If a lifetime can be likened to a day, then this is Happy Hour!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Yum
A year of Japanese food in Tokyo (you might wanna turn down your sound to avoid the irritating Japanese techno-pop music)...
Prolly not for everyone but this sure makes MY mouth water. The Second Mrs. Pennington (when she was my intended) and I ate out a LOT when we were in Tokyo in 1975 - 1977. We were fortunate that there were at least three sushi bars within walking distance of our house in Tachikawa, and there were even more options available to us when she was in her apartment in Musashi-Kogenei. Sushi was only part of the story... there were the ramen stands (and there is NO comparison in between fresh ramen and the ubiquitous packages of cheap-ass ramen noodles we have here), the mainstream restaurants, and the yakitori stands sprinkled all over Tokyo.
Herewith lies another reason I miss Dee-troit and livin' in some other Big Cities in these United States, especially San Francisco (which is a GREAT restaurant town!): I used to have access to any number of excellent Japanese restaurants in the way-back. Nowadays? Not so much. Not at all, actually.
Photo: TSMP and me in a Tokyo sushi bar, 1991. Click for larger, as usual.
Coco Ichiban Curry House. Yum yum! They're mostly in Japan but have one in Hawaii and a new one in San Diego. Almost all East Asian food is delicious. The only stuff I don't care for is Korean kimchee and Vietnamese nuoc mam. My favorite is probably Thai and those evil little peppers. Korean bulgogi is a close second.
I don't know much about sushi or other Asian dishes, but believe it or not, Duncan has a Sushi restaurant. The locals tell me that it is really good, but I have my doubts - they think the Mexican food here is good too.
Surely you've got a maj. food-chain super-market in the area that has at least packaged sushi daily--or is their not enough of a demand to have it flown in for the cost?
Virgil: Surely you jest! Unless ya consider Wal-Mart to be a "major super-market." Nope. Not here, and I don't expect to EVER see sushi in this area, given the culture. Think "bait." ;-)
You mean Portales doesn't offer choices in Thai regional cuisine? Heh. When I was a kid, Mexican food was taquitos from Doc's Drive Inn, or a can of Wolf chili. Pizza was fairly controversial. Until La Hacienda opened up on the north side of the tracks, there really wasn't any Mexican food to speak of.
Seafood was fish sticks, at least until Jeff at the Cattle Baron added lobster to his menu.
I don't know Japan at all. But it does call Korea to mind. And A-friggin'-men to the ramen comment. Korea had it some ramen that was outstanding.
ReplyDeleteCoco Ichiban Curry House. Yum yum! They're mostly in Japan but have one in Hawaii and a new one in San Diego. Almost all East Asian food is delicious. The only stuff I don't care for is Korean kimchee and Vietnamese nuoc mam. My favorite is probably Thai and those evil little peppers. Korean bulgogi is a close second.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about sushi or other Asian dishes, but believe it or not, Duncan has a Sushi restaurant. The locals tell me that it is really good, but I have my doubts - they think the Mexican food here is good too.
ReplyDelete"(you might wanna turn down your sound to avoid the irritating Japanese techno-pop music)"
ReplyDelete*turns speakers WAY up*
...and hey, did I just spot a Kagamine Rin figure in a few of those food pictures?! ^∀^
Man, I love Asian food in general. I wish I could have some more often, but we don't really have any easily accessible restaurants here.
Now, I'm hungry for real food. Boxed food won't do it. It all looks good and yum.
ReplyDeleteI love oriental food, as long as it is COOKED. I hate sushi. It makes me gag.
ReplyDeleteAndy: I'm in the opposite boat (hunh?, he said), in that I don't know much about Korea or Korean food... but I DO know I like Bulgogi and kimchi!
ReplyDeleteAlmost all East Asian food is delicious.
I'll second that, Anon. Thai is also my favorite Asian cuisine, with Japanese a CLOSE second.
Lou: You otta give that restaurant a shot! I do have a rule about sushi, tho: I don't eat it outside a 200-mile radius from the coast... any coast.
Silver: LOL! You are a true Japanophile! Thanks for the link, too... I learn sumthin' new EVERY day.
marc: I'm thinkin' Calgary HAS to have two or three good Japanese reataurants...
Sharon: You're not alone in bein' a sushi-hater. But Hey! More for me!
Buck/
ReplyDeleteSurely you've got a maj. food-chain super-market in the area that has at least packaged sushi daily--or is their not enough of a demand to have it flown in for the cost?
Virgil: Surely you jest! Unless ya consider Wal-Mart to be a "major super-market." Nope. Not here, and I don't expect to EVER see sushi in this area, given the culture. Think "bait." ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou mean Portales doesn't offer choices in Thai regional cuisine? Heh. When I was a kid, Mexican food was taquitos from Doc's Drive Inn, or a can of Wolf chili. Pizza was fairly controversial. Until La Hacienda opened up on the north side of the tracks, there really wasn't any Mexican food to speak of.
ReplyDeleteSeafood was fish sticks, at least until Jeff at the Cattle Baron added lobster to his menu.
We've improved a little since your childhood, Gordon, but not a lot. P-Ville may not be a culinary desert, but it sure as hell is arid country.
ReplyDelete