Maneki has been a mainstay in the International District since 1904, and there’s no sign of slowing down. It’s often crowded on the weekends, when you might have to wait, with a recommendation to try the Panama Teahouse around the corner if it’s open. Or perhaps a seat in Maneki’s bar – if you can find one.

The menu is comprehensive, containing lots of Japanese classics, from takoyaki to tofu, and soba to sushi. This is solid, three-star food. I wouldn’t necessarily come here for a sushi dinner, though it wouldn’t be terrible. I like sushi as part of a dinner here, one of many bites that are closer to a home-style meal. I’ll let these pictures (and brief descriptions) tell the story.

Agedashi nasu (eggplant).

Mushroom salad.

A small selection of sushi.

Tempura.

Agedashi tofu.

Avocado salad.

Nasu dengaku (grilled eggplant with miso).

Yaki udon.

Grilled mackerel.

A tatami room – a favorite for a small group.

Everyone is a VIP at Maneki…

Would you believe that I had ramen each of the first four days here? Doing a little ramen research, and got to enjoy a nice variety: hakkyoku (a very spicy one), tonkotsu, shoyu, and yuzu-shio – which is pictured here. One of the highlights was a prearranged interview with Ivan of Ivan Ramen. He’s quite the character, and a real ramen ambassador.

Of course, I’ve been indulging in so much other good food, and there’s still a lot on the to-do list…

Akiko’s already there, and I was scheduled to leave Thursday, but I just rebooked my ticket (I have the luxury of flying first class, and I was able to change at no charge) to depart tomorrow instead! That means one more day of hustling to get my work done, then scrambling to shop so I can fulfill that crazy custom of omiyage, and finally doing some laundry and packing my bags.

This will be my ninth visit to Japan, and it was slated to be my shortest at nine days, but I’ll take full advantage of one extra day, as there are so many (food) items on my to-do list: several types of ramen, two xiao long bao places (okay, the list is actually quite “Chinese” so far), yakitori, sushi, raw horsemeat ice cream, and more.

One challenge (albeit a nice one) is that I have many friends and family to visit. This translates to lots of great, home-cooked meals. Big meals. Happily taking up stomach space. Will ramen noodles successfully slide in to fill the missing gaps? And will I really eat raw horsemeat ice cream? Stay tuned. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to report back from under the rising sun, but certainly upon my return.

If you’re missing my writing, note that I have two articles in the current issue of Edible Seattle, available now at news stands. And here’s the first one I wrote for Edible, about the making of pavlova. Enjoy!

“Hey, we’re out to lunch,” we thought, “And that guy knows food.” So we went in, and we had what he had been having.

From the first column of the menu, we had the bibimbap. This isn’t the higher-end, stone bowl variety. (It’s all plasticware.) For seven bucks, you get a decent bowl of rice, topped with vegetables and beef, though you can substitute calamari, chicken, tofu, or other items for the beef and save some money in the process. Squiggles of gochujang on top make this a perfectly serviceable red bowl.

The menu board lists udon, meat bowls, garden bowls, tempura bowls, cooked fish bowls, and fresh fish bowls. But for our other choice, we went to the spicy bowl column and ordered the one called Red Tuna. As Matthew wrote, it’s like chirashi-zushi, with raw fish atop sushi rice, but this version contains cauliflower and a few other vegetables that, in some way, distract from the fish-and-rice combination – though they certain add freshness and color. Also spiked with hot sauce, this is a bold bowl that costs just slightly more than the bibimbap.

Yeah, you can certainly find better bowls of these Asian dishes further afield from downtown. But if you work in the area, Red Bowls offers a quick and convenient place to pick up some satisfying ethnic eats that will break up the sandwich blues. Eat in or take out – these red bowls travel well and taste good.

Ogasawara came out strong, winning points with a poke-like preparation served up in a martini glass, which included salmon roe and crispy salmon skin in addition to the raw salmon pieces. I also gave him a slight edge for the second course, but then Hahne served up the best dish of the night for the final course: squid ink pasta with cured salmon as part of a squadron of seafood, including Kumamoto oyster, ahi, and scallop.

