Sarashina Horii

Sarashina Horii
6/24
I was never meant to write a foodie blog.  The reason?  I take pictures of the mediocre food I eat (see last post, 'Ebisu, Calligraphy and Futsal') but fail to take a single photo when I visit one of Tokyo's most famous restaurants.

The place is called Sarashina Horii, located near Azabu-juban station in the southern downtown area.  It's one of the oldest restaurants in Tokyo, dating to 1789, and serves the best soba in the city.  Koitabashi-san offered to take me there after work yesterday because his son works a part-time job as a server there.  Since I've already set a precedent for poaching photos from other blogs, here's the storefront in the daytime, from Tokyo Cuisine Guide by Tokyo Joe.

The Japanese government often recommends this place to foreign dignitaries, including our very own POTUS.  It's also apparently a favorite of the members of AKB48, whom we unfortunately did not meet.

   Being completely honest, I can tell the difference between good and bad soba, but not between good and world-class.  My meal (soba and tiny tempura shrimp) tasted pretty good, and pricing was surprisingly reasonable for a restaurant with such a formidable reputation.  Seating was on traditional tatami mats, either seiza (sitting on one's knees, formal) or agura (criss-cross, not formal).  Both were difficult with my casual soccer player's absurdly inflexible legs.  Nevertheless, would definitely visit again, with a camera this time. 10/10.