Kyubey Ginza - A perfect meal

For most of my life, I used to categorize rainbow rolls and dragon rolls and California rolls together with nigiri - that is, eponymously with the term "sushi." I've since become a sushi purist after living in Japan, so that when I refer to sushi, I mean only nigiri sushi - vinegar-marinated sushi rice topped with fresh raw fish. Gunkan maki, the type of sushi wrapped with nori (often done with uni or ikura) counts too, but please, please don't say you want sushi and then eat California rolls or anything that includes a mayonnaise-based sauce. I don't know exactly what to call that type of cuisine - perhaps "Bastardized American sushi" would be most fitting. If you ever have a Japanese business client and take them out for sushi make sure there is no special sauce, fake crab meat or deep-fried soft shell crab within 100 feet of your sushi, and especially not in or on your sushi. I know - I sound like a food snob, but all you need to do is visit Kyubey in Tokyo and I think you'll understand where I'm coming from.

Kyubey is legendary in Tokyo. This is where gunkan maki is rumored to have been created. Astonishingly, it appears to have been left out of the Michelin guide's favor for the past few years, and perhaps that has to do with the fact that it is now a restaurant chain and the service and food quality is inconsistent across locations. This review is for the original Kyubey located in Ginza - I've previously reviewed the Hotel Okura location which was disappointing, but the Ginza location served one of the most impeccable meals I've had in my life. But enough talk, I'll let the pictures do the convincing.

Chu-toro (medium fatty tuna)

Maguro (lean tuna)

Kai (red snapper)

Uni (sea urchin)

Amaebi (Sweet shrimp - these little guys were alive and kicking when I took this photo. The chef swiftly de-headed and de-shelled them before serving)

The prepared Amaebi. The flesh was still beating with life when I ate it.

Bonito

O-toro (fattiest fatty tuna)

Anago two ways - the one on the right was sprinkled only with a light dusting of salt and it was absolutely amazing because it allowed the sweet, subtle flavor of the eel to shine while the one brushed with sauce was overpowered by the salty sweetness of the soy. If I ever go back to Kyubey, I will ask for both my pieces to be served with salt only, no sauce.

Final course - maki rolls with pickles and tamago. The negitoro (fatty tuna with green onion) in the middle was the best negitoro I've ever had.

I asked for no "chewy" sushi (i.e. squid, octopus, clam or abalone), so one of my courses was a simple chawanmushi (savory egg custard)

The sushi omakase ends with your choice of a traditional Japanese red bean dessert or fruit. Even the watermelon here was the most delicious watermelon I've ever had.

Food rating: *****

Bang for buck rating: 5 (not cheap but worth every penny)

The essentials:http://www.kyubey.jp/index_e.html

Location: 7-6, Ginza 8-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo

Sushi omakase: 8,500 yen (~$90) at lunch, 10,500 (~$110) yen at dinner 

Mohri Salvatore Cuomo

I recognize that the "best pizza" is all relative. Some people like thin crust, some people like thick. Some people like lots of toppings, some people like their pizzas sparse. Two of my favorite pizzas in the world are polar opposites from each other: Zachary's pizza in Berkeley serves up Chicago-style, California-influenced deep dish pizza (in fact, the deepest dish pizza I've ever had) so heavy with toppings that a single slice will leave you stuffed. The Cheese Board, also in Berkeley, serves food that embodies the spirit of Northern California - fresh, earthy, bohemian, unique. How can a pizza be bohemian? Try Cheese Board's daily changing pizzas, which are always a surprise and you'll realize what I mean - on one occasion I had a ricotta cheese and lemon slice topped pizza that I raved about for days. The Cheese Board doesn't add tomato sauce, but instead lets the flavors of cheese and fresh California vegetables shine through.

