Coco Ichi Ban!!!

kazooie

Meh, anything you can get in osaka, I can get in tokyo. I prefer hokkaido food personally, but tokyo suffices.

RuneX

Sounds nice. If only the Mrs. could have some of the dinner. Hope she gets well soon!

Angryrider

@Brian Ashcraft: Good to hear that she's in good spirits. Good luck with keeping Mini-Bash entertained food wise in the coming weeks ^^

Cchrist

Anything with the word "バーガー" in it should be disallowed from Japan, especially if the words "Mos" or "スーパー" precede it.

The_Rabbit

I disagree, the best food in japan is the Super Tamago Burger from mcdonalds...or any chicken on a stick from SunKus, Lawson, ect

BauerStyle

I could use a nice Mos Burger. Yum.

Livid

I'm gonna have to put the word in for Hakata ramen, eating it was a transcendent experience and I still miss it.

Powerlurker

@Cchrist:
Cheers. Thanks for asking. She's still in the hospital, still getting IVs everyday. But, she's in good spirits, healthy and happy. Think she might be in there for another week or two. :/

Brian Ashcraft

Wow, wow, wow. Now I'm hungry

rich8606

Keep eating like that, and you'll grow your belly at the same rate as your wife.

Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

erlik

I have to admit the Kansai area is my favorite part of Japan, especially Osaka. But I have to disagree with you on one thing: Okonomiyaki. Have you ever had Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki? Oh man. If you ever go to Hiroshima University for some reason, stop by Q. THE BEST.

filmstarevenge

Chicken in yellow curry + rice is the best ever!

Atsumi

I've always wanted to try takoyaki since I saw Anthony Bourdain try it on his show.

And I'm not one for octopus, but that stuff looks good.

I have no idea what the other stuff is that you mentioned, though (sans the beer!), but I'm sure that its awesome as well. Japanese food puts everything else to shame, I swear.

Tyber_Zann

The only thing I understood in that menu was "beer". :)

jay427

;_; *envy mode on*

Another reason why: Japan > where I live

doesntlikedede

@Candlejack: You never made your own sushi then ;) don't think there isn't any cooking involved. Otherwise youd be chewing on hard rice :)

Cchrist

Aye, nothing better then that of Osaka's. It's why I picked it over living in Kanto or any other area.

Kenofthedead

I looked them up and I'm kinda indifferent as to whether they look good or gross, but the one thing I found funny was "Another popular way to prepare and serve yakisoba in Japan is to pile the noodles into a bun sliced down the middle in the style of hot-dog, and garnish the top with mayonnaise and shreds of pickled ginger." Weird...

Grumps

@Cchrist: Ah, cool. I like some Sushi but I generally prefer cooked/fried food :)

Candlejack

@Candlejack: It's all fried hence all the yaki's so no sushi there.

(I think thats right. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.)

Cchrist

I dunno, Bashcraft...I'm sorta proudly pimping Kagoshima's tonkotsu ramen, what with that succulent kurobuta meat.

I'm currently addicted, you see.

pylon_trooper

Gah, frickin' love yakisoba. can never find any real japanese restaurants around here, only ones to sell teriyaki. I miss japan just for the food :( maruchan ramen just doesn't cut it. at. all.

DaRebel

I don't even know what these are! They sound yummi though. Is Sushi involved?

Candlejack

you're making me jealous

and to second Cchrist,

how is your wife doing? Out of the hospital? doing better I hope?

zeropoint.0

I miss food carts in Japan. I used to live in Iwakuni when I was stationed over there in the Marines. I think I'm going to try and get orders back over there in a couple years.

starscream1101

Notice how all the foods have 'yaki' in it...Now that's some gooooooood eatin'

RamanaMaharshi

Damn you're making me hungry.

How's the wife Bash? Is she out of the hospital yet?

Cchrist

it's common knowledge that Osaka has the best food in Japan. I believe the saying goes Kyoto for fashion, Osaka for food...I could be paraphrasing.
I did my internship for culinary in Osaka and Tokyo and I preferred Osaka to Tokyo...in ever aspect.

Tuggie

Heavyfuel

Right here in Seoul they have a food cart near the "fashion town" with corn dogs coated in oven french fries.
This sounds terrible, but in fact it is delicious.

