Trois Quart: An Elegant Algorithm

There's a lot to be said, Gentle Reader, for dining in the suburbs. While Your Humble Correspondent is certainly a creature of both habit and convenience, there is a certain happy tension created when a meal requires a journey to become reality. Venues far from the glittering lights need to perform on a daily basis, and they need to be focused on "jo-ren" regular customers who can make or break the business. So while places listed in Michelin and other guides can rely on third-party publicity, those that are more "location-challenged" have to rely on word-of-mouth from their existing customers. In fact, while it's likely a little extreme, the Kyoto dialect of Japanese even goes to considerable lengths to distinguish between various classes of customers based on their value to the operation.

At Bistro Trois Quarts, this "jo-ren" philosophy has been woven into the very fabric of the business. You see, Gentle Reader, a reliable rule of thumb for aspiring restauranteurs is good food + good wine + good service + good customers = success! Algorithmically, a culinary 4G...
Here, the algorithm ripples even as far as the restaurant's name, which is French(ish) for "three quarters". The assumption is that they provide the first three and you and I, Gentle Reader, are responsible for the fourth.

We (yours truly and The Once and Future Blonde) recently wound our way to Bistro Trois Quarts in Wakabayashi where one of Tokyo's two tramlines feverishly clatters its way through the Shouin-jinja-mae (a shrine named for the Edo Period educator Yoshida Shouin) Station. A station admittedly without ticket wickets, but still a station.

The restaurant is located immediately on the western end of the platform, on the second floor up a left-handed double flight of stairs. If you perhaps find yourself staring into an admittedly inviting boulangerie, you're on the wrong side of the tracks (... and we all know what that means).

Chef Kinoshita and his lovely wife run this happy little nook like a well-oiled machine, and there is a warm and generous bonhomie at play here that turns a crass commercial arrangement into a thoroughly enjoyable dinner with friends.

The menu is simple but diverse, and there are more than enough bistro favourites to satisfy even the most demanding customer. Actually, one imagine it is probably hard to be demanding in the face of such an accommodating and genuinely friendly mine-host team! The wine list is wonderfully interesting, and (this is becoming a habit!) very politely priced. We enjoyed a very more-ish Limoux white that grew more complex in the glass and was the perfect foil to deftly prepared food for which one would pay much more closer to the frenetic heart of the city. 

Bistro Trois Quarts certainly lives up to its part of the algorithmic bargain, and you should certainly plan to visit with friends and lovers. If you live in Setagaya, this should become a go-to for a pleasant meal-a-deux or mange-a-trois.

And that portly chap staring up from the platform? Well, don't mind me ... I'll likely join you for a pipe of port!

 

Pip! Pip!

Bistro Trois Quarts: 4-21-4 Wakabayashi, Setagaya-ku Tel/Fax: 03-5787-6362

Rating: Food: 7/10; Algorithm: 8/10; Service: 8/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 8/10. Total: 38/50 (3 Forks)

Au Coin du Feu - A reason to gather

"Au Coin du Feu" is, Gentle Reader, a quaint yet pretty French expression meaning something like fireplace or a pleasantly warm place to gather. "Coin" of course is corner, so Your Humble Correspondent rather would translate this as "a warm nook". 

Finding a quiet corner in the hustle and bustle of Naka-Meguro is never an easy thing, although it should be said that the culinary excellence of Daikanyama seems to be flowing downhill pushed no doubt by the over-development in that part of town. And the footpaths ....

A number of restaurants in this part of Tokyo have been on YHC's 'regulars' list for some time: including Sourire, Higashiyama, AW Kitchen, Ange d'Azur, Rue de Shuri ...... and Baird's bar, of course. As the demographics of the area change reflecting the younger people moving closer to town, we can expect this trend towards culinary concentration to continue.

Be that as it may, Au Coin du Feu ingratiates itself on you with excellent service, deft cooking, and a very pleasant focus on the customer experience. Somehow, it keeps finding places to push and nudge much like a small dragon wanting its belly scratched. Somehow - despite the onerous company of many "Ladies who Dine" OL's at surrounding tables - one feels a certain sort of "at-home"-ness and a casual yet warm acquaintance with Chef Jun Yamaguchi and his sommelier wife Sachiko.

The menu changes reasonably often, although the strong recommendation is to go with the set menus - that way, you can leave the intellectual heavy lifting to the Yamaguchi's and concentrate on flavors, favours, and friendship. There is both art and artifice in the food at Au Coin du Feu, as well as joy and playfulness.

While there is a certain bistro atmosphere - did you know, perchance, that the word 'bistro' is actually Russian for "Quick!" and that some believe its introduction as a description of a dining establishment came with the 1915 Russian occupation of Paris - there is also a strong sense of a restaurant's finer sense of place and purpose. Restaurant, on the other hand, was originally a type of wonderful (restoring) Parisian consomme soup first served in 1765 that was immediately popular and copied by everyone.

