Chris becomes a Food Critic

Chris begins to appreciate good food 

 

I'm a pretty boring person when it comes to food. Give me a peanut butter sandwich and a chocolate chip cookie and I'm happy. It's not that I'm unadventurous, but I can usually take it or leave it. Plus, I usually think that very good food is overpriced. People said that Japan-and Tokyo in particular-has world-class food. Our guidebook describes ~20 different cuisines, not counting Chinese, Thai, Italian and whatever else they've imported. My response to all this? Okay. Whatever.

Well, I've changed my tune. The food in Tokyo has been the best food I've ever had. Period. I don't always know what I'm eating; because I can't read the menu I sometimes order purely on what looks good, not knowing, for example, what kind of meat is in it. And the wait staff often can't tell me.

On the flight to Tokyo, my seat mate, a Tokyo native, gave me advice on food. Not just, "try this kind of food" but "go to this restaurant and eat this kind of food." "Don't bother with this cuisine: you'll break the bank." And, "don't you dare leave Tokyo without eating here." Well, she was right. We have followed her advice, carefully written on a post-it note, to the letter. So, for the record here's the best of the best:

Okonomiyaki is a pancake-like dish with meat, cabbage and vegetables mixed in, covered in Worcestershire sauce. I ate at Botejyu in Shibuya.

Tonkatsu is deep-fat fried pork cutlet. I ate at Maisen in Harajuka.

Yakitori is chicken basted in a sweet soy sauce and grilled on skewers. I ate at a hole-in-the-wall in an alley of 20+ establishments that served Yakitori.

The above doesn't do justice to these foods. The first two were the best meals I've ever had. The pork cutlet was so tender it could be cut with chopsticks. In both cases I wanted to remember how each bite tasted, they were so good. I finished my rice before finishing the pork because I wanted to keep the taste of the pork in my mouth after the end of the meal. I'm a changed man.


Meanwhile, Ann has had meals with co-workers that have been out-of-this world. According to Ann and a co-worker who eats a lot of sushi, it was the best sushi they've ever had. The tuna melted in the mouth. It was so good that the next day they went there for lunch.
And Ann's final dinner was one of those top-of-the-list high-priced restaurants. The single most memorable dish (of seven courses) was peanut tofu. Instead of soy beans, they make it with peanuts. Ann says if you ever have the chance, you have to try peanut tofu.

Now I just have to find some peanut tofu...