veronica 2 Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 I have this ongoing joke with a Japanese friend of mine. She and her husband always seem to be going out to really expensive restaurants, highly overpriced if you ask me. They really hate the thought of going to a famiresu. Now I don't mind the famiresu at all, and very rarely feel like spending a fortune on overpriced "French cuisine". So they call me "B grade Gourmet", them being A grade of course Which are you then? Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 sorry mate, but IMO, the typical famiresu do not even get a letter on the alfabert. Places like that take the joy out of eating. I will take 200yen soba on a street side bench over famiresu anyday. At least here is character in that dining experience. Link to post Share on other sites
veronica 2 Posted February 26, 2004 Author Share Posted February 26, 2004 I should have been more specific. When I said famiresu, I actually meant to include all of the ramens, the izakayas, and cheaper food outlets. (ie compared to the overpriced 'A gourmet') places. (Specifically on the subject of famiresu, I agree there are some bad famiresu, but there are decent ones too). Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 Gourmet B is a last resort for 'nutritional' purposes only. Only gourmet A is worth thinking about if one is to eat out, otherwise why not just cook at home. Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 I can't cook. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted February 26, 2004 Share Posted February 26, 2004 I guess, for the platinum club, there's the A gourmet for the nutritional purposes too though, no? Link to post Share on other sites
taguchi 0 Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 It depend on who is paying bill. But I am not fan of expensive minimal style meal. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 I must admit that one of the better pizzas I have had in Japan was at a famiresu of one type or another. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a second one before I had finished the first. Izakaya are also way down on my likes list. Actually there are two types and the non-franchise, nicely constructed, no vomiting 22 year old Japanese boys type is ok. The other franchise plastic table dives are awful. Link to post Share on other sites
A Very Boring Man 0 Posted February 27, 2004 Share Posted February 27, 2004 Izakayas are really varied. There some brilliant ones I go, and so that stink. A lot of luck involved. Ask the locals to get the best ones. (Although the locals where I live keep a few of the best secrets I reckon) One thing is for sure - I really hate expensive overcharing restaurants where you almost feel stressed going to and can't relax serving the most pretentious menus possible, with ridiculously small quantities. Link to post Share on other sites
rachael 0 Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Somewhere in between Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 "One thing is for sure - I really hate expensive overcharing restaurants where you almost feel stressed going to and can't relax serving the most pretentious menus possible, with ridiculously small quantities. " Just like izakaya, there are good and bad 'wanky' places to eat. I totally see your point, but you owe it to yourself to find and experience a few good places that do charge a lot, do serve 9 courses of mini mouthfuls on big plates, do pride themselves on certain other dinning experiences etc etc. For the most it is just expensive eating and like you say, not worth it, but there are some that will take you on a taste ride that makes you happy to be alive. From the outside it is easy to mock them, but when taken seriously, they can really deliver. I make an effort to visit one every few months (on my own expense). You really do owe it to yourself. A place in Harajuku/Aoyama (wherever) called Restaurant J is a pretty good start. It is downtempo, easy going, nice Venezuelan waiter dude, great food and drinks. 1man per person should put more food in front of you than you can eat, plus a bottle of wine. And for Tokyo 1man isn't expensive either. Try ANY semi normal tepanyaki, tempura, sushi place in town and they will charge that as a starting price for an evening meal. I had tepanyaki last earlier this week on a business expense that cost 2.5man each, excluding drinks. Seriously, get out and about and see how amazing a dedicated J chef can be when he has travelled other countries and bought some flavours and ideas home with him and then combined with J cuisine. He will provide a far better meal than the aforementioned tepanyaki rip off and at a fraction of the price. Link to post Share on other sites
zebedee 1 Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Some tips for a top taste ride then?? Link to post Share on other sites
green 0 Posted February 28, 2004 Share Posted February 28, 2004 Mos Burger Link to post Share on other sites
yodel 0 Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Me? C ! I'm a ramen-shop hunter. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Really, yodel? So how many ramen shops have you bought so far? Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 I think yodel means hunter as in the "adventurer" meaning - trying out as many as possible. They seem to be all over the place - must be a good business. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Cooking is good. I can cook delicious(I think...) pasta within 500yen at home! I couldn't enjoy ￥20,000 Japanese dinner at Windsor Hotel. I didn't pay for it and food was excellent but I couldn't understand for whom that kind of dinner is? Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Gimme a street stall or cheap local eatery any day over the high price fine dining pretentious shit. Link to post Share on other sites
wendy-cake 0 Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Here here!!! Well put. Link to post Share on other sites
its-a-clock 0 Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 I am not a fan of pretentious bollux either. Give me a good izakaya. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Class, all class... So you don't like to spend a lot on eating out , that's fair enough, but to write off all expensive food as pretentious 'bollux' or 'shit' is just plain ignorance. There are a fair number of pretenders out there, but when one finds a restaurant where one gets what one pays for (whether it's chef skill, rare or specially prepared ingredients, etc) the experience is sublime. Just as with all art forms, people like to brush off what they don't understand as pretentious, and just like all art forms, a lot of it is, but dont presume that the presence of pretentions exclude the presence of something truly great. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 Just my choice mate.. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Not knocking the choice, just choice of words... Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 I don't like being served by people I don't know. I get uncomfortable when I have to sit in my seat and ask somebody when I want water (and I always want more than they give me). I also don't like watching other people enthusing about food and watching me for my reaction. Is there something wrong with me? I'm sure there are some excellent restaurants around, but finding them can be a trying experience. Those plates with mounds of something surrounded by dobbings of what look like bodily secretions (blood, semen) really put me off. Next time I go to Tokyo (haha), I'll check out dob's favourite place. Anybody got any recommendations for fine dining in Matsuyama? Link to post Share on other sites
nzlegend 1 Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 I love fine food, if I were a wealthy man I would eat out regularly at gourmet restaurants and enjoy myself regardless of the cost. Unfortuneately I am not a wealthy man and cannot justify such an extravagant expense on a regular basis. Therefore I am a B gourmet by default. I love sushi, its my #1 all time favourite food, there is nothing better than going to a fine sushi establishment, laying down 1000yen for one peice of toro that melts in your mouth. But mostly I go to Kappazushi (100yen kaitenzushi)because its economically viable. Such is life. I limit myself to about 500-600yen a day for lunch (if I buy it), last week I had lunch in a genuine Indian curry restaurant (not the sweet slop that passes for curry here) 1500yen lunch set and it was pretty damn good. I was smiling all afternoon. Link to post Share on other sites
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