egg in Ikebukuro

We'd heard about this place "egg" from Brooklyn that had just opened in Ikebukuro. We looked over the website last night and it looked pretty good; southern cooking, specializing in breakfast (something sorely lacking in Tokyo's otherwise stunning array of menus). The prices looked pretty high, but if was anything like Sarabeth's or Hoshino Coffee it would be alright for the occasional splurge. So we went over for brunch today.
A good walk from the station, out of the way, they must be pretty good. Sunday noon and no waiting: were we lucky?
Minimalist decor and no photos on the menus: stylish?
The coffee: they had several varieties. I asked the waitress if any of them were dark or light--we really can't stand anything less than dark roast Italian or French. The waitress looked at me confused (my Japanese was fine--we suspected she might not be Japanese, though she was...just incompetent). She consulted with the other staff and came back to report that it was coffee--apparently unaware that there were different kinds. OK, that wasn't a good sign. I had a safe glass of ice tea while my wife suffered a weak, office break-room cup of coffee.
I ordered the signature Egg Rothko. We weren't clear what their Chicken Hash was and the staff wasn't able to elaborate over the vague menu description, and the manager couldn't find a single photo of it on his iPad. Not a good sign, either--shockingly incompetent for such a pricey place.
Lots of idle staff just standing around in the back, too.
When the food finally came, the portions were dishearteningly meager--about what you'd expect for a cheap, family restaurant.
Happily, the food itself was quite good. The sauteed kale was very tasty. The chicken hash was flavorful and well-seasoned.
Candied Bacon was good, too. I'll try making it sometime.
But the Egg Rothko was essentially an open-faced croque monsieur--cheese on egg on toast, and when I cut off a bite all the cheese ran together at the cut and congealed in a big blob on the plate.
But ironically the one thing that really impressed me was the grits. Best I'd ever tasted--I could really taste the hominy in them. They barely needed any seasoning at all. So on the way out I thought I'd talk a little with the manager about his grits. I wish I hadn't. He didn't even know what hominy was--it was all prepared and shipped from South Carolina. He knew it had something to do with corn but that was about it.

Incompetent, ignorant, ambivalent staff (though nice) and preposterous prices--we left feeling royally burned.

We're foodies, we take chances, we're always eager to try new places, so naturally we're going to get burned on occasion. We've been very lucky lately, so I guess it was just a build-up of avoided bombs multiplied by the false sense of security into which we'd allowed ourselves to get lulled from all the great restaurants we'd found recently, that would account for how badly we got burned on this joint. If money is no object, then I can recommend this place. We take the occasional burn so you won't have to -- you're welcome.

Star Wars VII: 4DX

We saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 4DX at the new Lalaporte Fujimi Toho theater. It was a trip, at least. This was our second time to see SW7 (first time 3D IMAX). I'm glad I'd already seen it once because as fun as all the "toys" were (moving seats, air jets, strobe lights, ticklers...), they ultimately kept yanking me out of the "moment," reminding me that I was in a movie theater. It made it impossible to get lost in the movie. The worst part were these kickers in the seats. These are bars that thump your back and butt whenever a character falls down or gets injured. Usually it's a light thump. But about three times one of them smacked me in the back so hard I cried out, and after the first one I couldn't quite relax, waiting for the next smack. Was was regretting checking my coat in a locker--I could have used it as protective padding. I'm thinking something was wrong with my seat because no one else seemed to be getting hurt by theirs. The strobe lights mostly illuminated the theater showing you that you're in a theater. Toward the end, our row malfunctioned and maintained a loud rumbling sound until the end (bad pump or something). They also periodically puffed out what was supposed to smell like smoke, but it wasn't quite smokey enough so it also made me aware of it. The leg ticklers were oddly one of the better gadgets. The temperature changing air was nice, too. The 3D wasn't too bad, though not nearly as good as IMAX. But in the end I'd have to say that while this sort of carnival attraction is effective with short movies made with it in mind like at Disneyland, it's tiresome in a two-and-a-half hour movie. And again, it's irritatingly distracting. My son liked it, though. He said it's the only reason he was able to enjoy SW7 a second time. But I'm glad I went. Like I said, it was a trip. I'd like to try it with Fury Road. But for the time being I'm going to stick with 3D IMAX for the vastly superior audio and visuals.

I'd trade all the gadgets in for a theater that could provide say, 20 or 30 accurate smells. That'd be great (something better than Smell-o-Vision).

No Pepsi. Coke!