One hastens to add that the wine list is both interesting and very politely priced. Many of the better known French appellations are well represented, and the advice is always to the point and simple to understand.

All that said, Your Humble Correspondent recommends a detour to Au Coin au Feu at your next opportunity. Take along people you don't need to impress - that way you can delight in companionship rather than joust for attention.

And should you see a querulous face peering through the window, pray forgive me! I won't bite ....

Au Coin du Feu: 2-7-2 Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku Tel/Fax: 03-6412-8212
Rating: Food: 7/10; Warmth: 8/10; Service: 8/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 7/10. Total: 37/50 (3 Forks)

Adenia: Passionata!

Imagine for a moment, Gentle Reader, a "neighbourhood" hostelry that prided itself on being a space where the guests were the "main course" and where the food, condiments, and drinks were sort of meant to hover in the background. A splendid idea, what-ho! And that's exactly what Adenia in Hachiyamacho turns out to be. Only a brief stroll from Shibuya yet nestled into a 'gyaru'-free streetscape, the restaurant proudly occupies a single two storey building with aplomb, panache, and perhaps a little braggadocio. There's little else competing for your attention, and the whole area gently strokes the "relax" zones of what passes for a mind into quiet acceptance. The interior is calm and measured, and shows gentle sophistication and elegance.

Actually, Adenia is named after the Passionflower native to Madagascar and Africa and part of the same family as the Passionfruit. One is not quite sure of the inspiration for such a moniker, but it certainly describes well the approach of the team (three makes a team?) at this splendidly interesting restaurant.

Chef Masafumi Irie has wended an interesting path since finally succumbing to the family business of fine food, being firmly bitten by the bug while "studying" in France. After a storied career ending up as sous chef at the New York Grill (Park Hyatt, Shinjuku), he realized that most high-end venues end up cooking for the chef (or worse, for profit) instead of the customer. Thus, he wanted to create a place where good food, good wine, and good company make for a memorable experience. Thus, Adenia.

While not entirely Your Humble Correspondent's cup of tea, Adenia encourages you to share. The portions are generous and the menu dutifully diverse so as to allow a reasonable selection, and Chef is playful and confident enough to ensure that each dish brings with it an accent, un frisson, an unexpected turn. Truth be told, it's probably better to share ...

The wine list is eclectic with a mix of Old and New World treasures at reasonable prices, showing the benefit of Somm Ryo Nishikata's experience at The Oak Door. There is also a so-so list of wines by the glass, but this option has never tickled Your Humble Correspondent's fancy ... seems like such a self-defeating strategy!

But most of all, Adenia is a refuge from madding crowds and a very pleasant way indeed to spend an evening (or two) learning more about food and more about friends.

Pip! Pip!

Adenia: 1-7 Hachiyamacho, Shibuya-ku Tel/Fax: 03-5489-5151

Rating: Food: 8/10; Passion: 8/10; Service: 8/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 8/10. Total: 39/50 (3 Forks)

World's Top 50 Restaurants

Another day, another high (or low) for gastronomic masturbation, Gentle Reader. http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/1-50-winners

Why so few Japanese restaurants, you ask, if Tokyo is the food capital of the world? The first step towards comprehension, Grasshopper, is to understand the rules the august judging committee(s) set for themselves, viz. http://www.theworlds50best.com/asia/en/our-manifesto.html. Apart from some fairly obvious things - must have eaten there, must not be an owner - there would appear to be little in the way of rules or standards except whimsy. Hats off to the marketing genius who came up with this little number!

With YHC's body mass, venturing out on to a limb usually results in a victory for gravity. But in the spirit of Baconian hypotheses, may one humbly suggest that two things remain:

- one gets the impression that the successful restaurants in this "ranking" actually go out of their way to stand out from the competition. Much in the same way that a nail sticks out of a floorboard. Which in Japan would be nailed down. Japanese temple de cuisine do everything they can to be low-profile.

- would it be a little presumptive to say that in Japan, technique is more highly valued than creativity? WB50 seems to celebrate said creativity and out-of-the-closet de-construction. Japan, especially Japanese cuisine, celebrates the 10,000 hours of experience needed for perfection. Which, as YHC recently said on LinkedIn, is why Jiro dreams of sushi...

All of that said, Your Humble Correspondent longs for that sweet happenstance where (1) he might be asked to participate; (2) he might be pecunious enough to eat in at least three famous overseas restaurants, let alone seven; and (3) he could spend long enough in Singapore to visit with Tetsuya at Waku Chin!

And yes, one has darkened the doors at Ryugin and Narisawa ...

Pip! Pip!

A useful summary ...

While most of this is still relatively supeficial and doesn't explore the "why", Your Humble Correspondent deems it worthy of your attention:

http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/2014/4/23/7-reasons-why-tokyo-is-the-new-paris