I meant to update at least once a week, but it just isn’t working out that way. That’s the downside of freelancing: when work gets busy or doesn’t go as planned, you can’t take a break. It’s not like I have fixed days off. On top of that, lately I’ve been working day and night, and I only barely get some time on weekends. At times like this I miss my salaryman days. (Well… not for that reason, but I’m about to become a salaryman again soon…)
It’s probably the same in any neighborhood, but finding a place for dinner in Shinjuku that’s good value, with decent food and a decent atmosphere, isn’t easy. The busier the street, the more expensive-but-delicious places there are, and those are the ones that get featured in magazines and restaurant guides. But places like that are for special occasions, so you don’t go very often. Then again, an area like Shinjuku, full of salarymen, naturally has plenty of cheap, tasty spots popular with middle-aged guys. The trouble is, those places leave you smelling of food, they’re noisy, and the atmosphere isn’t great… So today I went to Salvatore Cuomo, a pizza chain I’d been to once before.
At the entrance the waiter shouted something along the lines of “Irasshaimase!” -_- It’s a bit hectic, like a family restaurant. Apart from that, the interior is nice and the atmosphere is quiet.
Water and a glass of wine
About 600 yen, so not too expensive. The taste… hmm… average? But does a good glass of house wine even exist in this world? I’ve never had one.
Three-item starter plate for 1,000 yen, five items for 1,600 yen.
Chicken, pumpkin, and chicken liver mousse. Overall it feels less like a starter and more like something to nibble with wine. Not top-notch, but the quality is high.
Assorted charcoal-grilled skewers. I don’t remember the price exactly, but it was around 800 yen.
Not specialist level either, but it beats your average chain. It came out cold, which I guess is a service problem… If that bothers you, you should go to a proper yakitori place…
D.O.C pizza, 2,300 yen
They called it “dock pizza” -_-;; Maybe because it’s baked in a wood-fired oven, the dough is delicious. The tomatoes are fresh and sweet too. It would have been nice if they’d put a bit more cheese and basil on it, but at this price, I’m grateful for what I got.
The two of us ate until we were full and it came to about 5,300 yen. If you’re drinking mainly wine – say four people ordering bottles – it’d probably come to about 4,000 yen a head, but for a simple dinner the price is reasonable and it’s very satisfying.
For round two, we went looking for a bar in Shinjuku for a quick drink.
This is a bar called Shu, near the front of Kabukicho. The atmosphere is nice, but the food is average, and it’s not cheap either. Maybe that’s why there aren’t many customers, which makes it just right for a quiet drink.
Assorted fromage (cheese plate)
Was this a thousand-something yen… Bars are so expensive I can’t go to them on my own dime, sadly.
Glass wine served in a decanter
And sure enough, the wine was… But oh well… we ordered very simply and passed the time, so I’d call today a success. Finding a restaurant that’s actually worth going to seems to be hard. If money’s no object, choosing gets a bit easier. But money doesn’t solve everything either. Life seems to be hard for everyone. At times like this, I wish I had my own personal concierge…