Diary of a Cranky Traveler: Rizzuto seeks Food, Clothing, and Light
Nov 28th, 2010, 12:11 PM
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Marya:
Off topic..how did your visit to the Adams Mansion and the houses go? I've been gone since 1957 so I wouldn't have been able to help on Quincy dining. We never called it "dining" back then!LOL
Escapee from "grim" New England...70º and sunny today!
Off topic..how did your visit to the Adams Mansion and the houses go? I've been gone since 1957 so I wouldn't have been able to help on Quincy dining. We never called it "dining" back then!LOL
Escapee from "grim" New England...70º and sunny today!
Nov 28th, 2010, 01:19 PM
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Rizzuto: What a great report so far--very nice of you to provide an addictive distraction to those of us living through November in Boston.
Re: Paris. I have the dog cemetery on my list (the original Rin Tin Tin is buried there), but you should go to Picpus Cemetery, where Lafayette is buried, supposedly in dirt he brought back to France from Bunker Hill, after his visit in the mid-1820s. Also, more interesting, it is the site of some of the mass graves from the guillotine.
Stu: Can't believe Raquel didn't say goodbye.
Re: Paris. I have the dog cemetery on my list (the original Rin Tin Tin is buried there), but you should go to Picpus Cemetery, where Lafayette is buried, supposedly in dirt he brought back to France from Bunker Hill, after his visit in the mid-1820s. Also, more interesting, it is the site of some of the mass graves from the guillotine.
Stu: Can't believe Raquel didn't say goodbye.
Nov 28th, 2010, 01:46 PM
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Dumela.
An additional note or two about food. First, Butagumi: merely saying that the tonkatsu was "delicious" does a grave injustice to the place, and serves as a sad commentary on the richness of typist's vocabulary. Butagumi had about 8 different varieties of pork available last night, evenly divided between the rosu (fatty sirloin) and hire (lean fillet). I had the fillet from Kagoshima. It was cooked perfectly: crisp on the outside, pink in the center, and the dipping sauce was thick, full of tomato and spice flavor, and not overly sweet. But the Nirvana came from the texture. The center slices were remarkable, unlike anything I'd eaten before -- the mouth feel was identical to that of a perfect, warm, fudge brownie. The slightest crispness on the outside, and pure sensual pleasure on the inside. No need to chew, just let it sit and languish in your mouth until it has melted away into nothingness. This is what they should have fed to Meg Ryan in that Sleepless in Seattle scene. Would have made her acting job far easier.
And also some credit to an unlikely source, the bread at the Grand Hyatt. I'll almost always pop out to a local coffee place for breakfast instead of paying the silly hotel prices, but on my 1st morning yesterday I'd gotten coffee and a bread basket from room service. Bread basket had a few croissants and 1 slice of a baguette. Nothing special there ... except the baguette slice was as good as anything you'll get in Paris. No, wait, <u><i>better</i></u> than most of what you get in Paris (and I'm talking about boulangeries, not hotels). Perfect bread: serious crust, and inside is just the right density and full of flavor. Bread that <s>literally</s> figuratively screams to be buttered and gobbled down. So, more room service today, but this time with only baguette slices in the basket. Excellent way to start the day.
And it promises to be another beautiful day in Tokyo -- sun is just now rising by the Tokyo Tower. Late November is an ideal time to come here in many ways. You don't get the cherry blossoms, but you do tend to get pleasant temperatures (around 60F during the day) and a much better chance of dry weather. If you're headed to Hong Kong on the same trip, you should be drawn and quartered immediately if you go at any other time of year, as Nov/Dec is the time when Hong Kong becomes habitable.
No set plans for today yet. I want to do some shopping, maybe find some high quality winter gear (knit socks, gloves) that can be of supremely high quality here. Definitely also look for a quiet place or three or five to pass some time as well.
Thanks to all for any kind words, or words that I can construe as kind. Stu, I can't think of many teachers at NHS who'd have been there in 51, except maybe Thayer Warshaw (English) and Jack Shapiro (Math). Poor Jack got me for all 3 years.
Indianapearl: no, hadn't seen that - thx! First reaction is that the chef's name translates as Mr Goosehead if my French isn't too rusty.