I was introduced to a delicious pizza in Tokyo recently, and while it may not be the best pizza in the world, it is really good. Really, really good. So good that I've been having it weekly since I first tried it! Salvatore Cuomo is as ubiquitous as a restaurant can get in Tokyo - with restaurants ranging from the eponymous casual family pizzeria restaurants all over the city to the higher end Kitchen Salvatore in Roppongi Hills, there is a branch of the restaurant in pretty much every major neighborhood. So really, there's no excuse not to try Salvatore's scrumptious D.O.C. pizza, a modern take on the classic margherita pizza made with sweet, juicy cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil.

Salvatore's crust is slightly sweet, perfectly chewy yet paper thin - the perfect canvas for Salvatore's creative mix of toppings. I only wish the pizzas were a little bit bigger - my stomach has adjusted to Japanese portion sizes, but one Salvatore pizza just isn't enough!

The restaurants also serve solidly executed pastas, but pizzas are the stars on the menu. The following are from Mohri Salvatore Cuomo, a casual restaurant with outdoor seating in Roppongi Hills.

Salvatore's award-winning D.O.C. pizza

Tiny anchovies and garlic

Prosciutto and rucola pizza

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.ystable.co.jp/restaurant/mohri/index.html
Location: B2 level, Hillside, Roppongi Hills
Average price of meal for two: 5000 yen (~$55)

Pagliaccio

One of my favorite spots in Tokyo for a frothy cappuccino, refreshing Italian soda or casual meal is Pagliaccio. Unpretentious and unassuming, Pagliaccio has an extensive beverage menu (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) as well as full menu of casual Italian fare. A perfect weekend day might consist of strolling through the nearby Imperial Palace gardens, stopping by Brick Square for a buttery croissant at Echire Maison du Beurre or chocolates at Cacao Sampaka, checking out the upmarket boutiques in Marunouchi, then popping into Pagliaccio for a leisurely snack.

Sorry, no food photos! Interior wall of Pagliaccio

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
Location: 2-2-3 Marunouchi, Tokyo
Average price of lunch for two: 3000 yen (~$35)

Bikini Tapa

I often wax poetic about how brilliant (just brilliant!) Spain is, and so much of that has to do with its simply amazing and amazingly simple cuisine. I've spent about 5-10 days out of every year for the last several years in Spain (most often in Barcelona), and the other 355-360 days looking for restaurants that replicate the unique joie de vivre and deliciousness that are characteristic of eating out in Spain.

I've searched high and low and found that a truly authentic Spanish meal can only really be had in Spain (the experience isn't just about the food, but savoring each bite, each moment shared with friends, enjoying life!). BUT - there are experiences that come close.

At Bikini Tapa, the mood is boisterous and convivial. The iberico jamon is shaved directly off the pork leg sitting on the counter. The cava is bubbly and refreshing. And the pintxos (Basque-style tapas), tapas and paellas are well-executed. If you take a swig of tinto (red wine) and close your eyes, for a second, it feels like you're in Barcelona. Except that you're on the fourth floor of a shopping center in Shibuya.

Boquerones (anchovies in olive oil) and pimientos de padron with sea salt

Typical pintxo - various meat/seafood toppings on a slice of crusty bread, often with a healthy dose of mayonnaise, speared with a toothpick

Grilled vegetables

Gambas al ajillo

Crema Catalana - Catalunya's version of creme brulee

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
www.four-seeds.co.jp/brand/bikini_tapa
Location: 4F, Mark City, Shibuya
Average price of dinner for two (with drinks): 8000 yen (~$90)

Patisserie Potager

I love the concept at Patisserie Potager, a whimsical bakery in Nakameguro, one of my favorite areas in Tokyo - vegetable cakes and desserts, from carrot-chocolate flan to edamame cheesecake to asparagus swiss roll cake. It's so different, so strange, so uniquely Japan! The patisserie has garnered a loyal following, not surprisingly consisting mostly of the female variety.

