Tori Fuku 鳥福

Went to a Yakitori (BBQ chicken on skewers) in a very little know hole in the wall (and I mean serious hole in the wall) place near the Shibuya station in Tokyo. Its in a area called Nonbei-Yokocho about 2 minutes from the Shibuya crossing. I think the entire restaurant including upstairs seats 10 people max and it is tiiiiight. So tight that if anyone want to leave, pretty much everyone has to get up and out.

But the yakitori is awesome! So tasty. The owner only uses chicken that he hand selects and is delivered fresh daily from various chicken farms throughout Japan. He only uses free-range chickens of the highest quality. To top it off, the chicken soup is so taste! If your ever in town, and get a chance, check it out. But be warned, its not a place for the ambiance. They don’t take any reservations, and only complete parties are allowed in, so if your going to go with friends, make sure they are the type that show up on time. The restaurant opens at 5 and closes once the chicken runs out, usually the place is done by 9, so try and get in early.

先日、渋谷ののんべい横丁にあるち～～～～～さな焼き鳥屋さんに行ってきました。鳥福って言うんだけど。ここがまためっちゃ旨いんだ！お店は多分１０人ぐらいして入れない狭いお店だけど、味はばつぐん！こんどチャンスがあったら行ってみてください。予約なし、全員そろってない入れないから時間にルースの友達と行くのはやめたほういい。

Cirque Du Soleil Zed

Went to see Cirque Du Soleil Zed this weekend. 2nd best Cirque Du Soleil next to “O” in Vegas. I guess these shows turn out better and you can do alot more when you build a theater especially for the show. The clowns were hilarious, and the performances were spectacular. I recommend to anyone in the Tokyo area or visiting to go see it.

Hokkaido 北海道；Hakodate 函館；Ｊｏｓａｎｋｅｉ定山渓

Took advantage of the 3 day weekend in Japan to make a trip out to Hokkaido for some R&R. First city we hit was Hakodate (southern tip of Hokkaido). Best view in the country is what they were claiming. Can’t really argue with them.

This is what it looks like during the day. Not bad

Looks better at night.

But being that this a sea port, the sea food is amazing! Everything fresh (mostly still alive) and soooo damn good!

Here is the combo sea food bowl I had for brunch. Crab, Salmon eggs, and Uni. Yumm…. Better chill on the cholesterol for a while though.

OK, had plenty of sea, now it was time for some mountain. So we decided to cruise to another place called Jyosankei for a change of scenery. Picked up my rental car, and I guess because it snows here, most cars in Hokkaido are 4WD. Cool, nothing every wrong with more traction.

So we get to the resort

http://www.jyozankei-daiichi.co.jp/club_j/index.html

 

, and first think I do is take a plunge into to hot spring “onsen” to loosen up the muscles from a long drive and take out some of the toxins from my body. Awesome!

Then it was dinner time. Yesterday was seafood, today is…..mountain food? Yeah you got it MEAT!

Not just your ordinary USDA Prime whatevers, this stuff is the real deal. 100% Japanese beef, beer fed, massaged and all. Yeah, the unhealthy stuff. All the marbled fat you can eat. Teppan baked along with those grubbin garlic chips they make for you one at a time

Fillet and Rib Eye! Just the way I like.

Wash it all down with a couple of glasses of wine and the evening couldn’t be any better.

This was the white wine for the appetizers, and of course switched to red for the meat.

Woke up in the morning to discover the fabulous view outside. The leaves have already started to turn the color of autumn. In Japan Hokkaido is the last to get warm in the spring and is also the first to start getting cold in the fall as it is the northern most island of Japan.

Headed to Sapporo for our flight back and one last meal. Soup Curry! Thought it would just be a watered down version of Curry, but was actually very tasty. Crazy spices used in the broth. Awesome. Wish I could have stayed longer.

This is the last fun shot of the trip. A poster with a logo similar to the brand Puma,  with “Kuma” = Bear in Japanese. Must be lots of bears in Hokkaido.

Adriano Goldschmied Jeans, AG Jeans

Was out to dinner with Toshi on Friday and he got a call from Ito-san of AG Jeans Japan. We were recruited to go hang out and drink at their office. We had just finished dinner and were thinking of where to go next, so why not. Saw a bunch of people in the fashion industry that I’ve never seen in my life. And then of course there was “Ito-san” the famous guy that used to hang out at Suzuran (the place with the specials on mini-Budweiser beers and all you can sing Karaoke) in Gardena. If your ever in Gardena and need a cheap place for drinks and Karaoke, check it out. Actually, scratch that, don’t check it out, I don’t wanna take blame for recommending it. So we were catching up with each other, and in his usual drunken manner, he was makin fun of me strolling in with Lucky brand jeans. Its been ages since I even owned a pair of jeans, let alone know anything about brands. As the night progressed I guess it continued to bother him that I was wearing Lucky jeans. So I finally succumed to the criticism, and asked for a pair of AG Jeans. Thanks to the help of Toshi, and his deep knowledge on jeans, I think I’ve finally come to the realization that jeans are not just for construction workers, and could be a vital part of anyone’s wardrobe.

