two. ate.

After Nebari-ya, we wandered through the Rokugo-dori. The neighbourhood is an older area with well established shops, most of them are restaurants. We stopped at a country French restaurant for some wine and a small plate of cheese. And after a while (and even though we just ate at Nebari-ya), we thought it would be a good idea to walk back and sample the neba-neba stylings of Hashiya.

Make no mistake, Hashiya serves spaghetti... (photo by wjc)

Hashiya is a spaghetti restaurant with a mind-boggling number of combinations. I lost count at 40 (well, our food arrived...). However, they do have some interesting dishes involving neba-neba...

...Soma-san told me about Hashiya last year and I was eagerly anticipating a trip the restaurant this year.

I had expected to just have natto spaghetti because that's what we had spoken about last time we taked about going to Hashiya. While we were drinking wine earlier, Soma told me about another dish he liked better than the natto spaghetti: tarako-uni-ika spaghetti. Yikes!

Hashiya is a small place with about 12 seats total. Even at 9:30 in the evening, there was a line. They take their last order at 10:30 so eating late is ok. We ordered natto spaghetti and the cod roe-sea urchin-squid spaghetti.

Bolognese and natto...the marriage of two worlds. (photo by wjc)

The natto spaghetti has a meat sauce (Bolognese style) as a base; the natto is put on top of that. A dash of cream finishes the dish. Once mixed it takes on a creamy, semi-chunky texture. The taste of a classic Italian sauce fused with the earthiness of the natto is supremely unique. The cream rounds it out making the simple ingredients into a rich masterpiece.

Heavenly tarako-uni-ika spaghetti... (photo by wjc)

Even though the natto spaghetti was outstanding, the tarako-uni-ika pasta was a treat like no other. Since both tarako and uni are somewhat paste-like, both are whipped together to make a base sauce. Small strips of squid are added to that just before tossing with hot pasta. Visually, it's a stunning dish (my picture doesn't do it justice)...but the taste? Oh...my...

The tarako and uni mixture coats the spaghetti in a way similar to a pasta carbonara. The squid just comes along for the ride, adding a slightly different texture to the al-dente pasta (by the way, Hashiya KNOWS al-dente!). The saltiness of the tarako and the sublime uni is superb with the pasta. At times, it seemed like a red-sauced seafood pasta...I almost kept looking for the mussels. It was by far the most delicious pasta dish I have had in many years.

Even if you don't want to take the step to go all out neba-neba, Hashiya has enough pasta choices to choose from. (Their regular carbonara looked real good....) However, if you want something profoundly satisfiying, order the tarako-uni-ika pasta. Either way, you can't go wrong.

Hashiya is just south of the Hatagaya Station on the Keio Train line. From the station, cross the street and look up for the Rokugo-Dori Shopping Area sign. Hashiya is almost at the end of Rokugo-dori on the right side across from Nebari-ya.

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If you do a search of Two. Ate. you can find a few postings about natto (納豆, fermented soy beans). Lots of people think natto is disgusting if only for the smell but actually, natto is very good for you. And depending on how you serve it, it's really delicious. BUT, there are a whole class of foods here in Japan classified as neba-neba (ねばねば) or sticky foods.

Sticky natto... (photo by wjc)

Natto, when mixed up, becomes very sticky and threads of protein resemble the gossamer threads of a spider web. Mountain potato (山芋, yama imo), taro (里芋, sato imo), okra and tororo imo (とろろ芋) are other examples of typical neba-neba foods.

Our friends Soma-san and Kazumi *love* neba-neba type foods. And so do I. So much so that we built ourselves a mini-festival (matsuri)...

...our adventure started near the Hatagaya Station, between Shibuya and Shinjuku, on Rokugo-Dori. The first restaurant called Nebari-ya (ねばり屋) specializes in rice dishes topped with natto or natto donburi. They have 10-12 types from simple (rice and natto), to traditional (rice, ground cooked fish or chicken with natto), to spicy (rice with kimchee and natto). This is simple, satisfying food. You season your natto then pile it on top of your rice then devour. The combination of the hot rice and fragrant natto with the other toppings make delicious combinations that are light but filling.

