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

安安

editor's note: The mountain of cabbage (山盛りスライスキャッベツ) has been removed from the menu! I went tonight, and was very disappointed... take away 3 points from the total.

I have been singing the praises of An An (安安) since before the early days of no airplay (link) when I had 2 of them in my old stompin grounds of Omori (大森) and I would stop by after work before my weekend to reward myself for a hard-fought week of work with cheap yakiniku (焼き肉) and cheap beer. I was super happy when I found out the former yakiniku hot-spot in Yukigaya (牛角) was being replaced by an An An. An An is not necessarily for the refined carnivore, but for the carnivore with a little wallet. Most things on the menu can be had for 290円. For starters, i recommend the mountain of sliced cabbage with Cesar dressing (山盛りスライスキャベツ/シーザードレッシング), some roast cuts of beef (ロース), a big bowl of white rice (ライス大盛り), and a beer (ビール), which, all together will cost u about 1000円.




The interior of An An in Yukigaya feels rushed and unfinished, but you don't go there for pretty pictures on the walls, you go there to get drunk and full for cheap!








"安心, 安全, 安いだから安安" (peace of mind, safety, cheap, that's why it's An An!)
T: 8
P: 7
F$: 10
B$: 10
V: 6
A: 4
S: 5
X: 5

Total score: 55/70

Soul Food

So soul food is the most original restaurant in the greater Yukigaya area. It is a curry restaurant that feels like it was transported from the Alabama backwoods. The interior is adorned with R&B and soul records from greats such as Sly & the Family Stone, and Aretha Franklin. The first time I visited Soul Food I was somewhat disappointed because my expectations were for a more CoCo Ichi (CoCo壱番屋) style of curry which I love, but it wasn't that at all. In fact it's very different than any curry I've had anywhere else, and it's really, really good! Suspend all expectations and you won't be let down (Wow, that's deep) and order the steak curry rice (ステキカレーライス) for 1200円 or one of the many other curries available. I recommend the eggplant and pepper curry (ナスとピーマンカレー) or the standard pork curry (ポークカレー). Sides are small and few, but tasty! The asparagus butter is a winner, the cold tomato has an awesome dressing. Soul Food is not only a curry provider, but a burbon provider as well. I'm more of a tequilla conosuer myself, but when it comes to beer Soul Food has gone with a good choice in Ebisu (ヱビス). Ebisu is expensive everywhere, but it's a good match to the curry, and no more expensive than anywhere else.
The only possible negative is that the interior is as spacious as a baby shoe (don't know where i got that one...) so you are gonna max out with a group 4 people, and only if the big table is open. The owner is a bit gruff, but a pleasant enough fellow.GO TO SOUL FOOD!

T: 10
P: 10
F$: 7
B$: 7
V: 7
A: 9
S: 8
X: 8

Total score: 66/70

らーめん 526

So here it is! What we`ve all been waiting for, drum roll please... Ramen 526 (Ramen Kojiro (ラーメンコジロウ))! Went by this evening early enough to get my hands on the shop`s "self-titled" Ramen, and it was really good, as per usual! More on that later...




OK, so Ramen 526 is a little hole in the wall Ramen shop just a short walk from the station, and just a short walk from my place. They (like the original, and legendary Ramen Jiro (ラーメン次郎)) have few choices (Jiro has 1 choice from what I hear), but just serve up baddass Ramen. The #1 recommendation is simply called "Ramen 526" and is served up for 800円. Ramen 526 is a soup-less ramen and it rocks! Comes with some cabbage, and some bean sprouts and a couple of pieces of meat. I usually add some dried chili pepper and some other spicy stuff as well as some curry powder, but it`s not necesary, but be sure to mix well as the oil is on the bottom and it`s difficult to eat without lubricating your noodle properly. Here she is!Next on the list is the standard, familiar soup-full ramen. As always I will talk about the Shoyu/Chasyu men (しょう油チャーシュー麺) that I always get at any standard ramen shop. Here it runs the same price as the TM ramen, 800円 but you can make it an large (大盛り) for only 200円 more... don`t do it unless you can pack away a lot! The big size is easily 3 time a normal serving anywhere else. (pictured is the regular size (並盛)) The big size is easily 3 times a normal serving anywhere else. Crammed into a big bowl is about 600g of noodles plus a ton of cabbage (キャベツ) and bean sprouts (もやし). It's a gut-busting challenge (and mistake) that i will most likely take on once. The 1st time I went I ordered 大盛り thinking it would be like a normal 大盛り anywhere. I was warned by the staff a couple of times, but I figured they just doubted my eating prowess... my bad. About 1/3 of the way through i was done. I managed to struggle to about the half way point, but that was it. The next several times I went in I was teased about not getting 大盛り... it was all in good fun. The shop master and his assistant are always really nice, not always chatty, but cool none the less. 1 mistake I repeatedly make is ordering beer. A bottle of beer (瓶ビール) is 550, comparable to anywhere around, but it`s just too much to take along with the ramen, so I recommend giving yourself a good hour or so after (and a visit to the bathroom) to clear some space to drink beer. A good nap will do you good too!

