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The most beautiful things in Japan are the temples/shrines and the food basements of the major department stores.  Here are some photos taken at Misukoshi/Nihombashi.  Temples will have to wait.  The variety and especially the presentation is staggering.

bread as in a cartoon

sweets to accompany bitter green tea

These sweets are only one example of a huge category.  Each maker tries to outdo the next in beaauty.

If you go to Japan allow at least an hour to browse all the sections.  Fish or crackers are as beautifully presented as the sweets.

While there are also restaurants in the department stores, I have a fewfavorite restaurants elsewhere and managed a few photos. The first night and the last in Tokyo I could think of nothing more delicious than a big plate of sashimi, a bowl of cold tofu with ginger and green onion and a some black cod with miso (the last i ate too quickly and just photographed the bones.

The restaurant is called Uokatsu, and is in the little neighborhood of the International House called Azabu Juban.  During the day, they have a fish store.  Very handy.  The cost of these 3 courses was about 50. dollars and included a draught beer.

Another night in Tokyo I went to Union Square Tokyo and had a delicious Japanese plum mojito and a hamburger.

The best snacks in Japan include some delicious greasy “sembe” crackers from Mamagen in the same street as the Uokatsu.  The small bag will do, and you will not be able to eat dinner if you eat the whole bag.  The other snack is “butter peanuts”, nice hard peanuts available at every train station.

In Kyoto, the only new place is a small and delicious Italian restaurant on Kita Shirakawa dori (just north of Donq, the French bakery) called — believe it or not– Bosom.  Gnocchi with a cream and uni sauce was absolutely delicious.  (The owner said the name appealed because it implied warm and cosy which was the feeling she wanted for their restaurant.)

Tastes better than it looks.  More on Japan later.

An update of recent culinary adventures is long overdue. Perhaps it is a good idea to wait a while before reporting, so that only the truly tasty experiences remain in my mind. I have some restaurant receipts on my desk to remind me of what transpired. From Washington DC there is a receipt for a dozen oysters eaten at the bar at Old Ebbitt Grill. They were delicious, while the Caesar salad and the calamari were more routine. I always forget to order the salad dressing on the side so it is not too soggy. There is also a receipt from a delicious meal at Zaytinya: kibbeh nayeh, lamb kebab, mushroom/butternut squash, scallops, Tanqueray gin martini, yogurt dessert.There have been 2 trips to New York with many good meals. I introduced my husband, Marc, to Tabla (downstairs Bread Bar). He was delighted. I remember several baskets of home-made potato chips on the bar at Eli Zabar’s Taste. Several more repeat experiences included Prune (with my friend Mel Dwork), Mingala for some ginger salad, Ouest, which tastes better than it looks, a great private party upstairs at Savoy, sushi at Sushi Yasuda (as good as it gets and as expensive). A nice French dinner with Carmen at L’Absinthe and the usual scoop of gelato and great cappuccino at San Ambroeus. The gelato at Grom was no better and twice the price.

Chicago is problematic. Kate and I are only there for 3 nights, and we love Avec more than any other place. But we need to expand our horizons. This time our expansion led to a delicious new spot: Hot Chocolate at 1747 North Damen. The receipt says we ate artichokes, melon salad, pretzel and pate, mussels, cookies and salted caramel ice cream. It was all delicious, and there were many other dishes which we will have next time. The Chicago schedule will now be lunch from Wow Bao daily, first and last dinner at Avec, and 2nd dinner at Hot Chocolate. Needless to say, the temptation to try many different things supersedes my interest in a lot of one thing. So those places that are un-convoluted, offer varied tastes, and inventiveness without too much self-righteousness are the most appealing.

