I’m currently in Sendai, the largest city in the Tohoku region in Northern Tokyo. There are a couple of dishes that they’re known for here, but the most popular by far is gyutan — grilled beef tongue.
Unlike pretty much every other place from Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, Esse Due Akasaka is a full-out restaurant, not just a dessert shop. It’s an Italian joint that specializes in pizza and pasta, and based on what I saw from my table, everything looks quite good.
I’m a bit of a ramen obsessive (it might just be my favourite food on the planet), so obviously, I had to eat a bunch of ramen while I was in Tokyo. It was my duty and my obligation, and I did it happily.
Ohagi is a traditional Japanese dessert that typically features a ball of glutinous rice surrounded by a sweet red bean paste. Takeno To Ohagi is admirably focused; they sell seven rotating varieties of ohagi, and that’s it.
I think the thing that stands out the most about Kooriya Peace — a place that specializes in elaborate shaved ice desserts — is the ice itself.
Takano is a ramen place with a lot of hype around it — among many, many other accolades, they’ve been featured in the Michelin guide.
The savarin at Cafe Recherche might have been the booziest dessert that I’ve ever had. If you like liquor-infused desserts, then this is something you’re going to need to try. If you don’t, you might want to stay away.
The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum calls itself a museum, which is basically just an excuse to charge an admission fee. Yes, there’s one small room which outlines the history of ramen, but for the most part this is a food court.
Rue de Passy actually does a pretty great job of recapturing the vibe of a Parisian patisserie (apparently the owner learned to make pastries in France).
Yes, technically Kantaro eats three bowls of mamekan in this particular episode, but I don’t think I quite have the stamina for that, and I definitely don’t have time to visit the three restaurants over multiple days. As much as I wish I had unlimited time in Tokyo, the clock is ticking.