Ground chicken with mustard leaf natto donburi...the meat mixture is cooked with a bit of sesame oil which gives it a complex taste. (photo by wjc)

Simple ground chicken natto donburi...(photo by wjc)

Super neba-neba dinner...grated sato imo with maguro (tuna) and natto donburi. This combination has so many textures going on at once and the flavors are amazing. (photo by wjc)

Nebari-ya does an excellent job of presenting natto...so much so that even people who dislike (or claim to dislike) natto could easily be swayed. Another restaurant worth considering especially for those who are looking for something totally unique in Japanese cuisine.

A little natto, sir? (photo by wjc)

Nebari-ya is just south of the Hatagaya Station on the Keio Train line. From the station, cross the street and look up for the Rokugo-Dori Shopping Area sign. Nabari-ya is almost at the end of Rokugo-dori on the left side. It's a basement restaurant so you'll need to look for the sign in the picture above...it is also directly across the street from Hashiya.

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In the US, unagi (eel) is most often thought of as topping for a piece of sushi. The sweet/salty soy-mirin-sugar sauce basted over a strip of grilled eel has many fans in the US. However, there is so much more that unagi can offer.

Small, friendly, eel-ee... (photo by wjc)

As with most local food cultures, nearly all parts of an animal are used and Una Tetsu demonstrates that with unagi in interesting and delcious ways....

...Una Tetsu is a small (truly hole-in-the-wall in Tokyo is the norm), friendly restaurant serving all manner of unagi dishes. Oh sure, you can get the grilled unagi with the usual sauce but why limit yourself?

Una Tetsu has a "course" (コース) of grilled yakitori-like eel dishes that include eel head, eel esophagus, eel stomach and eel belly. Now before you get all squeamish on some of these, allow me to elaborate.

- Eel head is the meat from around the head (cheek meat, if you will) that is rolled and grilled with nothing more than a little salt. It's semi-crunchy (becuase of the eel skin not the eel skull) and like a snack to be greedily consumed with a mug of cold beer (which we did..).
- Eel esophagus (actually the meat around it) which is wound around a wooden skewer and served with a dab of wasabi. It is very lightly grilled because it's super soft and doesn't need much heat.
- Eel stomach, ok well, it is actually the whole digestive tract (cleaned of course) grilled as is. It doesn't need any seasoning and tastes like organ meat (liver and such...). It has a slightly bitter taste and the texture is like jellyfish. It reminded me of a true French andouille sausage with it's earthy taste.
- Eel belly is just the soft underside of the eel. This was the closest to the sushi-type eel. But when fresh off the fire, is amazingly juicy.

Shiro-yaki (white grilled) style unagi is a purist's dream. Thick sides of eel, grilled au nautrel with a smattering of salt arrive on a shiso leaf waiting for a dusting of "sansho", a pod-like herb with a semi-spicy, semi-flowery scent. The sansho is a traditional season for unagi - the flavor compliments the oily and rich texture of the eel.

A real treat is the una-chazuke which is a bowl of rice with pieces of eel and finely shredded nori on top. Green tea and seasonings are then poured over everything resulting in a fine dish from which to linger over. Wasabi and pickled vegetables accompany the dish.

The menu is SO packed with eel dishes - you will probably be overwhelmed. Not a lot of English is spoken here so you may have to point and gesture but do try and visit for a different take on your standard sushi unagi.

Una Tetsu (written in a traditional right-to-left style)... (photo by wjc)

Una Tetsu is located in Shibuya. Get to the Shibuya station and take the "Hachiko" exit. Follow the signs to the Inokashira train line (out the Hachiko exit, veering to the left and under the elevated building walkway to the left...). Cross the street walking under the building elevated walkway, and once you see the escalators, walk to the right of them. Una Tetsu is in the building straight ahead where the street ends in a "T". It's set back inside the open lobby of that building.