I even went on a quick 4-day trip for fun with 3 girlfriends to Healdsburg in the Sonoma Valley. Of course it was centered on eating and wine, although our habits (and bodies) were quite stubbornly different. Fifi made the restaurant reservations which included lunch at Bouchon in Yountville (oysters, mussels, lobster salad and sweetbreads). One dinner at Bistro Ralph in Healdsburg (duck confit, an excellent Caesar salad with whole leaves of romaine, and a delicious blackberry-cabernet sorbet). We stayed at a wonderful hotel just off the square– DuChamp (after Marcel). It was modern, elegant and served a fine breakfast buffet (included). The highlight was Beverly’s birthday dinner at Cyrus. I had my doubts when I saw the flounced drapes and fancy decor, but the food was delicious, elegant, leisurely and civilized in every way! We drove back to the Bay Area along the windy and isolated coast from Jenner. Cold fresh oysters at the plain and breezy Marshall Store were as good as one can imagine.

Although I spent 2 weeks in Japan on a buying trip with Fifi, we mainly ate at old favorites (see the archive): tonkatsu at Katsukura in Kyoto twice, crab and fish at Yokocho, two dinners at Omen, one fine French dinner at Le Bouchon, a fresh fish -and -more feast at Totoshin (I ordered everything on the Japanese menu that I could read including a box of fresh sea urchin). In Tokyo we tried the new Union Square Tokyo in the just finished Midtown Mall. It was not as good as in NYC, but full of happy Japanese diners.

We just returned from Santa Fe. The culinary highlight was La Boca, a delicious small tapas place where we had 2 meals. Otherwise we ate at the same places as before, though we missed our annual green chile cheeseburger at Bobcat Bite.

In between all these travels (exhausting in the telling), the Nelson-Atkins Museum opened their new Bloch Building (architecture by Steven Holl) to international acclaim. It is a most engaging, beautiful and original building which does a wonderful job of showing off not only itself, but a magnificent collection of art. I encourage all of you to come to Kansas City sometime to enjoy this magnificent institution. (You can also visit us at Asiatica in your spare time).

Now I am going on a strict diet before I see you again.

Although I have had many wonderful adventures on the road since I last noted them down here, I will try and recollect a few of the outstanding ones. To start with the freshest, Fifi and I spent two weeks in Japan in late May. The breakfasts at Donpa in Tokyo and Le Bouchon in Kyoto — were just as delicious as last year. We had, however, to make a special deal at Le Bouchon, since they decided that their breakfast business did not merit their serving it regularly. If we wished they would make it just for us at 8 each morning. So, of course, we each had to eat 2 croissants and a half baguette (both hot out of the oven) slathered with sweeet butter (jam optional), a pot of hot whole milk and one cup of thick black coffee every day we were there (6). Even without the beer I drank every night, the breakfasts were responsible for at least 5 pounds.

We returned to some of our favorite restaurants— Katsukura (in Kyoto and Tokyo), Yokocho and Totoshin in Kyoto — and discovered a lovely new one in Tokyo: Tsuki-no Niwa in Nishi Azabu. Beautiful garden in the middle of the city, fine bar and delicious food. We also went to a Korean restaurant called Tokai-tei (Eastern Sea Pavilion) in the same neighborhood (this one is diagonally across the street and slightly North of Hobsons).

Hot oily snack crachers were delicious at Mamegen in Azabu Juban in Tokyo. Don’t eat too many before dinner. We also had a meal at Olives in the new Roppongi Hills development. Delicious food, horrible music.

As for food elsewhere this Spring, we ate at Obelisk in Washington DC. Very nice, but I cannot remember what I ate. We also tried Ceiba, very similar to Cafe Atlantico. Tasty and fresh food. In California, we revisited AOC in LA, which was excellent and perfectly suited our taste for fresh and varied bites.

Trying to remember NY, I think we had two ice cream desserts in NYC in one night , dinner at Pearl Oyster Bar (again), and more meals at Etats Unis and its wine bar. I had a drink in the lobby-bar at the new Mandarin Oriental with a delicious bar snack (quesadillas?) and grand view and then shopped at Whole Foods in the basement. I discovered that one can order a bowl of ice-cream in the Bar at the Mark if all the best places are closed after the opera (cheaper than room service). The chopped liver at EAT is the best in the world. At the rate I obsess about dinner, I need to walk there and back wherever it is in the city. The grandest dinner of the spring was at Danube where I was invited. It is a jewel box with a inventive and delicious food, comfortable seating, and quiet.

