Great New York style bagels in Yokohama (Tokyo)

I've been here for over 8 years now and a decent New York style bagel has been hard to come by. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of "bagels" being sold here in Japan, but all are pale comparisons to bagels you would find in New York.

However, I recently stumbled upon a bagel shop located between Tsunashima and Okurayama stations in Yokohama on the Toyoko line. The place is called Kitate Bagels (see their link and Facebook page below). It is a small shop, but I think is the closest I've seen to a true "New York" bagel (see my photo). I think that if they only cooked the outside a little more to give it a harder "crust", it would be perfect (a couple minutes in your toaster oven can fix that). The shop offers a variety of bagels such as onion, everything, salt, plain, blueberry bagels (and others on a rotating basis apparently), bagel sandwiches and a couple other breads and rolls. My favorite is the Everything bagel and I plan to get my bagel fix at least once a week.

If you are craving a decent NY style bagel, check them out if you are in the Yokohama area.

Kitate Bagels Okurayama page

Kitate bagels FACEBOOK page

Authentic New York Style Pizza by the slice is finally in Tokyo.

For as long as I have been here in Tokyo (thats over 5 years now) I have always been on the look out for the best and most authentic New York style pizza. Pizza (and Bagels) are probably the 2 things that a native New Yorker misses food-wise here in Japan. There have been some (over-priced) decent pizzas here and there but nothing that comes close to a real NY slice.

However that changed recently when I had my first taste of what I consider a true New york style pizza at Rocco's New York style pizza in Oji, Tokyo. The place opened in June 2010 and I'm ashamed to say that it took me this long to find it (January 2011).

Needless to say they serve up a good pizza that is on par with what I would consider a good slice back home in New York City. Rocco's sells pizza by the slice or by the pie (they have 2 different pie sizes) and offers a variety of toppings, "traditional" New York standards or Japanese style. And the best part is that the prices are reasonable if not cheap compared to the usual Japanese pricing you find on most "non-Japanese" food here. A regular cheese slice sells for 350 yen and toppings are 25 yen each.

I had a regular slice and a slice topped with sausage. Both were surprisingly good slices with sweet and flavorful sauce as well a perfectly baked thin crust that cracks nicely when you fold it. The cheese was cooked perfectly, not burnt, and stretched with "strings" of mozzarella cheese with when you took a bite. All important points for me when it comes to a true New York slice. You can even top off your slice with the usual staples of condiments found in every pizzeria in NY such as garlic powder, crushed red peppers, oregana, parmesan cheese...

Up until I came across Rocco's pizza, I thought it was just impossible to make true New York style pizza here in Tokyo or Japan for that matter (something about the water, ingredients, etc.) but now I know it just required a dedicated foreigner. Sbarros and Costco were the closest (sad to say, but I think other foreigners would have to agree), but Rocco's pizza is a much better and truer slice of New York style pizza, and I know I will be back often. Rocco's New York style pizza restaurant (owned and operated by New York expat Dan and his wife Keiko) is located under 5 minutes from the Oji station in Tokyo and has a classic corner pizza place feel, minus the fat sweaty guy making the pizza.

Another Visit to the King.

Yesterday I snapped and did something I never would have imagined ever doing in my life. I waited on line for about an hour at Burger King in Shinjuku. Its been a couple weeks since the first one opened in Shinjuku, and now that there's a second one in Ikebukuro, I figured that the lines must have gotten much shorter. Unfortunately it wasn't the case. However, I wasnt about to turn around and leave this time around. The whopper has been latched onto my mind the past two weeks with no signs of letting go. Its been over a year and a half since I last had a whopper or a chicken sandwich from BK back in NYC. There was a point in my life when I used to get BK -at least- twice a week, so you can imagine how much I enjoyed and missed them. The whopper tasted exactly the same as what I had in the States. The chicken sandwich unfortunately was a bit dry and tasteless. They really didnt use much mayonaise on the chicken sandwich either (just a small smear of it), which I guess is a step in a healthier direction, but definitely was missed. Another thing that is missed is the Onion Rings, which are completely missing off the menu. Hopefully the powers that be will put them on the menu soon.

The Return of the King

After hiding out for over 5 years from the Japanese burger landscape, the American hamburger chain Burger King has recently returned. On Friday, June 8th, throngs of loyal subjects waited in line for 30-50 minutes to get a taste of the flame-broiled whopper at the new store in Nishi-Shinjuku.

This is the chain's second shot at the Japanese market. Back in 2001, BK left the Japanese market citing the reason that they could not offer an inexpensive menu back then to compete with the cheap fast food trend going on at the time. Times have changed however and with the rise of "gourmet" (expensive) burger joints popping up everywhere and the Japanese economy looking better, they are ready to claim their throne. The Japanese Burger King chain is now aiming for the "better" burger market going head-to-head with other higher-end Japanese burger establishments such as Freshness Burger and MOS Burger; instead of playing against the cheaper burger places like Lotteria, First Kitchen and McDonalds. (On an interesting note, Lotte the company that owns Lotteria will now manage the Burger King chains here in Japan.)

On Friday, the opening day, I went to BK hungry for a Whopper but upon seeing the line, decided to visit another day. Judging from the push from mass media these past couple days regarding the return of BK, I have a feeling the lines may not die down for a while.

Fireworks fire off the summer season at Yokohama

It seems summer has officially arrived. The first hanabi (fireworks) display of the season were fired up at Minato Mirai in Yokohama (about 30 minutes from Shibuya/Tokyo area) this past Saturday evening (06/02/07) with the aid of laser lights and music at the 26th 横浜開港祭 Yokohama Kaikosai Port Opening Festival.* Hanabi are a big part of Japanese summers, as are the colorful yukata (Japanese summer robes), beaches (Shirohama Beach at the Southern tip of the Izu Peninsula, Shizuoka-ken is my favorite), constant humming of the semi (cicadas) and the drenching humidity.

Although fireworks seem to happen all throughout the summer in Japan, back home in the States (in this case New York), fireworks only happen on couple occasions; with the main event being the annual Macy's Fourth of July Spectacular on Independence day. Grucci, a Long Island (New York) based fireworks company, is the main name when it comes to firework displays back in the States, but I've got a feeling those guys could probably pick up a pyrotechnic trick or two out here in Japan.

*The Ports of Yokohama were opened for trade with the outside world in 1859 and was the "origin of modernization" in Japan. June 2nd, 2009 will mark the 150th anniversary of the historical event and the city is currently setting the stage for that big date. I'm sure hanabi will be huge part of the action then as well.
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