tokyo food file

Green Tea IPA take 2

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.

Here's a map link...

(any day is) Mardi Gras in Ginza

Finding ourselves at the Shimbashi end of Ginza the other evening and in need of some light sustenance, we decided to try our luck at Mardi Gras. Usually that would be a very long shot without a reservation — on a weekday we wouldn't even bother — but this was a Saturday (and still in the post-quake self-restraint gloom), so we were able to walk straight in.

This excellent little basement grill/wine specialist is one of our longtime favourites, and has changed little since I wrote it up in the Japan Times back in 2001. Best of all, chef Touru Wachi's Spanish/Mediterranean-inflected food remains as reliably tasty as ever. 

We settled in (as we usually do) with sherry, which came with complementary wedges of tortilla español (good) and bread rolls (forgettable).

Our first appetizer was the plate of mixed pintxos. It's a great selection of nibbles on sticks: quails' eggs, breaded balls of sausage meat, deep-fried Brussels sprouts, tiny one-bite squid, eringi mushrooms cooked with fennel, and even smoked salmon with small cubes of cream cheese.

Our other starter was the creamy cod brandade...

By this time we had a bottle open. Mardi Gras' wine list seems to have shrunk a bit over the years, and still is too focused on French rather than Spanish or the New World bottles that would better fit Wachi's cooking — this is Ginza, though, so name brands count for everything. But the Saladin (Haut Brissan/Côtes de Rhône Villages; 100% Grenache; organic) delivered the kind of quick-to-drink spicy-smooth flavours we were looking for...

Especially since this was our main course: a terrific lamb tajine, with pine nuts and prunes in a lovely rich meaty gravy.

This was so good it deserves a close-up shot...

In fact it was so good it should be on video...

We lingered long enough to share a dessert, a very fine creme caramel drenched with bitter-sweet sauce.

Satisfying food; a good bottle of wine; a quiet, unpretentious setting you can settle into (the New Orleans music on the sound system). For Ginza, this is pretty great value.

Full details in the JT archives...

And here's a map link...

buri-daikon and a wee dram @ Kuri in Shimbashi

Buri-daikon – simmered buri yellowtail with a hearty chunk of daikon cooked down in a rich savoury shoyu broth. It's one of the classic dishes of winter, the kind that warms the heart as well as the stomach.

It also goes exceptionally well with sake...

We did a small comparison tasting of these two fine fellows. Two different high-octane nama genshu brews from Oroku (Shimane):

What else did we eat? Well, this was our last stop of the evening, after dropping into a number of other places. So we kept it simple: an kimo (monkfish liver) in ponzu. Because it's the season. Because it's one of my all-time favourite foods...

...and because it goes so well with sake.

If there's a problem with Kuri, it's that there's too much choice. This was the range that they currently have in stock from just one kura (Zaku, in Mie-ken). At least you can choose if you want a taster, a glass or a full ichigo (180 ml) flask.

 

Powerful stuff. And a very fine nightcap.

 

I posted about Kuri when the Ginjo Bar was held there. I also mentioned it in my JT column.

Here is Kuri's home page...

And here's a map link...

a new ginjo bar opens in Shiodome

On the way home from Higawa/Hijaa on Saturday evening, we had just enough time to make a detour to the newly opened Ginjo Bar Shiodome.

Set up by the good folks from the Nihon Ginjoshu Kyokai, this could be the best stocked standing bar in all the city.

We'd already eaten and drunk well, so all we needed was a couple of digestifs...

An Eiko Fuji special... and a very nice number from Rihaku.

 

The set-up is much the same as at previous incarnations: kura from around the country provide some of their best and tastiest brews, including special batches prepared for competition. These are dispensed by the glass in exchange for tickets which you buy in advance.

The difference this year is that the bar will be there for a year — previous versions have only been temporary efforts open for a couple of months at most.

They are also supplying a small selection of nibbles...

To find it, leave Shimbashi Station by the Yurikamome Line exit, cross Sotobori-dori and turn left until you see this sign.

More info including a full list of the sake being served (in Japanese) here...

and a map link...

Liquid pleasures — a few more photos from Nozaki in Shinbashi

 

To call Nozaki Sakaten a sake specialist is an understatement — it has a selection to rival anywhere in town. Better than that, though, it's comfortable, casual and very affordable. The sake is available in various sizes, from tasting glasses to full tokkuri flasks. 

It's also cheerful and approachable, unlike many of the neighboring bars and eateries in this traditional salaryman carousing district. No wonder it's popular with the younger folk — with nary a business suit or necktie in sight.

The full story is in today's JapanTimes. Here are a few more photos to whet your appetite...

 

  

 

Sake labels and aprons adorn the walls…

 

...and the fridge is full to overflowing with magnums of nihonshu from kura all around the country.

 

A couple of favorites: Kuro-obi Hyo-Hyo junmai daiginjo (from Fukumitsuya in Ishikawa)...

 

...and Kuu junmai daiginjo (from Horaisen in Aichi)

 

As the label on the front of the menu says: "potari potari" (= drop by drop). That's the way to approach an evening at Nozaki Sakaten.

 

Here's a map link...