A few sticks of kushi-age and a pint of Wabi-Sabi Japan Pale Ale. That can only mean one thing: another session at Baird's spiffy new Takadanobaba Taproom.
As featured in my column tomorrow (#sneakpreview)…
… which is now up in The Japan Times here…
The Bashamichi Taproom marked its second anniversary this weekend with two days of celebrations. And having been there from the very first day it opened, I was definitely up for joining in the jubilations.
But it wasn't the live music that drew me in to Yokohama. Nor even the promise of beer at "Numazu prices" — that is, a good few yen cheaper than usual.
It was the special food menu…
I'd managed to try the BBQ wild boar the last (first?) time Chuck prepared it and it was outstanding — especially when paired with the delicious Wild Boar Porter, brewed specially for the occasion and pulled from the hand pump.
So I was keen to repeat that pleasure. Luckily I got to the Taproom just in time to get a seat at the bar — and minutes before Chuck carved the very last serving..
It was even better than I'd remembered. So good I almost forgot to get a photo of the beer (you can just see it in this next pic), a lovely smooth-drinking brown ale.
I would have ordered a second helping on the spot, if there had been any left. So instead went with an order of the brisket, which is never less than excellent. And (if my memory serves me at all) that was the anniversary Black Belgian IPA in the glass next to it. Another fine brew.
As always a fun evening and the joint was jumping, with plenty of people down from Tokyo.
Cheers and congratulations to everyone. And many thanks, Chuck, great job — as always!
There are plenty more photos of the great BBQ meats on an earlier post here…
So there I was, crammed in at the bar at Dry-Dock — as one invariably is — except that I was at the narrowest part, right by the kitchen where the food is ferried from the tiny kitchen. So I wasn't planning to stay long...
I'd had a couple of pints already and was getting ready to leave when I spotted this bottle lurking on the shelves right at the far end of the bar. Having thoroughly enjoyed the draught version, I needed to see how it tasted out of the bottle — and how they stacked up against each other.
The sencha flavor seemed to be a bit more pronounced this time. But that may well have been due to the difference in temperature (the bottle was not kept as cold as the draught kegs). But it was too late in the evening to be analytical — both are just excellent. And both are highly pokey, with an alcohol content of over 9 percent.
Sato-san, Dry-Dock's friendly master, also gave me a small shotglass full of this fine brew too which he'd pulled out for the party at the wider end of the bar. Very tasty indeed.
In return I got him to pose behind the wheel as he dispensed a few more suds...
Then I got myself out into the night and headed home...
Dry-Dock is hidden away under the railway tracks just outside Shinbashi Station.
Green tea IPA is go...
We were at the Harajuku Taproom...
This is what it's all about:
And this is what we ate with it...
An order of the gyoza (above); and Eric's umami-rich tsukune —with cheese and tomato in the mix. (that's Eric in the photo below, pouring our pint) .
I do like the sign outside. Baird Beeer and yakitori — what a great combination!
Here's a link to the promo vid…
and here's a map link to the Harajuku Taproom...
Food writer and restaurant reviewer for the Japan Times contact: foodfile (at) me (dot) com
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