TimeDoctor

damn now I'm craving for the okonomiyaki i had when I was in Kyoto... and I can't find a place in Boston that does it :(

juliocho

You should do a country wide tour of Okonomiyaki places. Agree with filmstarrevenge though, Hiroshima Okonomiyaki is great stuff. Japanese "junk food" at its best.

Totorototoro

Poor Tokyo. I still love kanto more than kansai! But then again, I despise the various "yaki"s. Absolutely cannot stand them whatsoever. First time I ate okonomiyaki, I thought I was going to vomit it back up. I think it might have something to do with the triple combination of the sauce, red ginger, and bonito flakes that causes my body to wholly reject kansai foods. Okonomiyaki = fried foul death patty of sin. As for regional foods, I have to hand it to the Nagano or Nikko soba. All other soba tastes so bland in comparison!

タイヘン

I wish we had food stands in the suburbs... as much as I love yakisoba I'd settle for a falafel stand, a taco stand, a curry stand, EVEN A FREAKING LEMONADE STAND...

but no... Texas has no stands... we have drive-throughs... I mean even Dallas doesnt have any... WE HAVE NO STANDS YOU HAVE TO OPEN DOORS FOR FOOD...

Dont underestimate ordering food from the outside of a building, its magical.

Sadly we'll get food on out trains before we get them on the streets. This is what happens when you have more stores than houses...why is that?

I just want... food that doesnt require you to open a door...

I mean the 9 largest cities in America have them but Dallas doesnt... even Houston has them (thought still uncommon) but we have the sports teams... why? why? dont we have food stands where you STAND OUTSIDE and order...

we do have alot of sushi stores... alot of sushi.. curry.. you know japanese, indian, turkish, asian, middle eastern, thai... well asian food in general... I mean you'd think we'd have more tex-mex... but... we dont... we gots doughnuts...

mmm doughnuts...

SaanZ

Hows kid Bash gonna readjust to 'proper' school lunches and dinner once mommy comes home?

cactaur

@Tyber_Zann: Too bad you don't live near Chicago. I would hunt you down and force you to try it. I tried it once when I didn't know any Japanese... I thought it looked good, and had no idea that "tako" was octopus. It wasn't until that first bite that I realized what that little rubbery morsel in the middle was that I knew there was octopus in the dish... and by then the flavor awesomeness had already rendered it impossible for me to be grossed out. It's really good.

And Osaka is where Takoyaki came from, so eating it there is the best. I've only gotten as close as Kyoto, though... and the takoyaki there blew away the takoyaki in Tokyo... and it was a lot cheaper too!

Takoyako and okonomiyaki are two of my favorite foods... but tonkatsu and curry dishes still reign supreme!

tayaya

How's Mrs. Bashcraft doing and is mini-Bash doing ok without her. I remember when my mom was stuck at the hospital doing the whole birth thing, my dad would just let us stay up late and watch tv. Ahh family times. Anyways I've had takoyaki over here and I live in the Canadian prairies so I'm pretty sure it won't be exactly the same but it was real good, I'm gonna have to go to Osaka sometime and try it.

Jacktherip

@Tuggie:

common knowledge? The only thing I hear about osaka here in tokyo is that the people are a bit slow. Ive been to osaka countless times and never notice anything special about the food. Same goes for okinawa, hiroshima, nagasaki, and several other southern cities. I actually prefer sendai's food to osaka's. However, regardless of where you are, the food is good. And the fact that you can go to street vendors in any city in the country is quite nice.

Food is usually related to northern japan, and tokyo is the heart of fashion(as its one of the biggest world wide hubs for fashion design next to london, new york, and paris.)

RuneX

I've heard Osaka referred to as Japan's Kitchen on more than one occasion. More the reason why I'd like to get there if and when I visit Japan.

Rybanis

And I thought I was out of control making Porcupine Meatballs with plans of Eggs Benedict this weekend. Way to show me up Ashcraft!

Interstella5555

@tayaya: Don't worry, you wouldn't have to force me to eat it. I'm dying to try the stuff!

Chicago eh? I'm in Cleveland...