Cheers,
An additional note or two about food. First, Butagumi: merely saying that the tonkatsu was "delicious" does a grave injustice to the place, and serves as a sad commentary on the richness of typist's vocabulary. Butagumi had about 8 different varieties of pork available last night, evenly divided between the rosu (fatty sirloin) and hire (lean fillet). I had the fillet from Kagoshima. It was cooked perfectly: crisp on the outside, pink in the center, and the dipping sauce was thick, full of tomato and spice flavor, and not overly sweet. But the Nirvana came from the texture. The center slices were remarkable, unlike anything I'd eaten before -- the mouth feel was identical to that of a perfect, warm, fudge brownie. The slightest crispness on the outside, and pure sensual pleasure on the inside. No need to chew, just let it sit and languish in your mouth until it has melted away into nothingness. This is what they should have fed to Meg Ryan in that Sleepless in Seattle scene. Would have made her acting job far easier.
And also some credit to an unlikely source, the bread at the Grand Hyatt. I'll almost always pop out to a local coffee place for breakfast instead of paying the silly hotel prices, but on my 1st morning yesterday I'd gotten coffee and a bread basket from room service. Bread basket had a few croissants and 1 slice of a baguette. Nothing special there ... except the baguette slice was as good as anything you'll get in Paris. No, wait, <u><i>better</i></u> than most of what you get in Paris (and I'm talking about boulangeries, not hotels). Perfect bread: serious crust, and inside is just the right density and full of flavor. Bread that <s>literally</s> figuratively screams to be buttered and gobbled down. So, more room service today, but this time with only baguette slices in the basket. Excellent way to start the day.
And it promises to be another beautiful day in Tokyo -- sun is just now rising by the Tokyo Tower. Late November is an ideal time to come here in many ways. You don't get the cherry blossoms, but you do tend to get pleasant temperatures (around 60F during the day) and a much better chance of dry weather. If you're headed to Hong Kong on the same trip, you should be drawn and quartered immediately if you go at any other time of year, as Nov/Dec is the time when Hong Kong becomes habitable.
No set plans for today yet. I want to do some shopping, maybe find some high quality winter gear (knit socks, gloves) that can be of supremely high quality here. Definitely also look for a quiet place or three or five to pass some time as well.
Thanks to all for any kind words, or words that I can construe as kind. Stu, I can't think of many teachers at NHS who'd have been there in 51, except maybe Thayer Warshaw (English) and Jack Shapiro (Math). Poor Jack got me for all 3 years.
Indianapearl: no, hadn't seen that - thx! First reaction is that the chef's name translates as Mr Goosehead if my French isn't too rusty.
Cheers,
Nov 28th, 2010, 02:28 PM
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Ahhhhhhh Kagoshima black pork also known as Tonkotso. The best pork I have ever had. Kuranosuke introduced me to the meat that melts in the mouth. Love the katsu sauce too.
<i>Definitely also look for a quiet place or three or five to pass some time as well.</i>
Try Shinjuku Gyoen Park. A few of my calendar pics were taken there. Should be nice this time of year although I know Shinjuku is not your cup of tea this place might just let you see Shinjuku in a different light,lol
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3034_001.html
Maybe I should start my trip report sometime soon also
Aloha!
<i>Definitely also look for a quiet place or three or five to pass some time as well.</i>
Try Shinjuku Gyoen Park. A few of my calendar pics were taken there. Should be nice this time of year although I know Shinjuku is not your cup of tea this place might just let you see Shinjuku in a different light,lol
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3034_001.html
Maybe I should start my trip report sometime soon also
Aloha!
Nov 28th, 2010, 03:15 PM
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Don...can't recall any Warshaw or Jack Shapiro. 14 years is a big difference I suppose.
Don't forget to try that okonomiyaki cafe on Omotesando..it's worth the search and seek....only seats about ten...everything gracefully made on table-top stove.
CW..<i>Stu: Can't believe Raquel didn't say goodbye.</i>
I'm over it now, but it hurt. I bumped into and hugged her and her very friendly Jamaican house maid, about a month later. She had not moved out of Bel Air Glen entirely. Now next door, we've got a 60+ year-old mystery man with a trophy 20-something wifewife and baby boy.
