I finally made it to Futaba, said to be the hardest to get into of Ueno’s big three tonkatsu restaurants. It’s closed on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays, and on top of that it’s only open from 11:30 to 2:00. Apparently it sometimes just closes for no particular reason, too -_- With this I’ve now done all three of the big three. Feels like I’ve finished a big piece of homework ^_^
I got up at 6 a.m. to check the newly announced MacBook lineup, wrapped up my morning work, and dropped in on my way to Akihabara. It opens at 11:30, but I got there a little late and had to queue. The interior is neat, but the place isn’t very big.
The sign
It’s actually closer to Okachimachi Station than to Ueno. This area is packed with Korean restaurants, a bit like Shin-Okubo.
The entrance
The sign says they’re full right now.
Table setting
Green tea and a dish for the sauce. I found it tastier to pour the sauce onto the plate and dip the tonkatsu rather than pour it over the top.
The tonkatsu from the 2,940-yen tonkatsu set meal
As befits one of the big three, the price is scary for a tonkatsu. Like Horaiya and Ponta Honke, this place definitely has its own character. In every respect, from the shredded cabbage and the batter to how the meat is fried, it’s the closest to what you’d picture as a standard tonkatsu. Compared with an ordinary tonkatsu, think of it as twice as thick and even more tender. I ate the cabbage with the tangy house tonkatsu sauce poured over it, and tonkatsu really is best eaten with cabbage. It was so good I asked for another plate. (Cabbage refills are free.)
Cross-section
Not sure how well you can see it. I really enjoyed it, but it’s expensive after all. And the meat still had a bit of that porky gaminess. Maybe it was just that day, but to my taste Ponta Honke’s tonkatsu is better. Of course it’s even pricier… Who knew I’d end up eating a 3,000-yen tonkatsu and saying the 3,200-yen one was better..
The rice, soup and pickles that come with the tonkatsu set meal.
These alone cost 525 yen -_- Anyway, it was a good meal.
Among neighbourhood places like this, there are some where the food is good, but when you think about value for money you wonder whether they’re really worth a special trip. Futaba isn’t quite that bad, but since its opening hours are so awkward, I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way for.
By the way, the MacBook was announced, but it turns out the stores that give points won’t be selling it for a few more days. Sigh. I came back a bit crushed. It’s pretty expensive, so buying it without points is hard to swallow. For now I just picked up some peripherals and a backup hard drive and came home. Who could understand the sorrow of hearing the shopping god calling and not being able to answer..