Based on points, the judges rated this battle close to a draw, though if the courses were rounds and we judged as in boxing, Ogasawara might have had a slight edge. This seemed to be the prevailing sentiment, as the overall verdict showed Ogasawara edging out Hahne by the slimmest of margins, earning him bragging rights for supremacy on 45th Street. At least for the night. I understand that this was just the first Battle in Seattle–with more to follow.

But I’m in Seattle, and I was overdue to try Genki Sushi. I have to say: I was excited by the “art installation” at the entry:

As for the sushi, it was okay, at best. I saw a number of things on the conveyor belt that looked unappetizing. Best bite of the night: saba-no bo-sushi, which is mackerel rolled with rice to make a sushi stick. Worst bite of the night: buta-no kakuni, or pork belly, which was one of the one dollar specials that night. Let me assure you, this dish, with its non-Japanese mustard, was simply a mess:

I wanted to.

It’s not often I treat myself to a fine meal of my own. When I do, that meal will most likely be Asian. On a special occasion, chances are that Asian meal will be sushi.

For recent special occasions, Kisaku’s been the location. It’s no secret that I love that place.

But for my recent birthday, I wanted to try a new place, and Shiro’s was new for us. (Shiro’s is a little more expensive than Kisaku, but the other part of the “us” was buying my birthday dinner!) We know one of the sushi chefs, so we sat in front of him at the counter. Omakase’s the only way to go for sushi, in our view, so we let the chef decide what to serve us after first discussing our likes and dislikes. (Well, our likes, as we have no dislikes – which is helpful when going the omakase route.)

Sushi came after a selection of appetizers, mind you. My favorite was the salmon skin salad (with kelp, sesame, onion, radish sprouts, and chili-ponzu sauce), as I love the texture of the skin and how it meshed with the earthy yet oceanic nature of the whole dish. The geso fry (fried squid legs) offered an altogether different texture, while the smelt nanban was delicate and delicious.

Smelt would be the first of many nigiri presented to us. I like the use of local fish that are sustainable, though I must admit I loved the chu-toro that came next (a weakness of mine), and the sushi chef also chose a dessert-like unagi as our meal-ender. But I believe that everything in-between would pass muster on a Monterey Bay seafood watch guide.

Highlights included a local uni that was darker and heartier than most, local shrimp that came with its head fried on the side (I adore the sweetness of the shrimp and then the crispiness of the shell and head), and a naka-ochi hand roll made with maguro. Naka-ochi means meat scraped from the bone, in this case of the tuna, that might otherwise go to waste, but is full of great flavor, usually from fat.

It was the pairings, though, that I found most intriguing.

First, we fell in love with two pieces of salmon—a fish we love (especially as devotees to the Pacific Northwest) but don’t normally seek out for sushi. One piece was “regularly” raw, but the second was an extra fatty piece (think: o-toro of salmon) served “aburi”-style, which means quickly seared with a blowtorch. A wonderful pairing of salmon pieces.

Even better, though, was a geoduck and scallop pairing. The geoduck had its tell-tale crunchy texture, whereas the scallop was lusciously soft. Both were sweet—the geoduck revealed more and more with each bite, the scallop more immediately so.

At the start of the meal, the sushi chef had advised that the geoduck was especially good that evening. If you’re at a good restaurant, you can trust your sushi chef. We do that at Kisaku. And now we know we can do that at Shiro’s, too.

My meal last month at Naoe, just north of Miami, was one of the standouts.

I knew I’d have a chance for one dinner in the Miami area during a drive from Key West to Boca Raton (stay tuned for reviews of meals in those two locations), so I scouted the Chowhound, eGullet and Mouthfuls message boards for ideas. A few posts about the relatively new Naoe shared information that piqued my interest:

• Kevin Cory is the only one in the kitchen; his business card reads “executive chef, general manager, & dishwasher”
• there are only 17 seats in the entire restaurant
• the only menu is for the drinks
• the only food choice is a $26 kaiseki-style bento box, followed by an omakase offering of sushi

Oh—and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive.

So I made a reservation, as this isn’t a “simply stroll in” type of restaurant. After my GPS and I finally found the place (Naoe is in a strip mall of mostly Russian businesses, as Sunny Isles has a large Russian population—there’s even a karaoke joint next door), the two of us sat at the counter (where there are five seats—this in addition to tables for two, four or six), and then waited and watched.

