Tokyo Izakaya: (Kaette Kita) Tobusakana, Shimokitazawa - 帰って来た とぶさかな、下北沢

September 26th, 2010

As the late September typhoon rain descended, the traffic along Kannana Dori slowly ground to a halt. It was going to be long, slow, crawl home.
The words, "Shall we stop off in Shimo for something to eat?" were barely out of T's mouth, before I had wiped out my iPhone, fired up the tabelog app and put a call through to the best izakaya option in the area, Tobusakana. One step ahead of you, kiddo.

Unbeknownst to me, Tobusakana has two stores directly opposite each other on a small side street a few minutes from the south exit of Shimokitazawa station. The original store (where I thought we had a reservation) is a tiny space made up of a counter and a squishy table at the door; the place has the well loved (read: tatty and worn) look of a shop that has enjoyed many years of regular patronage. The new annex store (where we actually had a reservation), stands in stark contrast; bright & breezy, designed to resemble a hybrid of an American diner and, err... my uncle's corrugated iron boat shed.

The place has got a fish market feel, with the day's catch displayed in ice packed styrofoam boxes at the door (today's specials were kinmedai and Hokkaido crab), and a counter topped with glass cabinets brimming with fishy delights. In keeping with the ichiba feel, the service is boisterous and to the point. "Weclome in!...Now, what do you want?" Sometimes, that's all you need.

What do we want? Well, it took us a good 20 minutes to come up with an answer, as the menu was a metre long scroll of stylized kanji. While it made for amusing reading, it inexplicably came with two volumes of supplementary food & drink menus - Yikes! Fish, meat, poulty, vegetables, noodles, rice, fried dishes, grilled dishes, & probably even flambeed dishes are available on any given night. Now I was worried; a restaurant that tries to be all things to all people generally only produces a few things well and the rest mediocrely. Then there is the issue of keeping such a diverse range of ingredients in stock; cost/time saving measures such as buying in pre-made, or frozen food to be reheated to order are usually employed so an over extended kitchen can cope. I think a big edit is needed here for the sake of the customer and the kitchen. We gave up halfway through reading the regular menu, and decided to stick with the specials of the day.

First up, our otooshi of nemitsuba, enoki ohitashi and a small bowl of oden, which arrived with our drinks order.

As T has got a little 't' on the way, it was up to me alone to explore the list of 20 odd sake varieties. And a fairly good list it was, too. Again, there was something on it to please everyone's taste: a few honjozo's from the well known big brands; some junmais & ginjous of varying styles & providences, along with a couple of less well known brands for enthusiasts. I went with the Jikon (而今) junmai ginjou, from Mie, which I had previously enjoyed at Kudan. It was full and fruity, though as it was the end of the bottle it tasted a tad oxidized.

The MろQ gave us something to nibble on as we waited for the rest or our order to arrive. A standard izakaya dish, it's basically just cucumber served with a chunky miso made with fermented barley called moromi miso (もろみ味噌). Together the dish is called moromi miso kyuuri - or morokyu/MろQ for short.

A little salty, a little sweet, a little nutty... a great little drinking snack. 

Shitake on a stick! Nicely grilled and still retaining some moisture, though the stacks should have probably stayed on the cutting board.

I've seen a lot of these little fellas this month, and I've eaten quite a fair few of them, too. The sanma shioyaki was grilled to crispy perfection on the outside and fatty & delicious underneath. It lacked the pleasing smokiness that one gets from the charcoal grilled variety, but it was greedily scoffed up none the less.

Fresh fish is what Tobusakana does best and the main attraction of the night was definitely the moriawase. Nice, generous chunks of katsuo, kampachi (amberjack), mizu tako (fresh octopus), kinmedai (yellow-eye snapper), hotate (scallop) and ika (squid), made up the selection tonight. 

Disclaimer: this wasn't actually our sashimi moriawase, but rather that of the friendly chaps at the next table, as someone demolished half their plate before realizing it hadn't been documented for posterity. Thanks fellas! 

