Random Picture #217

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Many a man would like society to put up something called a "beer signal". It would have lights telling you "drink", "don't drink", and "prepare to drink." This peculiarly named place has a "Spanish Belgian" concept behind it. They serve tapas, but they offer Belgian food and beer. So, the only Spanish part is that they do small portions to be enjoyed with imported booze. I'm not sure how that is different from Japanese otsumami (which is snacks served with alcohol), but mine is not to question. Mine is to make fun of their sign's English...

The oddest part of this sign is not the name of the place (though it is peculiar), but the first grouping of food - the "fling pan lunch". I'm sure that this relates to some sort of cooking style in Belgium, but a casual search didn't yield anything that makes sense to me and I'm not interested enough to go too deeply. Besides, the truth can't be nearly as amusing as thinking that pans are actually being flung around the kitchen in some sort of violent avant garde cooking process, so I'll stay with remaining ignorant. 

Random Picture #150

Cheese sweets in the U.S. are synonymous with pretty much only one type of cheese, cream cheese.  Most of us would not think of adding sugar to any type of pungent (savory) cheese. Oh, I guess in a pinch one might go nuts and sweeten up some tangy goat cheese, but you know how things are with goats. They'll do or eat just about anything.

In Japan, one of the things which was a challenge for me was accepting that they liked to offer cheese sweets with Gouda, Camembert and cheddar. Every single cheese pastry I ever bought was made with one of those cheeses. I tried hard through the years to expand my palate, but I never quite got into the idea of cheesecake made with traditionally savory cheeses. I'm sure that meant that I missed out on a lot of opportunities for unique snacking experiences, but I can't say I'm full of regret at those missed chances.

The sign above was in Tokyo station and the food on offer is cheesecake made with Camembert. I love Camembert cheese, either on its own or a cracker. I even love it as part of an open-faced sandwich. However, I was not prepared to eat it in a cake like this. This particular "treat" was on offer as a souvenir (to give to friends, family, or, most often, office mates) rather than as something a person might just buy for their own consumption, but I'm pretty sure that if I picked up one of these for the folks back home, they'd regard it as the equivalent of a cockroach lollipop or some other such weirdness.

I haven't been to Europe, but I do wonder if this notion of using cheese that we regard as only having savory applications in the U.S. originated there and the Japanese picked up on it, or if this is a merging of the occidental and the "oriental".

Random Picture #89

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Shakey's Pizza is inexplicably popular in Japan. Well, that's not quite true. There's an explanation, but it doesn't really make a lot of sense in a country of relatively affluent people with ready access to good quality food. They are mainly popular for their incredibly crappy lunch buffet which is a festival of bad carbohydrates (fried potatoes, sparsely topped pizza, and spaghetti). 

The good folks at Shakey's have taken the cake when it comes to "weird" Japanese pizza. The specimen at the bottom has pumpkin, red bean paste, mini marshmallows and black sesame sauce. The marshmallows really are the kicker. This is a culture that reacts with abhorrence at the idea of candied sweet potatoes so my husband and I did a double-take when we saw this sign. Yes, they've finally become "one of us". 

Random Picture #88

It's that time of year... well, not really, but Japan has caught up with the U.S. on offering up Christmas the minute the detritus of Halloween has been swept aside (which happens about 3 seconds after the shops close on October 31). Krispy Kreme is doing its part by re-issuing two of the three donuts it offered last year along with a mont blanc (chestnut cream) offering. The Christmas wreath, which I reviewed in a previous post, is nearly the same as before but a star replaces the dried cranberry "berries" from the previous version. The snowman, pictured here smiling despite having had a bite taken out of his posterior, is filled with berries, or sugary goop which masquerades as something vaguely berry-like. Of the offerings, only the chestnut one holds much appeal for the likes of me, but I'm guessing I'll give it all a pass this year. 

Random Picture #83

This past Monday was a national holiday in Japan, "Sports Day." To celebrate, the overwhelming majority of adults go shopping or sit at home and watch T.V. Kids sometimes take part in school sports activities. The holiday was created after Tokyo got the 1964 Olympics. It's too bad that Tokyo didn't get another one or we may have seen another national holiday hit the calendar. Of course, since all of the holidays were moved to Mondays (or Fridays, but usually Mondays), and my usual days off are Monday and Tuesday, it doesn't tend to do me any good when there's a national holiday.

My husband and I spent the day walking around Shibuya fighting crowds and taking pictures. This was a sign that we saw outside of a restaurant. The joke tells itself, but I feel it is encouraged by the fact that these are red balls that look like they might explode in your stomach.

Random Picture #76

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Mister Donut is catering to traditional Japanese tastes in what they're calling a "flavor tour". Since the "tour" is made up of only three new products, it's not exactly a long one. The poster shows a donut version of takoyaki at the top. I haven't tried it, because octopus-flavored donuts aren't my idea of a good time, but the information on "Misdo's" web site seems to indicate this is not faux takoyaki with chocolate sauce and coconut imitating the look of the takoyaki sauce and bonito (fish flakes). It's supposed to be rice dough balls with fishy flavorings on them. I could be misunderstanding the Japanese (it wouldn't be the first time, and definitely won't be the last), but the only thing is says for sure is "octopus not included". The two donuts beneath the faux octopus balls are an old-fashioned covered with sweet potato paste and another filled with a red bean paste and coated with dried camphor bark (aka cinnamon) and sugar. I'm hoping to try the latter, but I'm saving my experience with octopus balls for sampling the real deal one of these days.

Random Picture 47

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This sign is from Becker's, a fast food place that is either owned or has an exclusive deal with Japan Railway (JR). In some stations, you can find these places though only in some of the bigger ones that aren't already surrounded by other fast food options. As fast food goes, they're at least a small cut above the rest. Like Subway, they bake their own bread (buns) on the premises and claim to make everything fresh. I used to work near Itabashi station and they had a Becker's, but my local station does not.

This poster is for breakfast options at a Becker's at a neighboring station and it caught my eye for several reasons. First of all, the presentation on the sign is very elegant for fast food. Since I didn't actually eat there, I can't say for sure, but I believe that the food is served on actual plates. The sets are:

"Morning Plate 1" - scrambled egg, toast with butter, and a scrap of bacon with coffee
"Morning Plate 2" - this is called the "balance plate" which includes everything in the first set (egg, bacon, toast, coffee) plus yogurt and juice
"Morning Plate 3" - a hot dog, yes, a hot dog and a few scraps of lettuce and tomato with coffee
"Morning Plate 4" -  coffee, toast with cheese or mayo with various goo (can't tell which and the poster doesn't say), coffee, and a thimble of cabbage
"Morning Plate 5" - English muffin halves with scrambled egg and ketchup and seaweed, cheese and bacon, and coffee


The configuration of these sets illustrates something about Japanese food culture which one can either find charming or irritating, and that's that the equivalent of gustatory lip service when it comes to the sides. The amount of vegetables is so minuscule as to be pretty much pointless. They function more as garnish than as meal components.