Don't forget to try that okonomiyaki cafe on Omotesando..it's worth the search and seek....only seats about ten...everything gracefully made on table-top stove.
CW..<i>Stu: Can't believe Raquel didn't say goodbye.</i>
I'm over it now, but it hurt. I bumped into and hugged her and her very friendly Jamaican house maid, about a month later. She had not moved out of Bel Air Glen entirely. Now next door, we've got a 60+ year-old mystery man with a trophy 20-something wifewife and baby boy.
Nov 28th, 2010, 11:15 PM
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Butagumi indeed terrific, and improved by the company: as much as I enjoy food I still find the social aspect of restaurant meals to be key to the total experience. I may well go back to Butagumi this visit.
I spent this afternoon at a lovely garden at Iidabashi, Koishikawa. Great color, and there were many photographers waiting for a glimpse of a small, brilliantly colored kingfisher.
I spent this afternoon at a lovely garden at Iidabashi, Koishikawa. Great color, and there were many photographers waiting for a glimpse of a small, brilliantly colored kingfisher.
Nov 29th, 2010, 10:49 AM
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Enjoying your trip report from my Paris studio where I am staying for a week.
On my first trip to Japan I stayed in the Yanaka area - it's very interesting and you feel like you're in a regular neighborhood.
Speaking of seeing famous people while traveling, I saw Mick Jagger in the Kyoto National Museum when I was there in 2006(?) - when I got home I checked and the Stones had given a concert there or nearby....that was really cool - he was with his son and a bodyguard!
On my first trip to Japan I stayed in the Yanaka area - it's very interesting and you feel like you're in a regular neighborhood.
Speaking of seeing famous people while traveling, I saw Mick Jagger in the Kyoto National Museum when I was there in 2006(?) - when I got home I checked and the Stones had given a concert there or nearby....that was really cool - he was with his son and a bodyguard!
Nov 29th, 2010, 11:20 AM
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Mr. Tower, your reputation here has always been impeccable and I have no doubt you have no ulterior motive(s) for your celebrity encounters.
Rizz, congratulations, things sound like they're progressing splendidly on your odyssey. Although I must say, as you yourself have pointed out, the juxtaposition of venues in your itinerary ("You are the customer! You are King!" vs "Oh, you pathetic nothingness, you are daring to ask me to wait on you?") is indeed an unusual one. I'm violently curious to know how things turn out, and I rarely use that particular adverb and that particular adjective together in the same sentence. Please keep us apprised.
BC
Rizz, congratulations, things sound like they're progressing splendidly on your odyssey. Although I must say, as you yourself have pointed out, the juxtaposition of venues in your itinerary ("You are the customer! You are King!" vs "Oh, you pathetic nothingness, you are daring to ask me to wait on you?") is indeed an unusual one. I'm violently curious to know how things turn out, and I rarely use that particular adverb and that particular adjective together in the same sentence. Please keep us apprised.
BC
Nov 29th, 2010, 01:05 PM
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Thank you BC..nice of you to say that. Ulterior motives become interior motives of the brain at my advanced age, nearly 82. I just enjoy sharing my vast storage of memories with appreciative Fodorites.I wonder how many of the younger members actually recognized some of the name-droppings!
Doesn't Rizzuto (Don) have a fine hand with detailed descriptions! We've had some coincidence along the way, also, as you may have read.
Keep on truckin' and travelin'...and travel 'til you unravel!!
stu tower
Doesn't Rizzuto (Don) have a fine hand with detailed descriptions! We've had some coincidence along the way, also, as you may have read.
Keep on truckin' and travelin'...and travel 'til you unravel!!
stu tower
Nov 29th, 2010, 02:06 PM
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Well, Mr. Tower, you are most certainly welcome. Although I remember Mort Sahl in only the dimmest way, I did recognize all the other names you cited. (Ms. Welch, in the past year, has been in a Foster Grant commercial.) I shan't embarrass various Fodorites by pointing out they are older than I am, as the list is indeed extensive, but as I just told my (older) brother "I may have been born in the morning, but I wasn't born <i><u>yesterday</i></u> morning!".
I'm traveling vicariously through fellow Fodorites these days as I was laid off from my job (a position I had occupied for about 15 years) in February, and gainful employment and I have not yet found each other since.
