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© Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Tokyo crowned new gourmet capital by Michelin
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PepinGalarga
i bought the guide, and it's great. I'm already calling a few of the places. Expect a three month wait average.
Some places are truly "holes in the wall" according to western standards, but since Michelin only rates "whats on the plate" many smaller joints can receive due recognition. They have another classification for decoration and ambiance, but that's not as important as the stars.
Chef's have committed suicide in the past for losing a single star, so it's big pressure time for these locals.
I did notice a lot of places in Michelin that were not in Zagat, and this was very surprising since Zagat tends to review any type of joint. I guess they didn't get enough reviews on the more expensive joints to get statistically significant scores.
Michelin uses professionaly trained reviewers, so i would believe what Michelin guide says over Zagat, but Zagat always gives you the word on the street.
borscht
kirakira25, I met a Japanese guy who wanted to be a French chef but side-tracked that whole 20-year apprenticeship. He moved to France for five years then came back and opened his own French restaurant that was a hit from day one. 24 years later, he's still going strong. As for Michelin's guide, he worked in a three-star place in France but ate in street cafes.
Shaolin7
You know, Fadamor, you're right to an extent. I shouldn't judge yet, but I still feel more than few places will be overlooked if they don't have the same shine as the glitzy, no substance spots. Kirakira25, thanks for sharing that. I also have had the chance to befriend a few cooks / restaurant owners (including one who makes some of the best okonomiyaki I've had, he's in Kabukicho -- Yamamoto-san, this is a shoutout to you!) and I admire their resilience and passion for their craft very much.
If you have the chance, guys, please do some exploring on your own, with or without a guide in hand. Overall the quality of food is very commendable.
kirakira25
This is SO true, one of the best Japanese meals I ever had was in a makeshift restaurant under a tarpaulin down a tiny side street somewhere in Naka Meguro. It obviously had a reputation as there was a huge queue to get in.
My brother in law is a trainee Japanese chef, and believe me they suffer for their art. It is going to take him over 20 years to train up, through many layers of hierarchy (even washing pots is around level 4!) he makes 180k/mth after 10 years of this so far, and he works 2-3 weeks straight before finally getting 2-3 days off, often putting in 16-18 hour days.
Personally I think he`s mad, but the guy obviously REALLY likes cooking!
nath
movieguy
you cynic! (are you involved in marketing by any chance... ?)movieguy
I love all of the delicious food choices in Tokyo, but doesn't Tokyo have 12 million people and Paris like 2.5 million??? Seems to me that Paris would still be the gourmet capital.
That being said, isn't obvious why they would "crown" Tokyo the gourmet capital just before the release of the their 2nd edition of Michelin???
I was lucky to get a guide as a gift last year and I just use it to be aware of restaurants I would never hear about.
sydenham
Fadamor, thou speaketh the truth, too.
5SpeedRacer5
Hotbox.
Fusion: That is exactly what I am talking about. I have one place I really like that does kind of sashimi/French. The bakeries you are referring to are also very much fun for me (I bake my own.). People are experimenting with new smells from yeasts and mushrooms that are great. There is one chef at a place I know who seems to be trying to do traditional French, but with Japanese ingredients, so it takes almost a cajun feel to it.
Pies and soups and sauces and salads. I am amazed. I find that the cheaper courses are much more fun than the expensive a la carte items. That middle ground on the menu is where the chef is relaxed and I can relax too.
I get ideas and come home and try to cook them. It is tremendous fun. I mess it up frequently, which makes me appreciate their skills and sense of balance.
Anyway, if these chefs wind up at the best restaurants in Tokyo, then those restaurants must be truly great. I would bet that Tokyo's 30th best restaurant is much much better than the 30th best of any city in the world because of Tokyo's breadth and depth.
" tomatoes, and gobo root in their cakes."
Tomatoes have so many flavors in them that I would bet you could make at least 20 different-tasting breads and cakes using them. How wonderful that someone is trying.
Fadamor
Shaolin7, reserve your judgement until the guide comes out. The whole point of it is to find the places that have the best FOOD, not the places with the best ambiance. All those restaurants with the glitzy atmosphere but cardboard food will be notably absent from the Michelin review. There may be a few "mom and pop" restaurants that get the stars.
Hotbox08
55SpeedRacer5, I have to agree with you on that point. I've never seen so many kinds of fusion and ethnic restaurants in my life. I've tried fusion Japanese-French food, Pacific Island-French, unique Vietnamese, and some great Thai food here. I've even heard that many patiissiers that have been experiementing with vegetable ingredients like lotus root, spinach, tomatoes, and gobo root in their cakes.
TravelingSales
How can they taste the food in the cloud of tobacco smoke?
soothsayer
"Tokyo has NO taco bell so this can't be true"
Since when is Taco Bell called "gourmet"?
Ahh, I was hoping someone would get sucked in. Well done, Hellhound!
sydenham
Shaolin, thou speaketh the truth.
Shaolin7
Has anyone been to these places? Honestly, alot of them seem pretentious beyond belief, and cater to a like minded crowd. I see the same rich, empty vessels patronizing art galleries; disturbing to actually listen to and see in action.