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It would be a gross understatement to say that there are lots of restaurants in Tokyo. Gigantic portions of the culture here are food-based and there really is no better place in this part of the world to eat such a wide variety of food.

Thinking about owning a food-based business where we live is (or appears to be) difficult. The distances between cities and even neighbourhoods is great compared to a densely packed city as Tokyo. Even San Francisco is spread out enough to make it a chore (albeit a happy one) to get to a restaurant...

...Tokyo succeeds because of it's sheer density. Buildings, people, neighbourhoods... I am positive that other cities are like this as well but since I spend 7-10 days a year here, I keenly notice food here.

As with housing, location is nearly everything. Foot traffic is probably best because there is the impulse factor of seeing food and wanting to taste it now. By foot, train or subway, nearly everywhere is a good location here. The restaurant density near train stations is astounding and often on a multi-story basis. A seven story building? It's not at all odd to have restaurants (or bars) on 5 out of the 7. Now take that to a BLOCK of tall buildings and you get the idea of just how many...

Even in the outlying neighbourhoods, the local restaurant is ever-present (along with the convenience store ("conbini"), the housing office and other necessities) offering traditional and modern food. Most of these places are small and inherently intimate. For example, a mere block away from my temporary apartment here is a yakitori place, an okonomiyaki shop, a small bar (specializing in wine) and a sushi shop. I literally walk 50 feet in two directions and have many nights of food chioces. And this is in a *residential* neighbourhood!

For anyone who really wants a unique food experience, Tokyo is your place. Your choices are limitless.

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Last year, my friend Les and I were in Japan and after a full morning of book shopping in Jimbouchou (THE book district in Tokyo), we were mighty hungry.

King katsu curry... (photo by wjc)

Wandering down the Suzuran Dori (a small, backstreet-like street, just off the main drag of Jimbouchou), we found (rather smelled) Kitchen Nankai. One look inside and we immediately queued up. The large plates of dark Japanese-style curry with tonkatsu beckoned...

...so today was no different....not a full morning of book shopping but just a hankering for lunch. Kitchen Nankai is definitely a lunch-time favorite as there seems to be an ever-present line. And because lunch-time tends to be a get-in-get-out thing, the line moves quickly.

I happened to not have to wait, being a party of one, and was seated immediately. Katsu-curry was the order amid the bustle and din of a staff that knows how to crank the food out.

My katsu-curry arrived blazingly hot: a pad of rice topped with a freshly panko'ed, fried and sliced pork cutlet with a dark curry moat surrounding it. Time to dig in.

Japanese style curry tends to be on the mild side. It's pretty delicious though and there are curry stands all over the city. Kitchen Nankai's curry pushes the envelope for Japanese-style curry. It's heavily spiced and has a texture that barely borders on paste-like. It's not "hot" per se - you won't get a red pepper burn - but it will make you sweat.

The mix of the meat and rice and curry is a satisfying one. You spoon/scoop the curry and rice together, capturing pieces of the pork along the way. Open up one of the community jars of pickles vegetables to plop on top of the food as well. Add mustard for the pork if you wish. Hell, anything on the counter is fair game! You will not walk out hungry (or poor for the matter, the katsu-curry is only ¥650 (about $6.20 at this writing)).

Kitchen Nankai is on Suzuran Dori (Suzuran Street) in Jimbouchou. Several subway lines serve Jimbouchou and all of them have exits on Jimbouchou's main street. The trick is to find the Sanseido Bookstore. The left side of the store faces Suzuran Dori. Kitchen Nankai is halfway down the street. Look for the display of curry plates and the wooden elephant with yellow writing on it saying "Kitchen Nankai". Ask for directions if you get lost....

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