Finally, in Chicago we discovered Avec. We went twice, even though it was very noisy, because the food was delicious.

Next trip is to Santa Fe. More later.

We ate in several places in Santa Fe — Santa Cafe was the best, Dave’s Not Here was not as good as it sounds. Drinks on the terrace at The Compound were excellent.In KC we are eating tomatoes, basil, corn and peaches from the garden for the next 2 weeks. You can’t beat that!

Next stop is a family wedding in Bozeman. August 14-23 we will be in California.
More news when I have digested all that. Check our schedule and come see us somewhere this season.

Read more about our trip to Japan (revised 7/24)
Fifi and I were in Japan for two weeks in May. Although she has officially retired, we are still doing the buying together. Our pleasures in Japan are numerous, and include not only tireless searching for the elusive and irresistable kimono, but also seeking other visual and culinary treats. This year once again breakfast was one of the highlights. In Tokyo a coffeeshop called Donpa in Roppongi gave us a great start every morning with a cup of hot “nikki” coffee and a huge piece of melted cheese toast. In Kyoto our favorite breakfast is at a French bistro called Le Bouchon on the corner of Nijo-dori and Teramachi (closed Thursday), where you can eat 2 freshly baked croissant (the gold standard in our book) , a hunk of warm baguette, pot of excellent, strong coffee, pot of warm milk, jam and fresh sweet butter all for 700 Yen ($6.).

Great Tokyo dinners included an all-out feast at Sushi-kan (3 of us for $420.) It was probably a huge mistake to take my nephew — now working in Tokyo — and set such a high sushi standard for him. We also had two delicious dinners at a tiny Kyoto restaurant called Yoko-cho which specializes in fresh crab and other delights.

Eating in Japan is a treat, but very difficult since there is rarely a menu. The more expensive the restaurant, the less tasty the food (except for sushi). The best places are those with a counter and lots of slips of paper hanging above which describe the available offerings which one orders until one is full (for some this happens sooner than others). Draught beer (nama) is delicious. I could go on and on.

Fifi and I were in Japan for two weeks in May. (.) Although she has officially retired, we are still doing the buying together.) Our pleasures in Japan are numerous, and include not only tireless searching for the elusive and irresistable kimono, but also seeking other visual and culinary treats. This year once again breakfast was one of the highlights. In Tokyo a coffeeshop called Donpa in Roppongi gave us a great start every morning with a cup of hot “nikki” coffee and a huge piece of melted cheese toast. In Kyoto our favorite breakfast is at a French bistro called Le Bouchon on the corner of Nijo-dori and Teramachi (closed Thursday), where you can eat 2 freshly baked croissant (the gold standard in our book) , a hunk of warm baguette, pot of excellent, strong coffee, pot of warm milk, jam and fresh sweet butter all for 700 Yen ($6.).Great Tokyo dinners included an all-out feast at Sushi-kan (3 of us for $420.) It was probably a huge mistake to take my nephew — now working in Tokyo — and set such a high sushi standard for him. We also had two delicious dinners at a tiny Kyoto restaurant called Yoko-cho which specializes in fresh crab and other delights. Eating in Japan is a treat, but very difficult since there is rarely a menu. The more expensive the restaurant, the less tasty the food (except for sushi). The best places are those with a counter and lots of slips of paper hanging above which describe the available offerings which one orders until one is full (for some this happens sooner than others). Draught beer (nama) is delicious. I could go on and on.

We ate in several places in Santa Fe — Santa Cafe was the best, Dave’s Not Here was not as good as it sounds. Drinks on the terrace at The Compound were excellent.

In KC we are eating tomatoes, basil, corn and peaches from the garden for the next 2 weeks. You can’t beat that!

Next stop is a family wedding in Bozeman. August 14-23 we will be in California.

More news when I have digested all that. Check our schedule and come see us somewhere this season.

elizabeth