Finished! (完食！)
T: 9
P: 8
F$: 7
B$: 7
V: 10
A: 7
S: 8
X: 7

Total score: 63/70

浜しん

Back in yukigaya for the 3rd review on here, and boy-o-boy does it feel... right!Hamashin (浜しん) is a place I`ve seen many (many) a time while tromping through the neighborhood but hadn`t visited until faced with the choice of visiting the "blue" izakaya (居酒屋) again... Hamashin is a Okonomiyaki/Monjyayaki/Teppanyaki place just across the tracks from the pad and it was pretty good. The food price was excellent, the taste was pretty good, the volume of the food was so-so (as we went through Monjyayaki (もんじゃ焼), Yakisoba (焼きそば), and Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) in one sitting) and the beer price was a bit high (580円 for a mug of Maltz), but with 4 beers or so and all the food I just (mentioned) the price was still under 5000円. Pretty decent I`d say. The overall atmosphere of the place was pretty good, reminding me more of a place outside the city that one here in Tokyo, very family run (って感じ). Unfortunately a group of noisy college students wanted to make the place their own this night... they were promptly sent down to the 1st floor Izakaya, yay! Man, college students were so much cooler when I was in college... but I digress...The staff was not the friendliest at first, but they warmed up fairly quickly (with a compliment or 2) and the feeling was pretty good at the little shop by the tracks.
It`s for sure a place I`d take anyone form out of town that wanted to experience "Tokyo Food" (monjyayaki) and a place that I`d be sure to visit again, and again because of the variety available on the menu... just would probably get drunk before I go... T: 7
P: 7
F$: 8
B$: 5
V: 6
A: 7
S: 6.5
X: 6

Total score: 52.5/70

Our Gang!

For the 2nd entry in Scrumped! We went outside the Yukigaya-Otsuka area to Kamata (蒲田), a short trip on the Tokyu Ikegami Line (東急池上線) from here to a Bar/Restaurant called "Our Gang". I know, I know, this is supposed to be about eating out in Yukigaya, and this is only the sencond review, but I had been all psyched up to review the Italian place down the road in Ontakesan tonight, but it was closed...

The place was pretty cool, and based on the old American TV show, "The Little Rascals". By "based on" I mean that the name of the bar is Our Gang, and there are pictures of the characters from the show on the menu, aside from that it`s your typical "Japanese trying to be very American" bar. But, they do a pretty decent job of it. The place is packed with "Americana" and all kinds of other stuff (like a fencing foil, a Daruma Mickey, and a giant sensu (folding fan)) and sometimes it comes off as cheesy, such as the "vintage" license plates on the wall that are often repeated.
The menu was expansive! Tons of food choices, and tons and tons of drink choices! I`ve never seen a bigger cocktail selection anywhere, and it also had probably the biggest beer selection I`ve seen in Japan, the one unfortunate thing was that there is only a single selection (Lowenbrau) on tap. The draft beer (生ビール) is a hefty 700円 but pretty average for the size around here.
The food was really good, and pretty good size for the price. It`s a bit on the $$ side, but not too bad at all, a 880円 spinach salad is packed with girth and the pasta is also volumeable, but can`t remember the price of that. Be prepared to spend about 700円 for most menu items, but it`s filling. All-n-all, Our Gang is a pretty cool place that I`ll definately be back at some time soon. Might try one of the hundreds of cocktails even! Maybe not, but I might try a different beer next time. T: 8
P: 2
F$: 6
B$: 6
V: 8
A: 7
S: 4
X: 6
Total score: 47/70
*editor`s note* Our gang lost a few points for playing crappy concert videos while I was there.

らーめん一丁

The first restaurant I wanted to talk about on here is a place just down the way called "Ramen Itcho". It`s obviously a ramen shop, and it`s one of the places that made me fall in love with this place.








The 1st thing you notice about Ramen Itcho is that it is one of the only places in Yukigaya that you can eat outside, this is a big bonus! The 2nd thing that you`ll notice is that the couple who runs the place are rad! The "master", the husband is fairly quiet, but seems very nice, and the wife is just a bundle of super-charged energy that always smiles, and always remembers my order. The prices at the place are a little on the expensive side, but reasonable none the less. A bowl of Chashu-men (チャーシュー麺), which is what I measure any ramen shop with, will run you 800円 whereas a bowl of standard soy sauce ramen (しょう油ラーメン)will cost you 550円, Up-size (大盛り) is a very reasonable 100円. A big bottle of beer (瓶ビール) will run you 500 which is very reasonable in Tokyo. One of the sets available is to add a small rice and 3 gyoza (小ライス+餃子) to your order for only 200円. Several toppings are available, ranging from 100-300円.
As for the flavor of the ramen, in general it is very serviceable. It`s not the best ramen in Yukigaya, but the biggest reason to visit is the chance to sit out on the street on a sunny day (or a cold winter night, as I have done) with a big ol` beer and a calm breeze.T: 5
P: 6
F$: 7
B$: 7
V: 6
A: 8
S: 9
X: 9
Total score: 57/80

ground rules!

I guess I gotta think about some rating system huh? Well, let`s see...
I think the categories will be:
Tastyness
Proximity to the station (this is now proximity to my apartment!)
Price of food
Price of Beer!
Volume
Atmosphere
Service
Extras
These will be shortened to T, P, F$, B$, V, A, S, X respectively. There ya go, follow along please!
The scale, for each category, will be out of 10, 10 being highest, and 0 being lowest (duh!).

Also, chain stores are not a negative, but mom & pop shops are the best! I don`t know much about mixed drinks, but I like beer, and I love cheap beer!