While I love the concept, I think the veggie flavors in the form of dessert confused my tastebuds. The asparagus swiss roll cake was a spongy, grain-flavored cake which was subtle and moist, but the asparagus cream filling tasted very much like cold asparagus cream soup. However, I admire the chef for keeping true to the flavors of the vegetables instead of trying to mask them with sugar, chocolate or spices (for example, American style carrot cake tastes delicious mostly because of the cinnamon in the cake and the sugary cream cheese frosting, whereas Potager's carrot desserts actually taste like carrots)!

Though vegetable cakes aren't necessarily my cup of tea, I highly recommend a visit to Patisserie Potager for a truly unique dessert experience!

Kabocha squash chiffon cake

Tomato Mont Blanc

Avocado layer cheese cake

Asparagus swiss roll cake

Tomato chiffon cake

Food rating: ***
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.potager.co.jp/
Location: 2-44-9 Kamimeguro
Average price of dessert for two: 1000 yen (~$12)

Jomon

A friend recently visited Tokyo for a week from New York and when asked what she wanted to eat, she answered: "oooh, I want to go to one of those Japanese bar/restaurant things, like the kind in Astor Place!" I answered that I thought she meant an izakaya, which was easy enough, since there are decent izakayas to be found in every neighborhood in Tokyo. On her first night, I took her to Kaikaya by the Sea in Shibuya, a perennial favorite among my friends for fresh, well-priced set meals that include delicious, innnovative seafood dishes. In my mind, Kaikaya is an izakaya since it's an establishment where one goes to drink and eat good food with the drinks. However, I could tell that as good as Kaikaya was, in her mind it was a restaurant, not a rowdy casual drinking establishment that she was thinking of as an izakaya. She confirmed as much when she noted that she thought that izakayas were supposed to have grilled yakitori on sticks.

I knew immediately where I would take her for her version of an izakaya experience: Jomon in Roppongi.

Jomon is a fun, laid back izakaya with a sake/shochu menu as long as its food menu, with bottles lined up at the wooden bar, behind which the friendly chefs grill skewer after skewer of delicious yakitori. During warm summer nights, the floor-to-ceiling windows are opened up so the raucous fun can spill out into the sidewalk.

From bacon wrapped cherry tomatoes and asparagus to AAAAA grade beef, the yakitori offerings at Jomon are the stars on the menu, balanced out by other common izakaya fare such as salads, rice and noodle dishes.

A sampling of Jomon's sake and shochu offerings

Delicious yakitori

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.teyandei.com/tenpo_jomon.html
Location: 5-9-17 Roppongi, just a few minutes walk from Roppongi Crossing
Average price of dinner for two (with drinks): 6000 yen (~$70)

Le Petit Restaurant Epi

Dining out is not just about the food, but the whole experience - the taste and texture of the food, the service, ambience, etc. And human interactions should generally be governed by a general rule of decency. I recently dined at Le Petit Restaurant Epi in Daikanyama and had the single worst dining experience of my life - after a misunderstanding about the bill, the chef publicly humiliated and verbally assaulted me in front of a room full of diners. It was inexcusable behavior, from human to human - the encounter left me shaking and crying afterward. I didn't know it until then, but being verbally attacked in such a violent, unexpected and irrational manner feels a lot like being physically assaulted. It was a horrible, traumatic experience. He could not have hurt me more if he had punched me in the face.

Some background: I am a freelance food critic/writer for the Tokyo Weekender magazine. I write about food because I love to eat and I love to write. And I do it for free - I am not compensated by the magazine for any of my meals or for the articles and have never asked to be. Many times, I critique and write up restaurants that I have dined at independently and enjoyed so much that I want to share the restaurant with others. In those cases, I don't let the restaurant know that I am reviewing them since I want them to treat me exactly as they would treat any other customer, so that I can report accurately what an average dining experience is like. I pay for the meal myself, and am not reimbursed or compensated by the magazine.