You can find truly great food in all sorts of out of the way corners, hidden away in quiet niches and nondescript places, with people working away for the love of their craft -- and I agree wholeheartedly with Badsey and 5SpeedRacer5, it doesn't have to mean spending excessive amounts. Go do some exploring on your own, guys!
5SpeedRacer5
Sorry poolly. You should take me out to the really nice places.
I am talking 10000 per person, no drinks. That is way way too much for most people to spend on a meal. If you think you cannot get some great food for that amount, then you could probably learn a thing or two from me.
roomtemperature
GW, I could see what you quoted and what you wrote yourself. That's not the problem. But...."hence stacking the deck". Come again? Tokyo got a lot of stars because it was "arranged" in some way? That's what you're trying to say?
GW
Roomt,
In my post the quote thing didnt work I only wrote the part starting with Gee....
But even still with any down grades Tokyo sure piled on the stars, hence stacking the deck
PepinGalarga
I'm buying this guide the day it comes out.
however, i wonder why they didn't use French reviewers at least for the French restaurants...
roomtemperature
GW said: "To mollify naysayers, the company used only Japanese inspectors for the 2010 Tokyo edition, Naret said. Gee no wonder Jpn got a lot of stars LOL. Hey I love J-food but doing this stacks the deck imo"
What GW doesn't know (and this article doesn't mention) is that these same Japanese inspectors also downgraded several restaurants from 3 stars to 2 stars and from 2 stars to 1 star.
sydenham
Yelnats, apparently Japanese were doing the job. So no worries about sticking out.
poollymook
5Speedracer5...are you kidding me?
"drop 10000 yen a person on a dinner for the sake of art,"
What kind of 'art' are you talking about? Sounds like you've got velvet Elvis on your place...since when does 10,000 yen in Tokyo buy anything even closely resembling 'art'?
GW
damned quote thingy aint workin!
GW
Others questioned how a group of foreigners could judge Japanese food.
To mollify naysayers, the company used only Japanese inspectors for the 2010 Tokyo edition, Naret said.
Gee no wonder Jpn got a lot of stars LOL. Hey I love J-food but doing this stacks the deck imo
tomatoflight
tokyo has some amazing food. not a lot of complaints from me, that's for sure.
nath
No way can Frenchies rate Tokyo restaurants. How did they select restaurants to go to and how did they get over the hurtle of the language. Only people that speak and read Japanese should be allowed to rate Japanese restaurants. Maybe I will send my resume to Mich.!
pointofview
What kind of dishes are we talking about?
5SpeedRacer5
Ok. I have to say it. I don't give a fig about this guide, but it is beside the point. Crown Tokyo, but give a shout out to the rest of Japan too.
There are some great restaurants in Japan with very creative and talented chefs. The service is excellent and not burdened by the whole tipping and commission sales runaround. Where I have been, I don't see a whole lot of snobbery or elitist games. Design, hygiene, management... it is just excellent.
I don't know if anybody posting here can drop 10000 yen a person on a dinner for the sake of art, but you might think about it sometime. Even dropping down to the 3000 yen range for courses, there are some amazing things that have crossed the table in front of me.
And I am not talking sashimi. I have had great French, Spanish, Italian, and Indian here. There are many chefs creating their own genres too, which I think is astounding. It is not about money. These people care, and they are good at what they do.
Makkun70
Badsey
You really don't want your local eat in this guide = you will pay more for the same old gruel, plus their attitude will turn French. =Support your local eats and thank them for not being in the guide.
cow76
Give me a spicy Indian curry over anything else. How many stars do Little India in Ikebukuro get? Personally I'd give them 4 stars out of three.
Beelzebub
A lot of good restaurants are teetering or have already gone under due to the recession, which I sense is still worsening. If things get too bad, those wealthy diners who think nothing of dropping 40,000 or 50,000 yen for meals at deluxe establishments will be going to discount shops to buy eggs, tofu, cabbage and bean sprouts for their sustenance. Well as far as the human digestive system is concerned, they are a lot cheaper and just as nutritious as the high-calorie gourmet swill.
roomtemperature
People who think this guide is like a fashion magazine and think it is ONLY about food lack the ability to look into it further. It's also about price, good view, wine menu, interior, service, sanitation...etc..etc...
Junnama
This was kind of a given though wasn't it?
kyoken
I will never understand this hype about classifying restaurants. It seems to me very much like judging wine. After all the human experiance of taste and his/her preference is all individual. Thus I question how one can come up with sustainable criterias to judge meals.
To me this guide falls in the category of fashion magazines and is for people who lack the ability to live an independent life, but need someone holding their hand.
roomtemperature
"Tokyo has NO taco bell so this can't be true"
Since when is Taco Bell called "gourmet"?
Altria
Where do I sign up for the tour?
azzassa
Paris has great food too but no one cares as much about food as the Japanese. One of my Japanese friends spends about a half a million dollars a year just to introduce foreigners to real Japanese food. Takes everyone out to really understand the quality of good food. Funny because most people he takes out have no idea what he is talking about or why he does it. I've spent lots of time in Paris too and never met this type of seriously viral food lover. Good for Japan. :) Congrats to all those hard working chefs out there. Thanks for the great food!
hakujinsensei
What about Arby's?, the frenchman is so unknowing...
hellhound
Tokyo has NO taco bell so this can't be true