High Noon Cafe

Right next to the Shinkansen tracks that run through Ontakesan, you'll find the High Noon Cafe. The High Noon Cafe is a nice place that has a bit of a unique character, at least for around here. The restaurant mostly housed in an atrium that is set up in the front yard of a house. It actually has pretty cool atmosphere, and is entirely enclosed by glass. Although the view isn't so pretty, the restaurant has put up a bunch of faux historical looking signs around the glass enclosure to give it a bit of a T.G.I.Friday's/Chili's/Applebee's look to it. Inside there are 6 tables (5 of them are 4 seaters, 1 is a 2 seater) and it's for sure a nice place to hang out on a hot summer evening. They have a pretty decent TV that pretty much shows only sports programs. This weekend was the 2nd time that mornin and I showed up there, the first time being back in June ('08) for dinner (a surprisingly cold evening).
The food is awesome. Very high quality ingredients, prepared with what seems to be a high degree of skill, we've tried a few different things on our two trips there, a hot sandwich, pizza, something else (can't remember, and no pic), and some dessert. The only thing to say negative is that the place is a little expensive. Compared to the price, it's reasonable enough. And the service is pretty quiet. There is one waitress who doesn't say much and is rarely around. Oh well, at least she's not all up in my biznazz!
T:8
P:4
F$:5
B$:6
V:4
A:8
S:4
X:9

Total score: 48/70
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mornin's view!
雪谷近辺ではあまり見かけない、イイ感じの雰囲気のカフェです。閑静な住宅街の中に唐突に現れる・・・てゆうかこのお店もフツウの家の庭にあるんだけど。庭にガラスのプレハブみたいな小屋が作ってあって、そこに客席があるんです。キッチンは家の中にあって、料理はそこで作っているみたい。トイレも家の中にあるので、フツウに家の玄関から入って行くのが面白い(^^; 土地があったらこんな感じでお店やってみるのも楽しいかも！でも、それにしてはアットホームじゃない所が気になるんだけど。ウェイトレスさんがゼンゼン愛想ないし、キッチンが見えないから誰が作ってるのかわかんない。こうゆうお店だったら、フレンドリーなマスターが居て、また来たね！！みたいな感じがいいんだけどなぁ。。
でもお店のコンセプトもいいし、食べ物は本当にオイシイ！デザートの種類も◎◎^^　　

韓楽？チヂミ家？ドッチ？

Time to step away from the Japanese food thing, and what better way to do that than to review some... Korean food. I know, it's like pajamas and sweats.
韓楽　(kanraku) is a confused place. It also thinks it's name is チヂミ家 (chijimi-ya). Weird. It's a 2 story place that features a somewhat fast-food looking place on the first floor, this is チヂミ家, and a more typical Korean dining place on the 2nd floor, this is 韓楽. We went to the 2nd floor. It's owned/run by the same people, so what's it matter? To the review!
It was awesome! I'm pretty sure that I've never actually gone out to eat Korean food specifically but I will again now. The inside of the restaurant was adorned with posters of Korean heart-throbs, especially Yon-sama. Especially because this is the only Korean heart-throb I know. Atmosphere takes a pretty big hit here, but it'll come back a bit later, stay tuned! We chose the place because mornin was wanting to eat some stuff called トッポキ (Toppoki (no translation because I don't know what korean foods' names are in english)). Here's Toppoki!It's actually Toppoki and some other stuff: onions, porkish like substance, kimchi, something green and carrots. It was decently spicy enough. The Toppoki itself is kind of chewy and soft and made from rice I believe. The stuff was da bomb! it came to us for the down-low price of... actually I don't remember, but pretty much everything on the menu was reasonable. We also went with a tomato salad that had a super tasty sesame dressing (トマトサラダ) and some cheese chijimi (チーズチヂミ). Also got some egg soup (エッグスープ) which was just ok. The Salad was really goodoops, started eating it!

And the Chijimi was really, really good! All-in-all things weren't as spicy as I was expecting (hoping for), but it was really good. There was one thing that was really spicy, check out those little peppers in the dipping sauce.Yeah, those were spicy!

Oh, beer, I almost forgot! Well, when we went there I was still recovering a bit from being sick so I actually didn't have beer! The only place I've reviewed that had beer but I didn't drink it, sorry. But the prices were decent enough: draft (生ビール) 500円, bottle (瓶ビール) 550円, and some Korean beer called 'Hite' was going for 400円, but I think that was a small size　(小), maybe glass?

Oh! Atmosphere! When we were leaving, the restaurant's "Mama" was just coming on shift and she chatted us up a bit. She's very friendly and sweet, but I felt rude because we were actually leaving... trying to leave at least. But she's a talker, she really liked me! Next time we'll have to go a little later to give her a better chance to compliment me some more :) They did get some points back for that, but Yon-sama... that's rough.

