Lost In Translation

Abrazo a la Oaxaqueña

I was once again inspired by Japan Times food critic Robbie Swinnerton to try a new authentic Mexican restaurant in Shimokitazawa, Abrazo a la Oxaquena. Since I had to work all weekend I thought I would do some food tourism. We started out by ordering three Oxaquena specialities, the one above is tacos dorados (deep fried tacos).

Molotes- are a very special "holiday street food", found in Oaxaca during Guelaguetza, Easter, and Christmas times. It is made with a disk of fresh masa then filled with a Chorizo and Potato filling, fried, then topped with Black Bean Puree, Queso Fresco and usually garnished with sliced radishes. The above picture is the Abrazo version.

Memelas - are best described as toasted Oaxacan pizzas - very healthy, the corn masa is flattened with a tortilla press then placed over a hot comal or griddle. Topped with Black Beans, Mole Negro, Queso Fresco, Cabbage, Guacamole, and Salsa.

Then we went with one of the weekly specials, Tostada de Picadillo, which was marinated pork with asparagus on re-fried black bean covered tortillas.

Pollo En Mole Negro (Chicken in Ozxacan Black Mole). I must admit I was pretty impressed with this operation: the corn torillas were hand made and delicious. I don't usually go for authentic Mexican restaurants, but I think this is the best traditional style Mexican restaurant in Tokyo I've been to.

Chegoya

When you have to work during Golden Week you really start to look forward to lunches, this is the bibimba lunch set from the Jimbocho branch of the Korean restaurant Chegoya-only ¥750.

Birdland

Last year when I was researching places to take my brother and father on their visit to Japan I came across an article that revealed that Birdland in Ginza had received the coveted Michelin one star rating. I knew that I would have to go someday. So recently I came across this post from Japan Times food critic Robbie Swinnerton's Food File blog and knew it was time to visit.



This is the wasabi sasami which was more cooked than usual, which is fine by me, but unusual.

This was one of my favorite dishes, basil chicken.

The old reliable tsukune with a nice tare sauce.

Renkon (lotus root) with minced chicken cooked in the holes-very nice and inventive.

This isn't your mother's grilled cheese.

So many dishes, I believe this was the chicken thigh with skin-very crispy and flavorful.

Negima (chicken thigh and leeks), another classic yakitori standby.

Oyakudon (chicken and egg rice bowl) is a favorite, so I had to try theirs and it was runny and chock full of tasty chicken. I'm sure I missed a few dishes and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but I think we all decided that despite the fact that they use high quality ingredients, cook the chicken to perfection, and provide excellent service in pleasing atmosphere we all have strong opinions about our favorite yakitori places and feel that the price and status doesn't seem appropriate. No regrets, I really needed to experience what a Michelin one star yakitori joint tastes like.

Incidently, we began to wonder what the criteria for the Michelin star system was and I found their website, which had this to say about one star establishments:

One star indicates a very good restaurant in its category, offering cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard. A good place to stop on your journey.

Halfway through the meal I realized that Birdland is located across the hall from Jiro Ono's sushi shop. Not sure if I'll make it there anytime soon though.

Afuri

Afuri, it seems, is known as one of the better ramen shops in Ebisu. They serve a yuzu flavored broth that comes in two types of chicken-based broth. I ordered the yuzu shio ramen and took the server's recommendation on the broth. It was excellent,however, the portions are known as cafe-style so not a filling as most ramen shops, but a bargain at ¥850.

Shioramen

Shioramen is a ramen shop down the street from my apartment that has outdoor seating. I decided to go with the spicy shio ramen and it was a good hangover meal, so I am sure I'll be back.

Hummingbird's Hill

I recently became aware of another gourmet burger option in Ebisu at Hummingbird's Hill, which makes a competent burger, however, nothing special. I can recommend the veranda for outdoor dining on fair days.

Tsunami

Tsunami is a Hawaiian-themed restaurant in Ebisu that has a tropical atmosphere and hearty lunches. The filling fried chicken curry above was ¥1200 with a drink.

Grill Mash

I've been meaning to visit Grill Mash in Ebisu just down the street from my apartment for some time. I've been waiting for a time when I needed a hearty meal. The week's special was garlic hamburger steak, I got the 160g portion for ¥1000 and an ontama egg (a half-cooked egg) for an extra ¥100. The lunch meal comes with a drink, rice,and a salad. Next time I need to try the mash potatoes which they recommend getting with melted cheese.

Bepocah: Update

I had a friend visiting from Seattle and decided to take him to my friend's restaurant Bepocah in Harajuku. Earlier this month I went to a soft opening for friends of the owners and really enjoyed it. I was eager to return to see what the regular menu looked like. We started with a three sauce sampling of tiradito (a sashimi-like dish): red chili sauce (rocoto), spicy yellow sauce (aji amarillo), and a cilantro based sauce. I chose this because it is specific to Peru instead of Peruvian ceviche, while distinctive is not uncommon in Latin America. (Not Pictured-sorry, too hungry) It was made with fresh sea bream (tai) and while all sauces were excellent I liked the spicy yellow pepper best.

This was followed by papa rellena: stuffed potato with pork filling (The dish is a baked potato dough into which a filling made of chopped pork and onions, whole olives, hard boiled eggs, cumin and other spices is stuffed. (Also Not Pictured) This was one of my friend's favorite dishes since it reminded him of Dutch croquettes, and I agreed that it was indeed excellent and a much larger portion than the ones that were sampled at the cold opening.

We also tried a sample of three varieties of stews: chicken with spicy yellow pepper sauce (aji amarillo), olluco with pork and aji panca, and carapulcra (pork and dehydrated potatoes with peanuts, aiji panca and mirasol peppers, garlic and other spices). All were excellent, but I believe we both liked the chicken the best.

The last main was lomo saltado: marinated sirloin stir fried with red onions, parsley and tomatoes over home fries. Excellent beef and a much larger portion than sampled at the soft opening. A treat for me since I rarely eat steak-I need to fix that.

The regular menu also includes a variety of pisco cocktails and I tried a long cocktail that had ginger ale with a garnish and my friend had a dry pisco served like a martini. I need to go back and try more.

Martini Burger

Martini Burger is a relatively new addition to the Tokyo burger scene. It is relatively obscurely placed in between Kagarazaka and Waseda for a trendy gourmet burger joint that also specializes in martinis. I decided to go for the Fifth Avenue which has gouda and cheddar cheese and mustard aioli. They don't serve fries, which was a bit of a disappointment, so I got mac and cheese instead-it's just not the same. The burgers are served medium rare unless specified and I should have asked for it to be done medium well, it was a bit too pink in the middle for me, which resulted in some gamey gristle. It is a high quality burger, but I can get better burgers closer by at Blackcows or in Harajuku at the two The Great Burger locations. I might be tempted to go back and check out their Cubano sandwich, which has become a recent favorite.