One of strangest things about Japan was pointed out by my son Eiji Johnson: you can't buy Pepsi here. You can buy Pepsi Next, Special, Watermelon...PINK. But not regular. Not in the machines. Not in convenience stores. Not in restaurants or kiosks. The only place apart from well-stocked supermarkets is in cinemas for some reason. As you can see here, even Dr. Pepper maintains a presence. Hmm. 

JaPancakes

Went to Denny's for breakfast with my wife. This month they're having a pancake buffet: YEA!
But...

...as you can see, it's only in the afternoon. That's right, on Planet Japan, pancakes are a high-calorie afternoon comestible enjoyed primarily by prim, single young "office ladies" and idle students. 

Breakfast? How about some fish, rice, or if you're feeling modern, a sandwich?

Alright, Denny's is pretty international. 
You can get eggs and "bacon" in the morning. 
French toast.
Non-French toast.
You can even get pancakes...

think you can finish all that?

Not one, but two pancakes...almost as bit as my hand! And served with an extra-large thimble of syrup (practically half-full).

Now, they're featuring something called and Eggslut...they say it's all the rage in LA. Soft-boiled egg on mashed potatoes with toast. Actually pretty good. 

Secret Town Hidden in Tokyo Park

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum:
A Secret Town Hidden in a Tokyo Park

It's hard to believe something like this is as unknown as it is!

Somewhere in the heart of Koganei park is buried a 200 year old neighborhood. What's more, hardly anyone here seems to know about it.

The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural, or tatemonoen hereafter (the Japanese name), is a massive preservation model neighborhood surrounded by an even more massive recreational park in the western suburbs of Tokyo. It's further cleverly obscured by things like hedges and fields so effectively that among the numerous Tokyoites I know, barely a handful have ever even heard of it.

What is it?

In order to preserve Tokyo's cultural heritage, with particular awareness of the natural disasters that often threaten Japan's buildings, they have amassed a collection of historical homes, buildings, restorations and model structures dating all the way back to the Edo period.

One of the coolest things is that you can walk into and explore all these buildings.
The smells. The textures. The sound of old floorboards (and sod) under foot. It's a full-sensory trip back in time. We have one like this back in Dallas, but not this impressive. I first discovered it chaperoning my son's school field trip there years ago.

The buildings are exquisitely maintained and are also well furnished. Old dial phones, vintage furniture, working hand-pumps. For younger visitors it's like visiting another planet.

Old house with sod floor and working cooking pit

Seen here is an old thatched-roof house with a sod floor and a working cooking pit.
When my son's class visited, one of the volunteers, an elderly grandmother in period costume was tending the pit and telling stories to anyone who'd listen. The half of the class who understood Japanese were immediately gathered around the fire, mesmerized. But there are plenty of staff and volunteers who speak English, and other languages.

coffee house

For history buffs, every building is well-notated with bilingual plaques explaining whose home it was and why it's significant. Pictured above is one of the bigger homes with gorgeous interiors and a nice coffee shop with crepes and cakes.

Restored bathhouse

Go early and plan on making a day of it. Every time we go, we run out of time. In addition to the buildings, they have two museum halls where they hold periodic exhibitions like the current Ghibli exhibit that runs till the end of 2014. This alone is worth going for. For an additional fee you can see two sizable exhibits of Ghibli studio's architectural art and models. Ghibli, if the name doesn't ring a bell, is the studio that created Hayao Miyazaki's animated films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Google it. Thought the artwork, sketches, designs and animation cells are only notated in Japanese they're still stunning on their own. They show us just how much work went into these amazing films. And moreover, they have a number of large-scale models of some of the more popular Ghibli locations, like a 3 meter tall, highly detailed model of the Aburaya bathhouse from Spirited Away.

They also have late hours for one weekend in November where you can see the buildings lit up at night. We're planning on taking that in this year. 

town square

There's also a park (yes, a park in a park...in a park--Ooo, meta!) with stilts and old-time toys that most post-Nintendo kids have never seen before. Again, volunteers on hand to help.
"This is how your grandparents (or your mom and I...depending on when you were born)."
Just looking at these pictures, you can see why Hayao Miyazaki often visited here while he was working on Spirited Away.

My advice: bring a picnic/bento; walk around for a few hours (let the kids run wild), have lunch, then carry on. Running around someone else's house was as much a thrill for me as it is for my own son and his friends. 

Toddlers, teens, adults, seniors...this one's good for all ages. And it's reasonable; 400 yen for regular admission and all discounts for kids and seniors.

