Laser Wolf, Philadelphia
“Yes, there are Philly cheesesteaks too, which were good in a cheap and dirty kinda way and eaten leaning forward while sat on a park bench to avoid cheese whizz getting on my shorts”
886, New York
“Wedding aside, my plans for New York had inevitably included chasing “only in New York” moments. A walk in central park, eating a slice at night after a show, visiting a proper Jewish deli for chopped liver bagels. That sort of thing.”
“I recall eating foie gras with frozen truffle liberally shaved over it as a starter. In a bloody pub!”
Tokyo Meats and Bonito Bonito, Tokyo
“It is overwhelming. The stuff of sweaty anxiety dreams for victims of decision paralysis.”
“Time flashes past in a blur of commuting, laundry, gym sessions, work, desperate socializing, unspecified “admin” and more laundry”
Bar Bouton and Fuwari, Kanazawa
“At these points, when you are in a strange land where you have limited command of the language, there is typically, as there was on this occasion, a moment of slight hesitation before entry”
Masakichi and Seirinkan, Tokyo
“It can’t be long before he too has a show where he can shout “fuck” at well-meaning, but unfortunately illiterate, deep-fryer operators in midwestern US towns”
Toriya Otori, Otaru, Hokkaido
“You won’t live much better in the moment than you do right here”
Locale, Meguro; Smoked Kitchen, Gotanda; Toritama Honkan, Ebisu
“Coming down the stairs from an almost unmarked entrance, I felt a bit like Walter White entering Gustavo Fring’s purpose built subterranean meth lab for the first time”
Tonki and Menya Fujishiro, Meguro, Tokyo
“Describing my Japanese language skills as non-existent would be generous to non-existent things”