BC
I'm traveling vicariously through fellow Fodorites these days as I was laid off from my job (a position I had occupied for about 15 years) in February, and gainful employment and I have not yet found each other since.
BC
Nov 29th, 2010, 02:21 PM
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Another fine day yesterday. Out at a respectable hour, then first off to Shibuya station to charge up my Suica card (I was standing around like a lost soul in Roppongi station the day before looking for a place to do the same deed, then read later in the day that it's done only/mostly at JR stations. And for most of you who've never been to Tokyo, this post might as well be written in Japanese for all it has meant to you -- <i>gomen nasai</i> for that.)
A few years ago I got a pair of uber-luxe winter socks in Japan. They were knit jobs, like some giant sweater that your grandmother would make, that you'd only wear around the house and couldn't possibly use with shoes. I hunted through Seibu and Tokyu in Shibuya and then Isetan in Shinjuku, but no dice. Very sad. Got myself a nice take-away bento to enjoy at the Shinjuku Gyoen gardens, but then got impatient and ate it today (Monday) instead of waiting until the gardens opened tomorrow. By early afternoon, I noticed that neother my back nor feet were working, so I crawled back to the hotel for a nap.
Packed up my suitcase and sent it ahead to the Hyatt in Hakone. That forwarding service is a great convenience, except that i always -- ALWAYS -- get the feeling that I've sent something that I'll desperately need before I reunite with the suitcase. So far so good though.
That was not the case with my original packing. I tend to always forget something or other, so it's a cheerful game that I play to see what I've screwed up once I get where I'm going. One time it was the headgear for my CPAP mask. The headgear is a piece of material tat attaches to the thing that goes over the nose and keeps the nosepiece on your face -- the whole affair is useless without it. This I discovered when I got to my hotel in Hong Kong. Solution was to head down to the nearby street market, buy a cheap phony-silk scarf, thread the scarf through the slits in the face mask, and tie it onto my head. It did the job, but for 9 nights I looked like a character in a John Waters movie.
This trip I managed to miss deodorant (not a big deal to replace) and some prescription meds (a bigger deal). Don't even think about trying to replace prescription meds in Japan. Can't be done. Just can't be done. Altogether different system, altogether different pharmacology. Far easier to have your cat sitter take the stuff from your medicine cabinet and air express it to you. (What do you mean, you wouldn't want your cat sitter to be poking around in your medicine cabinet? come on, tell us, what's in there?)
Went for an ok meal at an Italian restaurant in the complex next to the hotel. The penne bolognese were cooked properly and not swimming in sauce, but I was a bit mystified by the flatware offered. I got one large spoon (bit bigger than a soup spoon) and a small, 3-pronged fork, similar in shape/size that you'd get in the US with a shrimp cocktail. I wound up doing some occasional penne-spearing and occasional penne-plus-beefy-bits scooping; I'm certainly well beyond the point of being too concerned about whether or not it's the intended technique.
Mort Sahl, oy. He was popular, but maybe only among a certain subculture, when comedians would go on Ed Sullivan (if they were very popular) or Jack Paar/Johnny Carson (a little less popular). Sahl was certainly one of the edgier ones, and I liked him. Could never, ever, figure out why people thought that Bob Hope & Red Skelton were funny.
Dead tired last night by 8, struggled to stay awake until 9, slept til 7 this morning. All is well. Next installment should be from Hakone, at the Hyatt Gora. Cheers,
A few years ago I got a pair of uber-luxe winter socks in Japan. They were knit jobs, like some giant sweater that your grandmother would make, that you'd only wear around the house and couldn't possibly use with shoes. I hunted through Seibu and Tokyu in Shibuya and then Isetan in Shinjuku, but no dice. Very sad. Got myself a nice take-away bento to enjoy at the Shinjuku Gyoen gardens, but then got impatient and ate it today (Monday) instead of waiting until the gardens opened tomorrow. By early afternoon, I noticed that neother my back nor feet were working, so I crawled back to the hotel for a nap.
Packed up my suitcase and sent it ahead to the Hyatt in Hakone. That forwarding service is a great convenience, except that i always -- ALWAYS -- get the feeling that I've sent something that I'll desperately need before I reunite with the suitcase. So far so good though.
