REVIEWED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThis is how it works. Enter a tiny crowded space, find the counter, and make a quick choice about what you want to eat. The daily specials board is always a good guide for the indecisive (just pick something!) or choose the bento box which provides neat little compartments of food, including rice, chicken or beef, and everything needed for a hearty and healthy meal. The person who takes the order will tell you to wait, and within a few minutes, there’s your lunch. Take it to any table you can find.
If some dishes take longer, they will be brought to the table. The beef sukiyaki is excellent, so are dishes such as the tuna salad: a bowl of freshly cooked tuna steak served on a bed of mixed greens, with a Japanese dressing. No fuss, no frills, and a remarkable range of people, from top lawyers to students and office workers. The tables are small, but the cushion seats are reasonably comfortable. This is not the place to linger, because turnover is so brisk, but a late lunch might enable time for a glass of wine and a thoughtful green tea.
Rita Erlich, July 2007