T:9
P:2
F$:7
B$:7
V:8
A:4
S:7
X:6

Total score: 50/70
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mornin's view!
韓国料理って，必ずといっていいほど肉や魚が入ってるのと，辛いのが苦手な私にはちょっと難しいんだけど，「トッポキ」が食べてみたかったのでトライ．トッポキって，円筒形のモチみたいなモノで，前からおいしそうだなーと思ってたのです．こういう「炭水化物のカタマリ」は結構どれも好き．おでんの「ちくわぶ」，すいとん，ほうとう，とか．
で，トッポキですが，すごく美味しかったです．でもやっぱり辛～い(>_<); ただ，同時に甘みがあって，その「甘辛さ」がすごくイイ．きっと，辛いものが苦手じゃなかったらもっともっと美味しいんだろうな～と思いつつ，辛さに耐えながら食べました．
ちょっとレビューとは関係ないけど，私はベジタリアンと言っても「えせベジタリアン」で，ダシとか味付けとかに入ってる肉・魚は気にしないことにしています．そうじゃないと，日本じゃ外食できない(^^;　もともと，動物蛋白にちょっとアレルギーがあって肉・魚をやめただけなので，体調に影響ない範囲ならイイのです．でも，肉・魚を食べるのやめてから体調とか肌の調子とかすごくよくなったから，やっぱり私には動物蛋白は合わないんだと思う．

mornin's view!

I had the idea to include another point of view in the reviews that I do, and so I invited none other than Ms. Mornin to contribute to the blog! Welcome mornin! There will be a new section, most likely at the end of each review called "mornin's view" where she will give her opinion on what she ate, drank, or just thought of the place as well. I thought this might give more balance to the reviews as well. She doesn't eat meat, she's a chick, and she's Japanese. All three things, I'm not. Oh, and she likes dessert. So, welcome mornin!

丸金そば屋

Marukin Soba is another Japanese restaurant that exists here in Yukigaya, and serves many of the same kinds of food as Hyoroku (ひょうろく) but exists on the other end of the spectrum in that it is not pretty. It's damn tasty though!






Since mustering up the courage to set foot inside this dark, tiny mom and pop joint smack dab in front of Yukigaya-Otsuka station on Miyuki Street (ミユキ通り), I've been back not once, not twice, but thrice! The first time I was there, I tried out the sesame sauce cold soba (ゴマだれざるそば). Soba is something fiercely scrumptious, however it is almost always something that doesn't fill me up completely. It's not its fault. But the next time I went in, I wanted to try something else, and something else I did try! It's a little something I like to call heaven-like:Marukin likes to call it the "Sukiyaki-don (すきやき丼)." Did I just do that right? Oh well... It's a bowl of rice topped with half boiled egg, cognac noodles, onions, beef, and a little tofu. Of course, I don't eat onions (allergy), but I don't mind the taste at all. Aside from that it's all gravy baby! The prices are pretty comparable to other restaurant of the ilk, most things range between 650-1100円 and beer is available for 580円. My Sukiyaki-don ran me 850円 and so did the ゴマだれざるそば(too long to write out in English).
If you're looking for a happening place on a Saturday night, look somewhere else. If you want to chow down on some real, delicious Japanese food for decent prices, and hang out with some old dudes dining alone (there are 4x4seat tables by the way (cramped)) you've come to the right place!

T:9
P:8
F$:6
B$:7
V:7.5
A:6
S:9
X:6

Total score: 58.5/70

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mornin's view!
こんにちは(^^)/ はじめましてmorninデス．
とりあえず丸金そば（丸金ラーメンじゃないよ）から．
このおそば屋さんがあるのはずっと前から知ってたんだけど，なんか入りづらい感じで，行ってなかったんです．立ち食いそば屋さんに女の子１人で入っていくような感じ？？でも，雪谷大塚で行ったことないお店が少なくなってきたので，勇気を出して行ってみることにしました．中に入ると，私たち以外のお客さんはおじさんばかり，それも１人で来てて，新聞読みながらぼそぼそ食べてる・・・って感じで，・・・やっぱりちょっと引いた(^^;
１回目は「きしめん」を食べたんだけど，昆布だしの上品な味で，すごくおいしいーぃ(*^-^*) とにかく，お店の見た目とのギャップが大きかった．あと，ベジタリアンでも食べられるメニューが多くていいです．美味しかったので，その後２回行って，２回目はわかめソバ，３回目は月見うどん（私はベジタリアンですが卵・ミルクOK）を食べましたがどれもおいしかったです．
でも，やっぱり何度いっても居心地はちょっと・・・です(^^;