That was not the case with my original packing. I tend to always forget something or other, so it's a cheerful game that I play to see what I've screwed up once I get where I'm going. One time it was the headgear for my CPAP mask. The headgear is a piece of material tat attaches to the thing that goes over the nose and keeps the nosepiece on your face -- the whole affair is useless without it. This I discovered when I got to my hotel in Hong Kong. Solution was to head down to the nearby street market, buy a cheap phony-silk scarf, thread the scarf through the slits in the face mask, and tie it onto my head. It did the job, but for 9 nights I looked like a character in a John Waters movie.
This trip I managed to miss deodorant (not a big deal to replace) and some prescription meds (a bigger deal). Don't even think about trying to replace prescription meds in Japan. Can't be done. Just can't be done. Altogether different system, altogether different pharmacology. Far easier to have your cat sitter take the stuff from your medicine cabinet and air express it to you. (What do you mean, you wouldn't want your cat sitter to be poking around in your medicine cabinet? come on, tell us, what's in there?)
Went for an ok meal at an Italian restaurant in the complex next to the hotel. The penne bolognese were cooked properly and not swimming in sauce, but I was a bit mystified by the flatware offered. I got one large spoon (bit bigger than a soup spoon) and a small, 3-pronged fork, similar in shape/size that you'd get in the US with a shrimp cocktail. I wound up doing some occasional penne-spearing and occasional penne-plus-beefy-bits scooping; I'm certainly well beyond the point of being too concerned about whether or not it's the intended technique.
Mort Sahl, oy. He was popular, but maybe only among a certain subculture, when comedians would go on Ed Sullivan (if they were very popular) or Jack Paar/Johnny Carson (a little less popular). Sahl was certainly one of the edgier ones, and I liked him. Could never, ever, figure out why people thought that Bob Hope & Red Skelton were funny.
Dead tired last night by 8, struggled to stay awake until 9, slept til 7 this morning. All is well. Next installment should be from Hakone, at the Hyatt Gora. Cheers,
Nov 29th, 2010, 02:58 PM
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Okay, NOW I have a question: why do people seem to travel to Asia (Bob & Karen Kimball have taken untold grief for this) to eat Italian food???
Call me a hopeless romantic, but isn't Italy the obvious venue for consuming Italian food? (Lived there, love the authentic Italian experience, can tolerate the faux Italian experience here in the States in some instances.)
BC
Call me a hopeless romantic, but isn't Italy the obvious venue for consuming Italian food? (Lived there, love the authentic Italian experience, can tolerate the faux Italian experience here in the States in some instances.)
BC
Nov 29th, 2010, 03:13 PM
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Why eat Italianm food in Asia? Because, in Japan and some other places here, (1)they do it well, and (2)that's what I felt like having at the moment. Instant gratification, self-indulgence, that's the ticket.
Now it's interesting that bc mentions Italy. Try going to Italy and deciding that you feel like having Chinese food. Buon' fortuna. There's maybe one Chinese restaurant around if you're in a decent sized city, run by a couple of emigres. They probably tried to serve decent Chinese food, but the Italians wouldn't have anything to do with it. So instead you have some sort of horrendously toned-down glop, and where you're likely to see patate or paste (italian kind, not Chinese) as the starch. Feh. Italians tend to love one style of cooking -- they do a great job of it, but you better want Italian food when you go to Italy.
The Japanese <u>love</u> to eat all different styles of food. Yeah, there are a bunch of different Japanese styles,but they do an equally good job with other cultures' cuisines. One of the many, many good reasons to visit here.
Now it's interesting that bc mentions Italy. Try going to Italy and deciding that you feel like having Chinese food. Buon' fortuna. There's maybe one Chinese restaurant around if you're in a decent sized city, run by a couple of emigres. They probably tried to serve decent Chinese food, but the Italians wouldn't have anything to do with it. So instead you have some sort of horrendously toned-down glop, and where you're likely to see patate or paste (italian kind, not Chinese) as the starch. Feh. Italians tend to love one style of cooking -- they do a great job of it, but you better want Italian food when you go to Italy.
The Japanese <u>love</u> to eat all different styles of food. Yeah, there are a bunch of different Japanese styles,but they do an equally good job with other cultures' cuisines. One of the many, many good reasons to visit here.