If you find yourself in the backstreets of Shimo in need of some place to eat, then you would be hard pressed to find anything better than Tobusakana in terms of good fish, friendly service & cost performance. Thanks to the rain, we were easily able to snag a prime seat at the window, but in more clement weather the place is usually packed all night, so be sure to book ahead. 

While it wasn't the greatest meal, it was a good one and, just like it's name - 帰って来た とぶさかな - I will return to the flying fish... but, maybe to the original shop next time.

Tobusakana (帰って来た とぶさかな)

03-3419-8969

Tobusakana (Original store)

03-3414-6611

Tokyo Izakaya: Owan, Ikejiri-Ohashi - いわん、池尻大橋

September 13th, 2010

Nestled snuggly amongst the stylish eateries that line a quiet street in Ikejiro Ohashi's residential area, is Owan. From the street the shop has the appearance of a gallery; the glass frontage perfectly frames shelves of elegantly displayed urushi lacquerware and an interior accented with ceramics.

Upon entering its threshold more details come into view, which reveal the shops true identity; a rustic hand-joined U-shaped counter dressed with natural linen place settings, and, most tellingly of all, a charcoal grill. This is an eatery, a ko-ryoriya to be exact, where chef patron Kondon-san prepares seasonal dishes with passion and elan.

Talking to the master, he says the starting point of the menu is nihon-shu. From there he selects seasonal ingredients to construct dishes which best compliment his favourite tipple. I like his style. So, what's with all the tableware? Does he have side-line in home interiors? Not quite. To properly enjoy nihon-shu, his wife, a professional food stylist and author, has assembled a selection of urushi, ceramics, glassware and pewter. He believes the feel of the tableware heightens one's sense of the food and sake. Such attention to detail is admirable and conveys the thoughtful approach Konda-san takes towards his customer's dining experience.

Taking our seats at the wide counter, we relaxed into our first round of tall drinks and an otooshi of warm, homemade tofu & simmered watersheild seasoned with katsuobushi, while we perused the handwritten washi menu.

The dishes are mostly washoku classics; humble and simply prepared, but with a few flourishes of modern flavours. These contemporary interpretations of home-style cooking bring to mind the fare of a restaurant just a few blocks away. This is hardly surprising as Kondo-san, in his previous incarnation as the head chef, spent many years developing and perfecting his dishes in the kitchen at Kan.

As per usual, we began with the sashimi-moriawase of shime saba, meiji maguro and kochi, minus the basashi (horse meat) - that's way too surf & turf for my liking, thanks. All were excellent, though the fatty shime saba was the unanimous favourite.

Another favourite, Isojiman Junmaiginjou from Shizuoka, was ordered to wash it all down. Poured from an urushi bowl into chilled glass chokkos, the clean, fresh finish was a nice counterbalance to the richness of the fish.

A side dish of oshinko, which I generally order as a matter of course, was notable only for the inclusion of smoked daikon, which Kondo-san smokes himself using a mix of aromatic teas and cedar wood.

As it was now officially Autumn, though no one seems to have notified Mother Nature about that fact, we ordered sanma shioyaki. From our perch we watched as our dinner was skewered and slowly roasted over the charcoal fire, before arriving, perfectly grilled, on a rustic ceramic platter. The flesh was fatty and rich with a lovely smokiness from the from grill - nothing like the defrosted, tasteless varieties one encounters at less discerning establishments around town.

Potato salad is a dish my eyes immediately skip over when perusing a menu, but my companion insisted - so who am I to stand in the way of a man and his starch? While the inclusion of ham meant that I couldn't partake in its tasting - (Oh, dear. How sad. Nevermind), I did enjoy taking this pretty little dish's photo.

Crunching through it's crispy shell, the filling of the ebi puripuri (fresh & springy) harumaki, studded with sweet shimp & mentaiko (pollack roe), was as fresh and springy as the name would suggest.