However, other times, a restaurant will invite me to dine at the restaurant because they specifically want to be reviewed, or the Weekender arranges for a meal at a restaurant that has requested to be reviewed. In these cases, the restaurant always provides the meal at no charge, since I am not dining there "just for fun" or out of my own choice, but at the specific request of the restaurant that is requesting to be reviewed. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to afford to review many of the higher-end restaurants in Tokyo, since as people know, dining out in Tokyo is a costly affair.

Earlier this week, I was told by the Weekender that Le Petit Restaurant Epi had invited me to dine and review the restaurant. I arrived at the tiny restaurant and the waitress was clearly expecting me and announced to the chef that Deborah-san had arrived.

I perused the menu carefully, taking notes of the various offerings and prices for reporting purposes. The menu includes a solid lineup of classic French bistro fare, including a variety of steamed mussel dishes, ratatouille and bouillabaisse. As I always try to do when on a restaurant review assignment, I ordered items that I thought would lend themselves to an interesting review, items that I thought a fellow diner might want to read about and try. That evening, my dinner consisted of a shrimp and avocado tartare, bouillabaisse and a small portion of steamed mussels in saffron cream sauce.

All said, the price for the meal came out to 7330 yen, not a large sum. I am always careful not to abuse the restaurant's offer of dinner in exchange for a review and generally refrain from ordering too much or ordering alcohol.

Usually when a restaurant specifically invites me to dine at their restaurant for a review, they do not give me a bill at the end but graciously provide the meal, since they were requesting to be reviewed. In this case, when the waitress brought me the bill, I tried to explain quietly that I had been under the understanding that the restaurant had arranged with the magazine to have me dine at the restaurant for a review, and that usually in such case, the meal was provided by the restaurant. She asked me to sit down for a minute and went back to the kitchen to talk to the chef. Then she motioned for me to come to the kitchen door (the restaurant in only about 300 sq. feet, so the kitchen door is just two steps from the dining area). The chef, Tomonori Suzuki, stepped to the door and then started screaming: YOU PAY, YOU PAY NOW, I CALL POLICE NOW. He then grabbed the phone off the wall, threw it at my waitress and barked: YOU CALL POLICE NOW. He continued to scream at me, without ever pausing for a moment to try to listen to me. I asked if I could call my editor or the staff person the chef had talked to in order to arrange for the meal - I wanted to try to clear up any misunderstanding. He continued to scream at me while the tiny room full of diners watched.

I felt like I was being accused of being a thief. I was verbally assaulted and humiliated in front of a room full of strangers for a misunderstanding that was entirely not of my doing.

Not wanting to prolong the horrific verbal attack from the chef, I quickly asked to see the bill and paid. As I did so, my hands were shaking from the shock of being verbally abused. Even after I paid, he continued to scream at me: YOU PAY, YOU PAY, I CALL POLICE. I faced him and asked him to please stop yelling at me since I had paid. I quickly made my way out and contacted my editor, who profusely apologized and promised to get in touch with the chef to figure out what had happened.

From human to human, to launch an abusive verbal assault on someone the way the chef did to me is simply inexcusable. I sincerely hope that Chef Suzuki enlists the help of a therapist to help him control his irrational anger and violent behavior. I wholeheartedly discourage anyone from dining at Epi - service is an integral part of any meal, and Epi fails miserably.

Food rating: ***
Service rating: NEGATIVE TEN, simply inexcusable
Bang for buck rating: 0

The essentials:
http://www.0124epi.com
Location: between Ebisu and Daikanyama stations

Teyandei

I previously wrote that I'm not a huge fan of Gonpachi and think there are better places to take visitors. I'd like to offer my first suggestion for an alternative to Gonpachi: Teyandei, just a three minute walk from Gonpachi. A cozy izakaya with a discrete entrance on a street with more residences than businesses, Teyandei offers an "authentic" izakaya experience and the food is loads better than Gonpachi (in my opinion). You can order a la carte or order a "party plan," which starts at 3000 yen per person and offers a seemingly neverending parade of courses. The photos here are of the 3000 yen pp party plan.