ひょうろく

ひょうろく
hey! i'm back with a review! it's been since August 19th for one of these, sorry for the delays... So hyoroku is a sweet little place right across Nakahara-kaido (中原街道) from Yukigaya-Otsuka station (雪が谷大塚駅) that serves an array of Japanese food. You can get all the traditional favorites, rice bowls (どんぶり), soba (そば), udon (うどん), tempura (天ぷら) along with many others. I recommend getting a set (定食) wich comes with miso soup (みそ汁) and maybe a salad to round out the meal. The prices at hyoroku are reasonable, most things hover around the 800-1200円 range for sets and the like, and beer prices are average as well. Hyoroku also has a variety of sake (日本酒) and some other beverages as well. The atmosphere of the restaurant is top notch. It has a very clean, very new feel, with nice decor, some cool lighting fixtures and an unbelievably nice old lady waitress that wears a kimono but takes your order on an electronic pad (that seems she will never quite figure out). The place has a slight 'chain' feel to it, but it seems to be the only one of it's kind. The service is always fast and very friendly. The food is filling, but not overly voluminous. It's the best and most varied Japanese restaurant place around by far, please check this one out!
T:8
P:8
F$:6
B$:6
V:6
A:8
S:9
X:7

Total score: 58/70

Kua` aina coming...

Pizzeria Clara coming...

猫のまほう

Ahhhh, the cat cafe(ネコカフェ)! The place we went is called 猫のまほう (cat's magic) and it sits next door to Osaki-hirokoji station (大崎広小路駅) on the Ikegami line (池上線) 1 stop from Gotanda (五反田駅). The first thing that you'll notice about the place is that there are no cats to welcome you. All the cats are chilling up on the next floor. First thing to do is wash your hands! The restaurant floor is nice and airy with floor seats that are a little tough to get in and out of but nice enough. The food is pretty good but on the puny end of the spectrum for sure. While you wait for food don't waste a min of your 300円 per 15min fee and head upstairs to play with the magic cats! There were about 10 cats or so of all kinds of breeds and colors. Most of the cats that were there were plum tuckered out from their lunchtime performance but they were pretty cute. The few cats weren't sleeping it off were happy to indulge us in our less than cool fantasies of being a pet owner in Tokyo.I recommend hitting up the place for the lunch set or the middle of the night. If you go in before 3pm you get some treats to give to the cats. Be warned! Some cats love treats and could take your head off for them! Maybe not, but close. In the back of the menu there are profiles of all the cats with age, sex, and location... and sometimes with warnings that the cat is very genki (元気) and might jump at you for treats, so watch out!Beer was good, food was good, and cats were cool, check it out!

T: 7
P: 4
F$: 4
B$: 6
V: 3
A: 7
S: 8
X: 10

Total score: 49/70

Tearoom More Than Organic

Just so I don't have to write that again lets just call it TMTO from here on out. TMTO is a little cafe just down the street from my place that I only noticed recently. Can't say how long it's been there, but my guess is that it's pretty new. TMTO is a one woman operation and the proprietor is a very nice, if not at times befuddled, older lady who serves up coffee and tea and a few food items. By "a few food items" I mean 3. You can select toast, honey toast, and a cheese sandwich. I went with the cheese sandwich and it was tasty, but far from filling. Not much else to say about the place except that it's only open about 4 days a week. Don't know what she's up to the rest of the time, but it's not coming up with new menu items! TMTO serves its purpose if its purpose is to serve tea and coffee only. Worth a Sunday afternoon drop by to take advantage of the table outside under the sun, too bad it's closed on Sunday too...

T: 3
P: 8
F$: 4
B$: 0
V: 3
A: 4
S: 8
X: 6

Total score: 36/70

El Amigo

El Amigo is a little Tex-Mex place along Nakahara-kaido (中原街道) near Nagahara station (長原駅), 3 stops from Yukigaya-Otsuka on the Tokyu Ikegami line (東急池上線). The interior of the place is lifted straight from a Mexican place in America, just with less stuff on the walls. The house speciality is steak, and although it looked really good, I went with some tacos (タコース) and enchiladas (エンチラ). The homemade corn tortillas are the real-deal, but the seasoning of the (under-volumed) meat left something to be desired but satisfying enough when you put on the delicious taco sauce. Too bad the selection of Mexican favorites is on the few side, but the overall flavor was good for a country where I can count the number of Mexican restaurants I've seen on one hand.
The taco toppings are pretty underwhelming, but you can circumvent the problem by ordering a salad (I recommend the avocado salad (アボカドサラダ)) and tortillas (トルティアズ) separately. The prices are a touch expensive, expect 4-5000円 for 2 people, except when it comes to beer. There is a great (again, for Japan) selection of Mexican beer all for 550円, about 150円 cheaper than anywhere else. El Amigo isn't the best Mexican food in the world, but it's the best and closest around here, maybe the only as well.

T: 6
P: 4
F$: 6
B$: 9
V: 5
A: 8
S: 7
X: 9

Total score: 54/70