Expect to do that. And enjoy it, perhaps over some sake brewed by Chef Cory’s family in Japan. (They also brew their own soy sauce.) Watching Cory is worth the price of admission. Take in his intensity. Smell the dashi. Watch the precise knifework. You’ll hardly know an hour’s likely gone by before he’s assembling your bento. And when you get it (a box with four compartments, plus soup), you’ll find the most delicate of dishes, with varying tastes and textures, symbolic of fine Japanese food. Here’s what ours contained:

• organic carrot egg-tofu, jyunsai and mitsuba clear soup
• simmered whiting and okra jelly with shiso and simmered lotus root
• sake simmered Scottish salmon on organic tofu
• deep fried whole gizzard shad bones & parsnip
• simmered firefly squid and live scallop mantle with marinated fava beans and rice vinegar sauce
• blanched sea bream sashimi on wasabi leaves & wasabi flowers
• steamed bamboo rice with rice bran pickled daikon

From soup to rice, it was all spectacular. I loved the specificity of serving the scallop mantle (the thin tissue layer surrounding the body, where the scallop’s 60 or so bright blue eyes are located), the use of wasabi leaves and flowers, and the chef’s recent discovery of parsnips (which tasted oh-so-good alongside the fried fish bones). This is exotic fare elegantly prepared.

(When your main criticism of a restaurant is that it should play an iPod or other music system instead of broadcasting a radio station during dinner, you’re in for excellent eating. But I should be kind in criticizing media. I obviously have a lot to learn about videotaping! I’ll actually be trading my Flip Mino for a Creative Vado, as I think the Flip is too tight, and can’t capture the action well.)

After this, the wooden boards come out. Push yours toward Cory if you’d like some sushi. It’s omakase, so you’re at the mercy of the chef, but his choices are masterful. Much of the fish is flown in from Tsukiji, so it’s high quality. As is the preparation. We both had a few nigiri:

• Scottish salmon belly nigirizushi
• bigfin reef squid (head and fin) nigirizushi with orange soy sauce
• horse mackerel nigirizushi with grated ginger

Check out my YouTube video, which demonstrates Cory’s technique (he’s quiet and confident) and the finished product. The sushi’s pricey, but again, this is high quality product. I especially enjoyed the chance to compare the parts of the squid; as expected, I liked the taste of the head just a little bit more than the fin.

The meal ended with slices of cantaloupe bathing in sweet rice vinegar fish sauce. Refreshing, and fitting for the meal. A special meal. One worth seeking out, and unlike anything I’ve experienced in Seattle. In fact, you’d probably have to hunt carefully to enjoy such an experience in Tokyo. If you find yourself in the Miami area, I highly recommend it, as Naoe is well worth the hunt.

Not to be. By the time we worked our way through the two special menus (Chouette and Distinguè) for the evening, we were ready to have the servers roll us back to the elevator to be transported up to our room on the top floor. I’m sure they would have satisfied that request. One thing I love about Japan, especially at a fine hotel like the Tokyo Hilton, is that the service is exquisite—with no expectation of a tip. Everyone at Le Pergolèsé was wonderful, and I appreciated the ease with which they communicated with us in both English and Japanese. While we enjoyed the relative isolation of a large table in a secluded, semi-private part of the dining room, the servers anticipated our every need, attentive without being obtrusive.

Le Pergolèsé had just opened the month before my visit, and it was clear that the staff was excited about MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France—award for best craftsman in France) Chef Stéphane Gaborieau’s cuisine. Gaborieau was now back in Paris at his 1-star restaurant by the same name, but I welcomed the chance to chat with Chef Hervé Garnier after the meal. Garnier had just moved to Tokyo and, like me, was spending all his free time eating every possible new food he could find. Piecing together a conversation in three languages, we shared some laughs about our dining discoveries before he asked for some impressions of the meal.

“Fantastique,” I replied, heaping high praise on the superb soups (I loved the “floating vanilla island” description) and the seafood preparations, especially the two delicate and delicious appetizers. My only beef, if you will, was a slight one: Both the loin of venison and the grilled beef filet were a little lost amidst the other flavors of their plates. Then again, they might have been a bit underappreciated as they came late in the meal—and we were starting to feel stuffed. Even more so as we sipped coffee and sampled our desserts before taking our bonus dish of sweets back to our room.