Warning: take public transportation if possible. While the tatemonoen itself is amazingly uncrowded, Koganei park where it resides is a very popular park and parking is very something you're not likely to find. There isn't much coin parking anywhere near, either. So bite the bullet and take the bus from either Musashi-Koganei station (chuo line) or Hana-Koganei station (Seibu Shinjuku line). 

The park is open from 9:30 to 4:30 (5:30 April to September), so get there as early as you can. Those seven hours will fly by. 

Their English site will tell you how to get there and anything else you might need to know.

They have special events listed here.

And this is a map of the park.

How something like this could be so unknown is just baffling.

English site

Calendar of Events

Map

Wikipedia notes

Japanese site

GothBurger

Black is back

It's the burger that goes with everything, and just in time for Halloween! Burger King in Japan brings back the KURO burgers: Diamond and Pearl. Burgers in a squid ink sauce between buns blackened with bamboo charcoal.

I'm hearing alot of negative comments about them, that they look gross. I think they look fun, and they taste quite good. They're as good as BK's regular burgers, but with the kind of charred taste as if they'd been cooked at a beach barbecue. And the ikasumi (squid ink) ads a nice little twist.

I've had it twice so far, and I'll probably have it a few more times before it disappears. But then again, I'm the same guy who just made an effort to eat fried bamboo worms in Takadanobaba. So maybe you shouldn't be too quick to follow my taste.

Adventurefood: What's the Buzz?

My family loves to try new and unusual foods. Our must recent challenge was presented to me by a student and fellow-foodie in Tokyo, and just in time for Halloween:

BUGS

I've been wanting to try some of these edible insects that I've been reading about for ages, but they weren't showing up prominently in Tokyo. But Nong Inlay, a Myanmar restaurant in Takadanobaba (between Ikebukuro & Shinjuku) has added a special addition to their regular menu featuring three bug-dishes a frog dish.

Clockwise from top left: kaiko (silkworm), kaeru (frog), takemushi (bamboo worm), kourogi (cricket).

The proprietors are earnest, and request that you eat what you order -- don't order it, take selfies, then throw it away -- don't waste the food, whether or not you consider it to be "food." I mean, if you really don't like it, they won't force-feed you. They just expect folks to take this seriously, and rightly so. Edible insects have the potential to solve a large chunk of world hunger problems.

The frog wasn't anything new to us, and crickets and beetles seemed a bit of a gamble for a first time. So we played it "safe" and ordered a plate of fried silkworms (we felt confident we'd be able to finish them). We ordered several other conventional dishes along with that including a delicious green tea salad, sauteed furikake, garbanzo bean tofu, an some noodles in a chicken broth. We weren't sure how our son would deal with Myanmar food, but anyone can eat chicken noodle soup.

C'mon! Just get over the stigma and give it an honest try. Land bugs aren't so different from sea critters like shrimp, crab, lobster and octopus. If you saw any of those creeping around the garden, they'd probably go on your squish-it list also.

first bite

second bite

tasty and approachable noodles

How many teenagers would actively petition to go eat something this weird? The trick to raising adventurous eaters is to be adventurous yourself. I know plenty of parents who try to force unfamiliar foods on their kids, chanting, "how do you know you don't like it if you don't try it" but would never venture anything like this. Constantly pursue new culinary challenges yourself with gusto and passion, and your kids are bound to follow suit.

My wife and I'd tried a Myanmar place in Tokyo years ago, and it was so awful that we crossed if off our list until now. But because of the food we had here, Myanmar food is back on our long-list of alternative foods.

Between the three of us we finished off the dishes, and begged for more furikake to take home (it was that good). We discussed the silkworms. My wife and son found them palatable, but bland and overpowered by the oil and spices. I thought they had a nice, starchy quality; somewhere between popcorn and potatoes. I thought they'd make a much better salad topping. Either way, not good enough to eat again, at least not at 900 yen a plate, but definitely a fun family food fling. The story and pictures were worth every yen of it, and like with any challenge it had a great bonding effect. It's another weird afternoon we'll never forget. 

Nong Inlay is in a old little cluster of restaurants and coffee shops across the street from Takadanobaba station. If you're driving, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding some coin parking around there. They're open for lunch and dinner and usually half-full of friendly Myanmarese families.

The staff don't speak much English that I could hear. The menus are in Japanese but well-illustrated with photographs so you can point and choose. If you're worried about spiciness, you can point and ask "karai?" meaning, "is this spicy?" Asking, "kodomo wa" means "what would you suggest for kids?" And after you're done, there are plenty of interesting shops nearby where you can walk-off those bug-calories.

Nong Inlay
03-5273-5774

Put that phone number into your GPS or Google map and you'll get good directions.