Whatever you do, even if you are full, do not miss the baguettes packed with maple syrup and rich vanilla ice cream for dessert. It tastes so familiar, yet so incredibly unique - and in any case, is absolutely delicious (and is included in the 3000 yen party plan!).

Appetizer course: tamago rolled around unagi, sesame tofu and bamboo shoots

Sashimi course

Cabbage salad with tiny dried anchovies, green onion and nori

Simmered pork covered with grated mountain yam

Deep fried mayonnaise prawns

Battered and deep fried potato wedges with a dipping sauce similar to tartar sauce (but with a load of MSG mixed in)

Wonton soup with succulent Chinese-style pork and chive wontons

Onigiri

Baguette, gutted and filled with maple syrup and rich vanilla ice cream - magically delicious!

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.teyandei.com/nishiazabu/
Location: on a side street near Nishi-Azabu crossing, 2-20-1 Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo
Average price of dinner for two (with drinks): 8000 yen (~$90)

37 Steakhouse & Bar

From my review in the Tokyo Weekender: http://weekenderjapan.com/?p=18180

Roppongi Hills added a new restaurant to its already impressive roster with the opening of 37 Steakhouse & Bar. Located on the second floor of Keyakizaka Terrace, across the street from the Grand Hyatt, 37 has the sophisticated ambience of a New York steakhouse with cozy, private booths and muted, dark-toned wood furnishings.

37’s extensive menu includes Australian wagyu and black angus aged for 21 days, as well as lamb, pork and seafood offerings. Side dishes include steakhouse standards such as garlic mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, grilled asparagus, and macaroni and cheese.

The creamed spinach is a perfect balance of creamy and savory, and complemented the juicy bone-in black angus ribs. 37’s Caesar salad, tossed with a rich, creamy parmesan dressing and topped with buttery homemade croutons and a generous shaving of parmesan cheese, is a contender for Tokyo’s best—it’s hard to imagine a more perfect version. The snow crab cakes are prepared with generous chunks of crab, panfried to a perfect golden brown, and should not be missed.

Where 37 needs some help is in the dessert department. The "incredible chocolate cake" was anything but, leaving us fairly sure we could score a better version at the nearest conbini. The "NYC baked cheesecake" was also disappointing. Lacking the sweet and dense creaminess of real New York cheesecake, 37’s version was so firm and dense that it more closely resembled a hunk of cheese (think mild cheddar) than a slice of cheesecake. Then again, steakhouses are rarely judged for their dessert offerings.

Bone-in black angus rib with creamed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes

NY Cheesecake - like a hard lump of cheese

Nothing incredible, or even very chocolate, about this "Incredible Chocolate Cake" - please get a new pastry chef!

Food rating: ***
Bang for buck rating: 3

The essentials:
www.37steakhouse.com
Location: on Keyakizaka Street, 6-15-1 Roppongi
Average price of dinner for two: 10,000 yen (~$110)

Minsk

The only exposure I've had to Minsk is from watching "Friends" - Phoebe's physicist boyfriend David (played by the brilliant Hank Azaria) decides to move to Minsk and breaks her heart. Did I know that Minsk was the capital of Belarus before that? I may have, but I doubt it. Hey, I'm part of Generation Y, we get our information from MTV and the internet!

So in case you, dear reader, know as little about Belarus as I did, a wee bit of background. Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Its capital is Minsk. Belarus completed its separation from the Soviet Union on Christmas Day of 1991, and has a population of about 10 million. (all credit goes to Wikipedia...I'm really not doing a great job of dispelling the Generation Y notions)

Anyway, on to the food. I really didn't know what to expect from Belarusian food, although I suspected they would have borscht on the menu (they did). Thanks to Minsk, I am a fan of Belarusian cuisine. And since my meal at Minsk is the only time I've ever tried Belarusian cuisine, I have no negative experiences to convince me otherwise.