From the drinks menu, which stocks a nice selection of shochu, wine and a dozen good quality sake, we ordered Dassai 39 Junmai daiginjou. Sake from this well regarded brewery are pretty prevalent on sake lists these days, thanks to an effective promotion & distribution strategy - but that doesn't discount the good quality of their brews, which are consistently good. The 39 was fresh and dry, with a nice fruity body and a polished finish - and by 'polished', I mean we polished it off fairly quickly and immediately ordered up another round.

Two of the house specialities are: black pork shumai; juicy and delicious, he tells me; and a yuzu infused uni & pumpkin dumpling in a light dashi broth - velvety smooth & delicious.

Kondo-san selected the Soukuu junmai ginjou, from Kyoto for our ultimate round. Light, refined and with the soft flavour profiles one comes to expect from a Kyoto sake.

I hardly need to identify the next dish. It was overindulgent to order it, as we were both fully sated, but I was keen to compare Kondo-san's karasumi daikon with the dish I had enjoyed previously at Kan. While the dish was indeed pretty and the daikon was cut into perfectly geometric rectangles, the karasumi itself was rather bland and dry. The only bum note of the night.

[I'm cheating here a bit, as this next dish was ordered on a subsequent visit a week later, but had we stayed - and not decamped to Julip for a couple of rounds of aged rum - then I'm sure we would have ordered this hearty meal of grilled sanma and new season matsutake takikomi gohan. It was moreish and perfectly cooked - but, be sure to order it at the start of the night as it takes a good 30 minutes to prepare.]

Overall, the good food, a gracious host and a pleasant ambience made for a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The service matcha and mizu-yokan were the perfect sweet note with which to finish on. Nicely played, Kondo-san.

Owan

03-5486-3844

Tokyo Izakaya: Kan, Ikejiri-Ohashi - KAN, 池尻大橋

Tokyo in summer is a challenge for even the most robust constitutions. Tokyo in a summer heatwave is down-right insufferable. The air is so thick with humidity that walking through the congested streets of Shibuya is akin to wadding through human soup. Thankfully, there is respite one stop away in the rarified streets that parallel the Meguro river, in Ikejiri-Ohashi. The balmy breeze and chi-chi environs are a welcome reprieve from the 'heat island' conditions of Center Gai, and our evening stroll along the river proved to be the perfect way to soothe the senses and restore lethargic appetites. 

There are many well-appointed eateries to indulge in within this leafy borough, but I had one destination clearly in my cross-hairs: KAN, a shop that has been at the top of my wish list since spying a favourable review in Kateigaho. It had continually been nixed due to latent concerns that it was too おしゃれ (stylish), which invariably means that the focus is on the surroundings and not on the plate. As tonight was a 久しぶり meal with the stylist, Big West, the question de jour was: Is it possible to have style and substance? Yes. Yes it is - on both counts. 

Like moths to the flame we were drawn to the light that glowed invitingly from KAN's striking glass frontage. Within the interior is a study in minimalist elegance; sparse stone and granite tiles juxtaposed with liner wooden accents. A long cedar counter, which seats 14, faces the kitchen and, in the rear, a U-shaped counter provides an adjacent dining area for a further 10. According to our host, the U-shaped counter was also the inspiration for the shop's name: 凵 - as it is written in kanji; an open box that encloses. While the interior is sparse, subtle lighting, comfortable seating and simple decorative displays of ceramics give the space a feeling of warmth rather than austerity. The ambience is cool and laid back, as are the diners; bright-young-creative-types, who call this neighbourhood home.  

Seated at the main counter, the kitchen was the focus of our attention, and what a sight it was to behold. The three chefs, who look as though they were selected from a music video casting call rather than culinary school, work their designated stations with focus and precision, producing traditional izakaya fare with a contemporary and creative riff - all without putting a hair of their slick quiffs out of place. Watching them turn out plate after plate of stunning dishes, there was little doubt we would be dining well tonight.