Thanks Toshi, and thank you Ito-san and everyone at AG Jeans/AG Jeans Japan

Ruth’s Chris Steak House Tokyo

Cruised over to Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Tokyo yesterday. 1st one to open in Japan. Haven’t had a US style steak in ages, so was pretty damn good grubbin. In Japan most of the good steaks are the super marbled kind, Kobe, Matsuzaka, Tokachi, etc…. super fatty. Good in small portions but watch out cholesterol. US style steaks are not as tender but still pretty damn good. Had my usual ribeye cooked just the way I like over sizzlin butter. That with a great bottle of red wine, and its all good! Sides were damn good too. BBQ Shimp and Crab cakes!

昨夜、日本初のルース・クリス・ステーキ・ハウスに行ってきました。最近ぜんぜんアメリカスタイルのステーキを食べてなかったから、久しぶりに食べられてめっちゃ旨かった。和牛は美味しいんだけど、スーパー霜降りっておもいよね。沢山は食べられないからアメリカンスタイルのステーキがいいかな。

Cote de Rouge コート・ド・ルージュ

Went to check out the new Akasaka Sakasu area. And we went to a restaurant called Cote de Rouge. The food is maintly Italian/French I think. But the cool thing is you get to try at all kinds of different wine by the glass. Its a great way to be able to taste some wines you’d normally never drink.

先日最近オープンした赤坂サカスに行ってきました。コート・ド・ルージュって言うカフェ・ワインバーに行ってきました。食事は普通って感じだけど、面白いのがいろいろなワインをグラスで楽しめる。普通あれ飲んでみたいけど、ボトルは無理だなって言うのがグラスで頼めるから楽。

BBQ 焼肉！

Went to eat Korean BBQ yesterday for the first time in 2008. Haven’t had a meat scarf down session in a while, so it was grubbin yesterday. Toukaitei in Nishi-Azabu. Check it out when you get a chance.

昨日は久しぶりに焼肉を食べに行ってきました。久しぶりってほんまに久しぶりやで、ってなんで関西べんやね。一年ぶりにちかいかな。たまにはガッツリ肉もいいね！西麻布の東海亭、今度行ってみてください。

Fire Hotpot 火鍋

Ever had the Chinese Hot Pot ofter referred to as “Fire Pot”. Its basically a pot divided into 2, one side being of a normal broth and the other side with hot sesame seed oil. You throw in your desired veggies and meats. Its pretty simple to cook. But this hot pot is fricken “HOT” going in and let me tell you, fire coming out, ouch! But if you like spicy, this HOT  POT is for you.

この前、六本木のミッドタウンに行く途中で見つけたレストランに行ってきました。台湾に行くとよく食べる火鍋を食べにいったんだけど、これがめっちゃ辛いんだ。食べてる時も「火」それで。。。。出てくるときも「火」

http://mobius-4000.com/

Utsunomiya 宇都宮

Went to Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture. This place is the gyoza capital of Japan. Highest consumption of gyoza in all of Japan. Got there, hopped in a cab and asked the taxi driver to take us to the most popular gyoza restaurant in the city. Then he started to ramble about the history of how Utsunomiya became the gyoza capital of Japan. Guess during one of the wars the Japan was in, probably with China or Mongolia or somewhere, a bunch of the soldiers learned how to make gyoza(or pot stickers for you Americans). Those soldiers came back to Japan, and in Utsunomiya there was a military base. They came back to a Japan that was in war so there were very few ingredients available, and as a result the decided to make gyoza with what was available.

I really didn’t care cuz all I wanted to do was eat, but I did have the balls to tell him to shut up and piss him off.

The taste was just average, but hella cheap! 130yen (about 1 dollar) for 6 gyoza. What a deal.

Ask me to go back again, and I’d turn it down in a heart beat.

BJ’s Pizza

Across the street from our office in SF, doesn’t seem like much available in terms of good grub. So it turn out that 2 nights in a row were ended up having pizza from BJ’s. I’z seriously gonna put on some weight this trip. Can’t wait to get back for some good healthy Japanese food.

サンフランの事務所の近くには食べる所がぜんぜんなく。結局二晩連続でピザ、が～～～ん。マジ太りそう！日本に帰って早く和食が食べたい。