The ambience is a bit bizarre to say the least - on the night I went with a friend, the only other diners were men sitting by themselves, entranced by the tall, blond, blue-eyed musical performer, who had a lovely singing voice. Our waitress was also blond, but spoke to us in Japanese...wait, am I reminiscing on an episode of Twilight Zone or some bizarre dream? Nope, this really happened, but the strangeness of it all did feel...well, strange.

The food however, was quite good.

Borscht

Chicken and mushroom crepes

Beef tenderloin with cranberry sauce - the slightly sweet, not-too-tart sauce added a wonderful contrast to the savoriness of the tender beef!

Apple cake

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 3

The essentials:
http://gourmet.walkerplus.com/103028150005/
Location: 1-4-2 Azabudai, Tokyo
Average price of dinner for two: 6000 yen (~$65)

Roti Roppongi

I've posted an entry previously about brunch at Roppongi, but felt like a review of their dinner offerings was long overdue. I am a huge fan of Roti. Good food in good portions at good prices. Except for their salads, which are laughably small (but quite delicious).

I was initially led astray by the name "Roti," which I thought referred to the Indian bread, but I believe it's short for "Rotisserie," as one of their specialties is rotisserie chicken. Their classic rotisserie chicken is delicious, but I prefer the Peruvian chicken with cilantro-infused rice and beans (made with garbanzo beans), served with an addicting cilantro dipping sauce.

On a recent visit, I discovered a dish that in and of itself is reason alone to make a trip to Roti Roppongi: the truffle fries with grated parmesan cheese. Now, let me provide a little background. Despite my love of eating, I am a vain female and contrary to appearances on this website, DO watch what I eat, and run regularly to offset what I do eat. There are some foods that I generally think are not "worth the calories." And the humble potato is one of them. I almost never eat potatoes - fried, mashed, baked or steamed, I usually don't find potatoes delicious enough to waste on my daily intake of calories (to be fair, I will usually take a teeny bite to test a potato dish, but will almost never find it good enough to keep eating). I will occasionally make an exception for delicious french fries.

And let me tell you, my standard for what constitutes delicious french fries is pretty damn high - McDonald's and In N' Out fail my test (the latter, quite miserably). In fact, prior to my recent discovery of Roti Roppongi's truffled fries, the only fries that passed my taste test were the pommes frites at Chez Papa Resto in San Francisco - tossed with salt and rosemary and served with aioli, Chez Papa's fries are absolutely scrumptious - definitely worth the calories and the miles I have to run to make up for them. Roti Roppongi's truffled fries also pass my taste test. I will gladly run a few extra miles so that I can inhale more of the perfectly seasoned potatoes that somehow, magically taste so perfectly of truffles that I want to cry with joy. There you have it - I was so inspired by Roti Roppongi's fries that I've basically written an entire post about them.

P.S. Take advantage of their Tuesday wine club - 25% off any bottle of wine!

Truffle oil-fried french fries with parmesan

Garlic mushroom popovers

Bang Bang chicken salad

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 4

The essentials:
http://www.roti.jp/en/index.php
Location: Piramide Building, 1F, 6-6-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Average price of dinner for two (with drinks): 7000 yen (~$75)

Sushi Saito

The lunch course at Sushi Saito has to be the best-kept secret in Tokyo. For 5500 yen, diners are served a tiny appetizer, miso soup, 10 pieces of exquisite sushi prepared by Chef Saito himself while you watch, and a tuna roll to finish. Considering that it's only about 1500 yen more than the omakase course at Sushi Dai in Tsukiji, but with the benefit of a reservation (i.e. no 3 hour wait) and the unforgettable mesmerizing experience of watching a sushi master in action, not to mention its 3-Michelin star rating, I was fairly surprised that I was able to secure a reservation for lunch only 3 days in advance, and even more surprised to find 3 empty seats throughout the lunch (in a 7-seat restaurant). While I'd love to keep this secret to myself so that I never have problems securing a lunch reservation, I've decided I shall share, so that you too can enjoy the perfect sushi dining experience that is a meal at Sushi Saito.