Time to re-hydrate. Saisho nama birus were quickly ordered from the comprehensive drinks menu, which offers a range of premium wines, shochu and nihonshu. The sake list is not the longest or the best value, but someone knows their stuff here and the dozen or so brands on offer are of good grade and providence. 

The menu, which comes in the form of a long washi scroll written in attractive cursive kanji text, is a thoughtful tribute to the seasons. Attention to seasonality is such that KAN changes the menu every 15 days to ensure that the quality of ingredients is at an optimum. As it was summer, organic vegetables and katsuo had starring roles on the evenings specials list, along with a tempting array of grilled fish, roasted meat, and aromatic simmered dishes.

First up, our otooshi; a warm broth of tai (snapper), bamboo shoots and new season enoki mushroom, accompanied with a small dish of its grilled skin dressed with a sweet miso dressing. A fine start to the proceedings.

Prepared before us with aplomb by the head chef, Tsuyoshi Yoshida, the sashimi moriawase arrived resplendent on elegant yakimono and featured early season sanma (Pacific saury), skin seared tai, mizu tako (fresh octopus), shime saba (cured mackerel), and katsuo (bonito). All excellent; a testament to the chef's fish selection and dexterity with a knife. 

The clean and lightly fragranced Hakurakusei (伯楽星) junmaiginjou, served in elegant pewter ware, proved to be the perfect accompaniment.

With the mercury in the high 30's inside and out, Big West seemed to be testing my internal thermal regulation with the next dish; a piping hot ceramic teapot of matsutake mushroom and hamo chabin soup. The rich and aromatic broth was poured into small chawan, to be supped as we picked the delicately simmered goodies from within the pot. While the flavours were sublime, the warmth of the soup pushed my body temperature to a level I haven't experienced since the jimjil bangs (sauna houses) of Seoul. 

In a misguided attempt to cool down I pretty much sculled the Hitakami tenjiku junmaiginjou aoyama(日高見天竺純米吟醸　愛山), also from Miyagi, which was served to us in super fine usuhari glassware. I dispatched it so quickly, in fact, that I have neither photos or tasting notes to refer to, but it can be safe to assume that it was, errr... easy to drink. Here's a photo and some notes pinched from the web.

I must admit I was very apprehensive about the next dish, roasted Kyoto vegetables with an uni bagna cauda sauce, for two reasons: uni; and bagna cauda. Uni and I don't have a fond relationship, and bagna cauda on menu's in Tokyo has become a something of a cliche; overworked, overrated and often bearing no relation to the Piedmont peasant dish that gave it its name. This dish, while not an authentic rendition, was, however, an inspired 和風 (Japanese style) interpretation. My hautey distain was shortlived, and I was soon scrapping out the last morsels of goodness from the shell. Yum!

The grilled Tairagai (Japanese razor clam, which is similar in taste and appearance to a scallop), scallions and wakame, garnished with soy butter, was ordered after seeing it presented to the couple to our left, and, in a domino effect, was immediately requested by the diners to our right. A crowd pleaser for good reason: it was a fresh, juicy and delicious. 

Seeing the chef cut perfect slivers of karasumi (salted, dried mullet roe) from across the counter, I decided to indulge my inner 親父 and ordered up a plate of Karasumi Daikon to enjoy with our Dassai 50 junmai ginjou (獺祭 純米大吟醸50). The golden disks of fishy goodness were lightly fried before serving. Umami heaven!

At around ¥7,000 per head, Kan is definitely in the mid-upper price range of izakayas, but given the superior quality of the food and service, it's well worth it.

With the conversation picking up and our glasses draining it was time for a change in venue. As we were warmly farewelled by the staff into the night, I caught a glimpse of the grill chef preparing taiyaki and matcha as the finale of the course menu: my favourite treat. That sealed it for me. Kan was back at the top of my list of 'places to go', and this time there would be no procrastinating. Highly recommended.

Kan

03-3792-5282