Monthly Archives: January 2010

Beef and seafood are two I strongly associate with Japan. Both have a quality that is on another level compared with products from anywhere else that I have been. While there is seafood at can rival that found in Japan, no one has ever been able to match the beef. It has never been replicated.

When I had the opportunity to some surf and turf in Japan I jumped at the chance. The place I went to was located in Akihabara. This surprised me at first because I have never come to associate Akihabara with good food. However, I was assured that this the place we were going was famous for preparing beef in a western style so my fears were partially assuaged.

They had various steaks as well as beef qualities as options. All beef was Japanese with high prices for higher grades. My eyes glazed over the pages as I saw picture after delicious picture of steaks. I locked onto one page that contained a piece of beef loin and a giant shrimp. This is the one I wanted, price was ¥6300, no big deal it was beef and I had to have it.

When it came to our table the meat and shrimp were on a heavy cast iron hot plate, the fat still sizzling from the residual heat. The portion of beef was puny compared to the cut you get at an American steak house. However, what it lacked on size it made up for in flavor. There was a nice beef flavor and richness that is hard to match. The marbling of the beef made it melt in your mouth. This combination made every bite a bit of heaven in your mouth and I wish for a bigger piece so I could eat more and continue to savor it. The shrimp was comparable in size to a lobster. It seemed like it was twice cooked, lightly boiled sliced in half and mayonnaise placed on top then grilled. The mayo gave it a tangy taste and infused it with an additional fattiness that one would normally get with melted butter. There was a lot of mayo for one which over powered the shrimp. I wasn’t able to experience the sweetness of the seafood as much as I would have liked. However, the combination of the richness and tangyness of the mayo, with the sweetness of the shrimp went well together and it was a good combination. Overall the meal was fantastic and for the price I though was pretty reasonable. I would have liked a bigger piece of meat or even one from Matsuzaka, but that definitely would have made the cost of the meal exorbitantly high.

If your traveling through Japan as a tourist your more than likely going to going by train. Japan is a nation of trains. With over 27,000 kilometers of track there are few places in Japan you can’t get to by train. Japan’s train stations can be massive and dwarf anything you would see in the United States. They are massive complexes that included multistory malls, hotels, and various dining options. These are the centers of urban life in Japan.

Whether your in one of Japan’s massive train stations or a tiny outpost in a remote city there is one thing that will remain true. Someone will be selling bento boxes to weary travelers who need some food to eat. Although bento boxes are available everywhere in Japan, and they are also made at home for lunch time meals, some of the most extravagant ones are found at the many train stations that do the country. Some are even made with special foods from the city or region where they are from in order to differentiate them from the rest of the country. It almost becomes a tourist attraction of its own, traveling the country trying each stations unique bento.

Prices generally range from ¥800 to ¥3000 so there is a bento for any budget. The quality of the food is surprisingly good. The simplest bento is just rice, with something on top, its basically a donburi. Others are fairly extravagant with many items in their own little compartments. They are perfect on the train, eat them while enjoying the scenery on a slowly moving local train to the super fast shinkansen.

Train Stations can be massive, like the 15 story Kyoto station

A unagi bento from Tokyo Station

13 Item bento from Kyoto Station

Menchi Katsu sandwich box from Akihabara

For anyone that knows me, I’m not much of a beer person. If I had a choice I would rather be drinking a nice French Bordeaux. However, the Monk’s Kettle stands out as a primer location for beer in the city, and is one place I wouldn’t mind having a bottle of suds. Monk’s Kettle is one of a growing number of gastropubs in the city that combines quality food and good beer together to form what an ideal bar should be like, a place to enjoy to company of others while sharing a good meal and drink.

Although Monk’s offers a selection of wines, once you take a look at the dizzing 5 page beer list, you’ll know your in a beer lovers bar. They offer 24 draft beers and a staggering 150 specialty bottles running the gambit of styles from light golden lagers to deep dark stouts. These beers come from the four corners of the Earth, and while you’ll see beer mainly from Europe and America here there is a good selection of Asian beers all from craft breweries. People looking for a common beer need not apply. Also prices aren’t that cheap either, most bottled beer is over $10 per bottle, with some costing more than a bottle of wine in a nice restaurant.

The food here isn’t a slouch either. They offer a small selection of appetizers, burgers, entrees that will satisfy the hunger. The menu also suggests beer pairings that will go well with each dish. On one visit there my group sampled a couple of their appetizers. A charcuterie plate consisting of 4 different cured meats, a macaroni and cheese with lobster and bacon, and a bowl of fries with 3 different dipping sauces. All the dishes were satisfying and tasty. The standout of the evening for me was the special mac and cheese they offered. The combination of the lobster and bacon with the cheese sauce was good and surprised most of guest I was with.

Overall the Monk’s kettle is a great place to get a good glass of beer and some great food. Although this place hasn’t changed my love of wine, it has definitely improved my view of beer. It is has made a place of my list of great places to eat in the Mission.

Tasty fries. They came with a flavored ketchup, curry aoli, and mayo. Hits the spot when drinking.

The charcuterie plate consisted of duck prosciutto, regular prosciutto, salami, and sasuage.

The lobster-bacon mac and cheese with just great.