TAKOYAKI ROAD TRIP 2008! :D

Tyber_Zann

I bet it cost you under 2000円 too. Lucky bastid!

fuchikoma

@SaanZ: Haha, i've been to texas a couple of times now, and every town i've been to there's a taco truck..instead of an ice cream truck. I suppose that's the closest you'll get to a stand huh?

I lived in Misawa air base for a while on the most northern part of Honshū. Small town so there's plenty of small restaurants that serve phenomenal food that i can not get enough of, regardless of my distaste for seafood. I hope to get stationed back there in a couple months

DaRebel

As for takoyaki, I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I was in Osaka. Maybe my expectations of it were too high, but I'm don't see what's so great about it. I went to the Kougaryu at the Takoyaki Museum, where I had their museum set. Was that a bad choice for my first taste of takoyaki, fellow Kotakuites?

@Heavyfuel: Maybe you need to find somebody else to show you around. It's pretty easy to find non-seafood in Japan. Just off the top of my head, I can think of tonkatsu (pork), sukiyaki (beef), yakitori (chicken), okonomiyaki (you can choose the ingredients in this one, so you can avoid seafood), and various ramen and soba.

ly000001

To this day, a Seattle tradition amongst myself and friends:

Hitting up either the local fare @ a sushi house or the best chinese evar in town....Honey Court in Chinatown and everyone who can (or wants to) grabs a nice gi-normous 25oz (?) bottle of Sapporo and get silly...!!

I luv good times ala eating out, hence why I eat out so much....and sadly pushing 200lbs.

djgil

I'll give those items a try when I (hopefully) travel to Osaka this summer.

thammuz

I have been dying for Okonomiyaki for ages, but I don't think there's anywhere in the Bay Area that sells it anymore.

Torgen got his apology faceplate but not his fixed GH3 disc

I'm a fan of Okonomiyaki (must get some from Hiroshima the next time I visit), but I'll pass on the Takoyaki. It's okay, but the sauce isn't my thing, and the octopus balls are squishier than I'd like it since its drenched in the sauce.

DELICIOUS BUNNY

...Pfft. Osaka okonomiyaki? Hiroshima all the way!

Chesu

wage

Heavyfuel

Every gaijin's favorite food while living in Japan, yet none of them have had the sense to come back home and start restaurants serving it. Baffling! Fuck teriyaki! There is more to Japanese food, and it is actually tastes good!

Zerozaki Ishiki

Just so everyone understands, "yaki" means something that's been grilled. Like yakiniku means grilled meat and yakitori means grilled bird (bird, in this case, refers to chicken).

However, I've no idea what those things that Brian mentioned are... except for the beer, obviously :P

Recoil

@fuchikoma:
900 yen without the booze. :)

Brian Ashcraft

I love okonomiyaki! Takoyaki doesn't agree with me though. I miss Osaka...

evilonion

Takoyaki? Do they have tacos in Japan?(j/k)

Sounds good, even though I'm not a big fan of Octopus.

KM91

@Zerozaki Ishiki: There's plenty of real Japanese food in the United States. It just happens to be concentrated in and around the cities that have large Japanese populations, as you might expect.

@Recoil: Takoyaki = octopus balls. Yakisoba = fried noodles (though oddly enough, *not* soba!). Okonomiyaki = basically fried whatever on a bed of bread-like stuff made also from whatever.

I can live without all three, personally, although okonomiyaki being so open-ended, it really depends on who is making it. Yakisoba is like a poor-man's lo-mein, which is already kind of a poor-man's dish. As for takoyaki, I'm just not big on octopus in general.

btw, my favorite (of course!) clip of takoyaki being made:

+ Watch video

badasscat

I have been in Japan for most of my adult life total of 16 years, I have been all over and Yes Okonomiyaki in Osaka is really good, But you can get it the same way in and around Tokyo too. Personally Suki Yaki is one of my favorite Japanese dishes as well as Jyaga Niku, I also prefer Hokkaido's food over all of Japan.
But hey it is my opinion just like he has his.

jaxjp

Ohhhhh, so good...specially since it's almost dinner time.I went to a Japanese bar last night for just those things, still craving some more Takoyaki though. Why do you do this to us Bash?

TheJeanGenie

@jaxjp:

I also think Hokkaido ryouri is pretty good. But maybe that's just homesickness because I also really liked Okinawan food.

taco rice is a little more tempting than tako yaki.

francoamerica