peter_nyc

Oh, and I forgot to mention, you should definitely check out the depachika, or food-courts in the basement levels of the department stores. You'll encounter a dizzying array of prepared foods of extremely high quality. It's a great place to graze or pick up tasty bites for a picnic in your hotel room (I don't eat in public in Tokyo).

It's true that the first few days after New Year's is probably the worst time to visit Tokyo if you're primarily interested in food experiences since most establishments will be closed, so I'd definitely try to return for at least some of that third week if possible. IMHO there's some common ground between French and Japanese cooking technique and philosophy--the significance/importance of preparation, refinement of cuisine--so I wouldn't be so quick to discount Michelin. It may prove a good supplemental resource as you plan your culinary itinerary. You may also consider a meal at a good (Japan-ized) French restaurant while in Tokyo, in which case the Michelin would certainly come in handy. As for specific recommendations, I offer the following: Ten-ichi (tenpura, multiple locations) Bentenyama Miyako-zushi (edo-mae sushi, Asakusa) Kaikaya (inventive seafood, Shibuya) Seigetsu (izakaya, Kagurazaka) There's also a very good unagi-ya that I visited but can't recall the name of right now, kind of hidden away. I'll see if I still have it written down somewhere. Another great resource: http://www.bento.com/tf-rest.html

thanks for all the great info!

I'm wondering if anyone has any rec's for okonomiyaki restaurants in Tokyo... Are Tokyo-style okonomiyaki similar to the ones made in Osaka? I'll be back in Tokyo in a few weeks and I've been craving them ever since I had my first (and only) one in Osaka.

Well, it appears that google is quite sensitive when it comes to spellings of foreign names (of restaurants). In this case, a missing 'u' led to absolutely no info... needless to say I figured out my error and am all set with an address and phone number!

I'll be in HK in a few weeks and I plan on spending an evening at Da Ping Ho, which seems to have quite the consensus here as an excellent Sichuan outpost. Trouble is, I can't find an address OR telephone number to place a reservation! Can anybody please help me out?! Thanks!

I did not use a suribachi and surikogi. I have wanted one for a while, so I think this might be the excuse I was looking for. As for the nagaimo, I'm guessing it wasn't the highest quality (although it was somewhat expensive). But I'll just have to try to find other sources and start comparing.

Today I finally tried to make at home one of my favorite dishes of all time, yamakake. So, I grabbed some nagaimo, nori, wasabi, sushi-grade tuna, and quail's eggs from a favorite Japanese market and rushed straight home to experiment. Everything turned out great except for one very important factor: the consistency of the grated nagaimo. It was very, very liquidy. I used the finest grate on a standard box grater, and it ended up way too watery. My attempts to use a less fine grate were unsuccessful since I ended up with small chunks of potato in the end product (not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was looking for). How could I obtain that perfect consistency I've enjoyed so many times before? I ended up cutting it into matchsticks for a delightful alternative, but I'm still very much interested in figuring out what went wrong! Are there other varieties of patato that would be better for the grated type of yamakake?

I never leave Sripraphai without some coconut covered casava confections. Utterly addicted to them.

Thanks samgiovese! I ultimately decided to rent a car to use throughout the trip since it will be less expensive than renting a limo/car service.

Thank you for the advice... you wouldn't happen to know any good limo services would you?

I am going to be visiting San Francisco in March and have booked a night at Manresa, but have no idea how to get there! Since I don't want to have to rent a car, does anybody have any idea as to how I can get to Los Gatos and back in a single night?

If money, smell, and overcrowding on weekends were no object, I'd live in Chinatown. Pho and bun thit nuong every day!

What are people's thoughts of Chickpea on 3rd Ave. right near Astor Pl.? Never had the falafel, but the "chickplant" sandwich (eggplant and toppings in pita) is quite good.

Would Naples-style pizza be a good enough substitute? I'd try the upscale Italian establishments for something like that. As for NY-style pizza, I'm afraid I do not know...