Unfortunately I have no photos, but there are some great ones here: http://www.potatomato.com/seat/archives/002588.html

Food rating: *****
Bang for buck rating: 5

The essentials:
No website
Location: next to entrance to a garage directly across from the US embassy, 1-9-15 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Price of 10-piece omakase lunch: 5500 yen (~$60); dinner prices increase significantly

Pizzeria 1830

Apparently the first pizzeria was opened in Naples in the year 1830 - hence the name Pizzeria 1830, located in the shadow of Tokyo Midtown in Nogizaka. Lured by the promise of true Napolitan-style pizza, I was truly looking forward to dinner at Pizzeria 1830. The menu is extensive, with pizzas that include tomato sauce or not, and various combinations of toppings. For a group of four, the mixed appetizer plate and two pizzas were more than enough. The crust is paper thin, barely strong enough to hold up the cheese and toppings - if you try to lift the pizza from your plate with your hands, it will start folding into itself - this is no American-style pizza!

After my visit to Pizzeria 1830 a couple months ago, I visited Rome and discovered that the pizza in Rome was indeed almost exactly like the pizza at Pizzeria 1830: super thin crust blistered at the edges, spots of melted fresh mozzarella, and just a smattering of toppings. So while I might have wished for more cheese or more toppings prior to my trip to Italy, now I know that Pizzeria 1830's pizza is authentically Italian.

Mixed appetizer plate

Sausage and mushroom pizza

Food rating: *** and a half
Bang for buck rating: 3.5

The essentials:
http://www.stillfoods.com/1830/
Location: 9-6-28 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Average price of dinner for two (with drinks): 4500 yen (~$50)

Kyo-hayashiya

If you're like me, you think that "Green Tea" is the greatest dessert flavor on the face of the planet. Seriously. What beats Green Tea flavored ice cream, cake, macarons, shaved ice, cookies, etc.? Only once in my life have I ever come across a flavor that was better than Green Tea, and that was the Earl Grey ice cream at Sketch, a now defunct ice creamery in Berkeley, California. Oooh, their Earl Grey ice cream was amazing. So amazing that one Saturday I woke up and immediately drove across the Bay Bridge to get myself an extra big serving, skipping breakfast and lunch to make up for the huge intake of calories. But I digress. Back to Green Tea.

I have loved Green Tea so much and so long that I now have a Pavlovian response when I see anything labeled as Green Tea-flavored. I automatically must have it. Despite having been disappointed time and time again by bad or weak flavored Green Tea items, whenever there is a Green Tea-flavored anything, I am psychologically trained to want to try it.

Walking through Tokyo Midtown (quite possibly my favorite building complex in all of Tokyo) soon after my arrival in Tokyo, I came across Kyo-hayashiya, a small cafe in the basement of the Galleria building that specializes in all things Green Tea, from savory ochazuke lunch sets to gigantic desserts.

Every time I visit Kyo-hahashia, I overdose on Green Tea because they require each person to get their own item, even though one shaved ice is more than big enough to share between two people. Before you can ever reach the bottom of the dessert glass, you will feel sick from the overload of sugar. And then you might not want to eat anything Green Tea-flavored for about two months. But years of Pavlovian conditioning doesn't go away because of a few overdoses!

Shaved ice with condensed milk and green tea soft serve, mochi balls, red bean and green tea syrup (on the bottom of the ice)

Green tea parfait with red bean, fruit, cream, green tea soft serve, green tea ice cream and green tea jelly

Green tea roll cake set with choice of tea

Spring gohan set (1050 yen)

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 3

The essentials:
http://www.kyo-hayashiya.com/
Location: B1 in Galleria building, Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi
Average price of dessert for two: 2000 yen (~$22)

Tokyo Weekender: http://weekenderjapan.com/?p=18429