Overall, dinner at Le Pergolèsé was a fine meal and a fabulous way to wave goodbye to 2008. Those long-life noodles would have to wait until the calendar flipped to 2009.

The menus:

(All dishes in the gallery below; click to enlarge.)

Chouette

• Roasted scallops, risotto with black truffle, mushroom emulsion
• Cream of green asparagus, fried quail egg
• Seared kinmedai (golden eye snapper), sea urchin in veal juice, and leek cannelloni with cream cheese
• Rhubarb wine granité
• Grilled beef filet, fondant potato, chanterelles, Périgueux sauce
• Iced praline bar, chocolate crisp with mascarpone and walnut caramel

Distinguè

• Lobster salad and vegetables infused with black truffle
• Cream of leek served with floating vanilla island
• Turbot meunière style, simmered beans, butter-pequillo sauce
• Lemon-basil granité
• Loin of venison, black currant nappage, seasonal vegetables and Bordelaise sauce
• Almond rock with orange Grand Marnier heart

Much of my activity was centered around the Shinjuku Station area. It’s an especially hustle-bustle area of the city—not necessarily suited to my preferred pace. But it’s where many of the business travelers and tourists stay in Tokyo, and therefore an interesting place to research restaurants. In between meals with mother-in-law (some of the best food in Japan, naturally!), I was exploring what the area offered. Imagine the contrast when one day I’m buying bowls of rice and meat at fast food joints and cafeterias, and the next I’m invited to dine in style at Kakou, the Hyatt Regency’s Japanese restaurant.

With ka meaning good/elegant, and kou meaning fragrance/flavors, lunch in one of the restaurant’s private little rooms held great promise. Kakou is a contemporary restaurant offering kaiseki cuisine, which I knew would mean more than just good flavors, but incredible plating as well. I’d be eating with my eyes as much as my mouth, and to ensure full focus on the food, the room had a sleek but minimalist feel—just a few natural colors, no art, and only the faintest music in the background. I was so close to the chaos of Shinjuku Station, but in a tranquil place that felt a world away.

Kaiseki meals feature a multitude of courses using seasonal ingredients. Throughout the meal the goal is balance of taste, texture and color; the garnishes and plates add to the spectacle. Capturing it all on camera was a challenge. And complicating matters: While I ordered a kaiseki meal, Akiko wanted to try a lunch set menu for comparison. This led to somewhat staggered dish delivery, but our servers handled it with quiet and confident finesse.

The (I’m-still-just-learning-to-use-my-camera-at-this-point) photos in the gallery below (click to enlarge) tell a thousand words, but in just one word, I can tell you that the food was phenomenal. The dishes were like works of art; I just wanted to step back and admire them instead of putting my chopsticks on them—at least for a few moments. But as the servers continued parading in with plates, between admiring and photographing them (the plates, that is), I found I had to eat pretty quickly to keep up. Plates piling up, though, only added to the panorama of the affair. This was truly a feast for the eyes—and the stomach. The menus:

Sansui Kaiseki (sansui is “water on the mountain”): 6,500 yen (almost $70)

• Appetizer: Mushrooms and mountain caviar, gingko nuts w/pine leaf, squid sushi, yuba shinjo (fishcake)
• Clear soup: Hotate shinjo (scallop fishcake) with vegetables
• Sashimi: amaebi (sweet, raw shrimp), maguro, tai, shiso leaf, shiso sprouts
• Takiawase (braised dish): furofuki (boiled) daikon with yuzu miso, grilled duck, red pepper, fried onions, bok choy
• Grilled dish: kinmeidai (golden eye snapper), renkon (lotus root), fuki (butterbur)
• Fried dish: kibinago (sardine-like fish), eggplant, red pepper
• Rice, soup and pickles: takikomi gohan (chicken and gobo, or burdock root)
• Dessert: chocolate mousse and fruit

Kikyo Lunch Set (kikyo is a flower): 4,800 yen (about $50)

• Appetizer and seasonal plate: grilled salmon with yuzu, yuba, ankimo (monkfish liver), saba, ebi, tamago, renkon, eggplant with miso paste
• Tempura: shrimp, shitake and maitake mushrooms, green pepper
• Rice with crab, uni, ikura, maitake, and snow peas
• Sashimi, clear soup, pickles, kosode-zushi (braised daikon with rice, topped with kabocha and baby bok choy)
• Dessert: fruit