Baird Beer

My friend took us to his favorite brewery in Tokyo.

Baird Beer is off of Takeshita Street in Harajuku.
The actual brewing is done in Numazu, Shizuoka,
but there are two locations in Tokyo where they serve their beers.

From the outisde.

Bar counter.

Cool artwork displayed all around the store.

I love the wood furniture! Notice the BB in the chairs.

Menu. I ordered the Yuzu Ale.

Flute of Yuzu Ale.

It was really fruity, light and the scent of Yuzu was nice.

Amber Ale.

Beacon

Went to Sunday brunch at Beacon.

Came here for dinner once before and loved their Swordfish with Lemon Risotto dish.

It was cooked perfectly!

(But I forgot my camera that night...)

Entrance.

Bar area. Love the interior of this place.

Eggs Florentine with Crisp Proscuitto & Creamy Spinach.

This was really good, although the English muffin could have been better...

LOVE poached eggs!

Banana & Walnut Belgain Waffle.

It was okay... but I prefer my waffles more fluffier inside.

(Really picky, I know!)

Hibiya Oktoberfest

This weekend we went to the Hibiya Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest in May... only in Tokyo!

Didn't even know about this event so I was surprised at how many people were there.

It was the perfect day to chill at the park with a beer!

In Hibiya Park.

German band & singers.

Prost!

Crazy lines to get a beer...

SOO many people.

German platter.

In Harajuku...

NO SMORKING!!

Ok, I get what you're TRYING to say, but...

NO TOUT!!

... Excuse me?

AS Classics Diner

Went to AS Classics Diner in Toritsudaigaku over the weekend.

Originally, our goal was to eat lunch at this highly rated Chinese place

but didn't think that we'd get rejected for lunch.

(Although now we know to make reservations next time!)

So we walked a little further to this diner to try their burgers.

Haven't had a burger in a while so it tasted extra good! 

Exterior.

60's themed Interior.

The paty is charcoal fire ware!

(Uhhh... What?)

We had the Cobb Salad...

and an Avocado & Chesse Burger.

The grilled onions were sweet, the buns were homemade..

this burger was really good.

Ton-Chan (とんちゃん)

Ton-Chan is a Korean Yakiton (Grilled Pork) place

that is so good, so cheap & so addicting!

They have 7 locations and although I've only been to 2,

I prefer the one in Takadanobaba. The meat tastes so much better!

Interior.

Pre-cooking.

They use a heated stone to cook the pork.

Post-cooking.

Comes with Sanchu & small side dishes.

Ice cold beer. MUST!

Naniwaya Sohonten (浪花家総本店)

Naniwaya Sohonten is a super famous Taiyaki shop

that first opened in 1909 in Azabu Juban.

They take reservations instead of standing in line.

We picked up our taiyakis 1.5 hours later.

Exterior.

I had always wanted to try their taiyakis and it was good,

but really... 1.5 hour wait? It wasn't THAT fabulous.

Worth a try I guess..

But on a side note,

this shop's owner was the model for およげ！たいやきくん

(who recently passed away)

I loved this song as a kid!

(although when you listen to the lyrics, its a pretty sad song)

Watanabe （渡なべ）

Because I had an image of Ramen being super oily, I wasn't a fan.

I hadn't eaten Ramen in years, but because
its such a competitive market, the stores are now focusing on quality.

Then Ramen became a gourmet obsession in Japan.

'Gyokai' or seafood stock (mainly fish stock) has been very popular.

Watanabe in Takadanobaba is a Gyokai-Tonkotsu Ramen

but the taste of fish (Bonito) was so much richer than tonkotsu.

People waiting in line.

Interior. Only 8 seats.

My order: Charshu Ramen with Ajitama.

At 1,200 yen, its a little pricier than other places.

I don't know if you could tell, but they had the

BIGGEST menma that I've ever had in my life! (top left)

OUCA

After eating at Kaori-Ya, I usually stop by OUCA.

They make specialty ice creams that changes flavors

by season and have traditional Japanese flavors.

Some interesting ones were 甘納豆、桜の塩漬け＆かりんとう.

Interior.

My choice was Green Tea, Tofu & Strawberry.

香り家 (Kaori Ya)

While I'm on the subject of Soba...

My new favorite in the area is Kaori-Ya in Ebisu.

They also have seasonal dishes, which were also delicious.

Exterior.

I usually order their Natto-Soba, but this time I tried their

Sakuraebi no Kakiage Itasoba.

桜海老の掻き揚げ

Kakiage is really hard to make, and theirs was perfect!

You can also order thick soba here,

which is about three times the thickness of the thin soba.

(I tried this on my first visit, but I prefer the thin noodles..)