi noodles: These are far from mainstream Japanese foods, and rarely found on restaurant menus. But they're essential landmarks on the culinary landscape of the Tohoku region. They are also core items on the menu at ...
Friday, March 2, 2012
Iri
Hidden pan-European eatery is one of a kind
Neighborhood restaurants are different from those where the lights are brighter and overheads (and expectations) higher. Almost by definition they're more casual and down-home, rougher around the edges, simpler and less stylish. Iri doesn't fit that pattern at all. ...
Friday, March 2, 2012
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Yoyogi-Uehara ...
Neighborhoods are like microclimates, each with its own ecology of dining opportunities. Some are arid desserts with barely a ramen shop in sight. Others are lush and fertile, with a rich range of cuisines and styles. And then there are ...
Friday, Feb. 17, 2012
Naples pizzeria serves up a slice of heaven
Is Tokyo becoming the Naples of Asia? It's starting to feel that way, and not just because there's a volcano lurking on the horizon. There must be as many artisan pizzerias here as in all of Campania, ranging in quality ...
Friday, Feb. 3, 2012
Botan
Botan: Put a little sukiyaki fire in your belly
On one side of the battered shōji screen with its panels of flimsy washi paper, the sleet and biting wind. On the other, a small old-fashioned hibachi brazier, its coals glowing softly. There's no contest: At Botan, the charcoal wins ...
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FEATURES
What to eat and where to eat it
Friday, April 27, 2012
What to eat when you can't stand the heat
As the weather gets warmer, foods that are served cold and require little to no cooking become more appealing. In Japan the choice of such dishes goes way beyond a plain green salad. One of these is sashimi, a food ...
Friday, April 20, 2012
Hokkaido's diverse cuisine recognized by Michelin
Hiroshi Nakamichi dreamed of becoming a great one-star restaurateur when he went to Lyon, France, with a Michelin guide in his hands, to work at Michelin-starred restaurants. More than 30 years later, his dream came more than true when his ...
Friday, March 30, 2012
Helping Tokyo menus to get found in translation
One of the longtime complaints of English-speaking foreigners visiting restaurants in Japan is that few of them offer menus in English. Well, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is doing what it can to help eateries translate their menus into English and ...
Friday, March 23, 2012
Cherry blossom captures the flavor of spring
The Japanese love affair with the cherry tree and its pink, fragile sakura blossoms is world renowned. Every spring, the nation eagerly awaits for the first pink buds to appear on bare branches. The sakura zensen, or cherry-blossom opening front ...
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DRINK FEATURES
Wine, sake and other favorite potables
Friday, April 13, 2012
KANPAI CULTURE
Do girls just wanna have weaker sake?
When it comes to sake, I consider myself something of a traditionalist. If anything, my tastes veer toward the masculine: I tend to favor ricey, muscular styles like kimoto and yamahai over a delicate daiginjō. Funny, then, that I should ...
Friday, March 30, 2012
Spring, summer festivals offer a crafty craft beer
No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow — and to help you shake the winter doldrums, we've compiled a list of upcoming beer festivals. Whether you prefer to drink outside under sunny skies or in rowdy ...
Friday, March 9, 2012
KANPAI CULTURE
Tohoku's sake breweries one year on
The narrow, winding road that leads to Senkin Shuzo, a small sake brewery in the tiny town of Iwaizumi, Iwate Prefecture, is icy and treacherous. The train lines that used to connect Iwaizumi to Morioka, the nearest major city, were ...
Friday, Feb. 10, 2012
KANPAI CULTURE
New to sake? Here's where to start
"Is it always this crowded?" I ask a happi-coat-clad clerk at the Meishu Center sake shop in Hamamatsucho, as she pours me three glasses of sake from hefty, 1.5-liter isshōbin bottles. ...
Friday, Jan. 13, 2012
KANPAI CULTURE
Raise a sake cup to Chinese New Year
I've already started planning my dinner menu for the Chinese New Year on Jan. 23. Like many Chinese people around the world, I look forward to the lunar New Year with great excitement. My love of this holiday has nothing ...
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