So the sushi place recommended to me for dinner was closed which means another dining adventure.

(Future travelers staying at royal park hotel in Nihonbashi should seek out this place: walk a block down the street away from the train station and towards the shrine devoted to women having a smooth pregnancy and childbirth. Before the first major intersection you’ll see a curtain or sliding bamboo doors requiring you to step down. It’s either been full or closed when I’ve walked by. )

Anyway, I had to find a new place nearby to eat and didn’t want to repeat conveyor belt sushi for the third time in 7 days. For lunch I had noodles in the office cafeteria, and the side dish I thought was a custard style dessert or even coconut jello like I’ve had at Chinese food restaurants, but it tasted like cold undercooked egg whites.

So, I’m hungry and ended up in a smoky bar (they’re all smoky) and bellied up to the bar. Choose two items from the menu and said “omakase” to the chef and waiter which basically means “whatever the chef desires.” Plus I ordered a large Kirin beer knowing even if I didnt like the taste of something I could wash it down with a swig of beer. (As a side note, they do not know how to pour beer here. It always comes with a 1-2 inch head of foam.)  The waiter then asked “two, four, five” and I assume he meant pieces so I said “5.”

Well, the first dish that i chose — fried garlic and fried pumpkin — was phenomenal. The batter was light and it wasn’t too salty. I don’t know what the meat with onions dish was but it melted in my mouth. The miso mackerel was so tender with a bit of pesto on it. Yum!

And talk about fresh. It’s the height of dinner hour and the chef is behind the bar peeling an onion to put on the grille.

The third plate….I waited, and waited and waited. People were served around me, ate their meals and left. For some reason after my second dish the food stopped. Everyone else around me got more food except for me and I know I ordered more. So I googled phrases in Japanese so I could speak to the chef. Turns out “omakase 5” means a chef’s choice plate and 5 refers to the cost, not the number of pieces. So the “5” meant “500” Yen (approx $10.) D’oh!

Still hungry, I opted for the grilled avocado with mentai sauce, a dish of cold pickled radishes with some type of bitter greens, and the fried marinated cream cheese. All of it delicious. When I said “oiishi!” (delicious!) to the chef who at this stage knew I was from Boston and traveling on work. He gave a big belly laugh and smiled.

I was definitely a focus of attention. Two Japanese men invited me to sit at their table, and two Israeli men traveling on business were amazed that I could order on my own, invited me to stay for a beer, and offered to meet me at the restaurant Tuesday night.

At that stage, I knew it was time to call it a night. There was a line out the door and I’ll definitely return here again during the trip!