E*A*T (03) 6459-2432

Fast food worth lingering over

The Japan TImes, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010

The bright yellow sign calls down over the busy, narrow sidewalk like a grandmama from the old country exhorting her brood to come to table. "EAT EAT," it shouts. Do as you're told: Go in and sit down. We did. And we ate. We ate very well indeed.

Apart from the neon up above, there's little to indicate this blink-and-you-miss -it hole-in-the-wall diner is anything special. But, as we've learned so many times in this city, you don't judge a restaurant by the width of its shop front or the length of its history.

Eat — for that is its punchy, no-nonsense name — only opened last summer, but it didn't take long for the word to reach the street: Tokyo's got a hot new "premium burger" joint. We found out it's got a lot more to offer besides.

There are three tiny wooden tables where you can perch by the window, but the seven leopard-skin-print bar stools at the counter are cozier and more comfortable. We shoehorned ourselves in by the narrow open kitchen and settled back. Certainly we were there for the burgers. But what was the hurry? Why not start with a couple of snacks?

First up, a plate of chips and dips to go with that initial bottle of Lowenbrau (there's also Yebisu on draft, or Corona for the truly homesick). Instead of standard-issue corn chips out of the package, we were given a plate of crisp tortilla chips cooked in-house with a couple of tasty dips — a piquant homemade salsa with fine-diced tomato, pimento and onion; and a smooth, creamy guacamole. We were impressed from the get-go.

We were also intrigued to find a menu of weekly specials that was far from the norm for a fast-food restaurant. It wasn't the weather for chilled carrot and ginger soup, but we certainly felt like trying the seafood gumbo. It didn't disappoint. Dark, rich and nicely spiced with both chili and black pepper, it includes clams, fine-cut squid, carrot, mushrooms, and even the crumbs of broken-up chips for extra texture.

We weren't going to risk spoiling our appetite for burgers by ordering the sirloin steak (from wagyu — Japanese black Angus cattle) or the beef stew. But we just had to try the confit of duck; first because it seems so unlikely to find this standard of French cuisine in a fast-food joint, and second because it's one of our all-time favorite dishes.

The flavorful leg meat was neither too dry nor too salty (two common faults), and had plenty of good crisp skin. It looked appetizing too, served with a tart cassis jam that was drizzled artistically in concentric circles over the plate. Clearly, this had to be the work not of some hired grill-hand but a proper trained cook.

And so it turned out: Eat's cheerful chef, Michi Takahashi, ran a highly regarded restaurant in Los Angeles until 2008. Now back in Tokyo, he may have started up in modest premises, but he's not scaling back on quality.

Read more here...

E*A*T
2-12-27 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-kutel: (03) 6459-24324
Open: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5:30-10:30 p.m. (Sunday 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.).
Nearest station: Gaienmae (Ginza Line)

Map here...

Best burgers in the borough

Tokyo's burger joints have never been better

The Japan TImes, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010

It looks as though Tokyo has finally woken up to the idea that there's much more to a burger than the cheap, bland offerings of the fast-food chains. Premium burgers, made by hand with quality ingredients and cooked with care, are all over town these days and the best of the recent bunch is the strangely named Blacows in Ebisu.

All the patties are prepared in-house from 100 percent wagyu(Japanese black Angus cows — hence the name, an abbreviation of "black cow"). The buns are from the celebrated Maison Keyser bakery. And there's a tasty range of fillings, from spicy jalapeno to Italian-style mozzarella and prosciutto.

Servings aren't huge (you only get a smattering of fries with them) and you also have to order your salad separately, so the final bill can start to add up. But the restaurant is spacious and bright; the staff and customers are young and well dressed; and there's a fair selection of wine and beer (including Hoegaarden White in bottles). Best of all, sheets of brown paper are provided so you don't get your hands too messy as you eat.

For location, though, few burger joints in the city can beat the parkside setting of Arms, right across from the Sangubashi gate of Yoyogi Park. The furnishings are recycled and the dress code is casual. You can even bring your dog in (though you have to follow the rules).

Better yet, the burgers are superior. Our top pick here is the Popeye Burger, served with delectable fresh-cooked spinach greens. We are not the only ones to rate Arms, it seems. Recently it launched a separate take-out/delivery counter in the nearby Yoyogi-Hachiman shopping street.

Arms is just one of a number of good burger joints set up by alumni of the excellent Fire House in Bunkyo Ward. If you find yourself in the Korakuen neighborhood, it is certainly worth making the detour to find this diner, with its classic American-style ambience and roadhouse fare. The massive Mad Burger is only for the certifiably greedy.

Another of Tokyo's "classic" burger joints is funky Goro's Diner in Gaienmae. It's just around the corner from Eat, but the extra competition doesn't seem to be hurting business.

One more favorite: tucked away in a narrow alley off Cat Street in Harajuku, The Great Burger lives up to its name in terms of flavor if not floor area. Top pick: the oozy Gorgonzola Burger, along with a bottle of their own Amber Ale.

Blacows, 2-11-9 Ebisu-Nishi, Shibuya-ku; nearest station: Ebisu (JR and Hibiya lines); (03) 3477-2914; open daily 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; burgers from ¥1,300; lunch from ¥1,000 www.kuroge-wagyu.com/bc/ map

Arms, 5-64-7 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku; nearest stations: Yoyogi-Koen (Chiyoda Line), Yoyogi-Hachiman (Odakyu Line); (03) 3466-5970; take-out/delivery counter (03) 3466-5974; open 11 a.m.-11 p.m., closed Monday; burgers from ¥900 bit.ly/3cAxNH map

Fire House, 4-5-10 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku; nearest station: Hongo-Sanchome (Marunouchi and Oedo lines); (03) 3815-6044; open daily 11 a.m.-1 a.m. (Sat., Sun. and holidays 11 a.m.-11 p.m.); burgers from ¥950 www.firehouse.co.jp/ map

Goro's Diner, 3-41-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku; nearest station: Gaienmae (Ginza Line); (03) 3403-9033; open 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. (Sun. and holidays 12-6 p.m.); burgers from ¥650 www.gorosdiner.com map

The Great Burger , 6-12-7 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku; nearest station: Meiji-Jingumae (Chiyoda and Fukutoshin Lines); (03) 3406-1215; open daily 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; burgers from ¥950 www.the-great-burger.com map