I finally hit the wall. Mark the date and time: September 17th at 7:23 p.m. That is, officially, when I stopped being hungry. Yep, I’m done. At this point, I’m just going to reduce my portions to the point where I can simply wean myself off food.
Today, I met up with my oldest friend from Japan, Moro-san, for a day of strolling, shopping, and – what else? – eating.
We had lunch at L’Osier, one of the city’s most revered French restaurants that reopened last year following a two and a half year renovation. I arrived early and was promptly greeted by the affable maitre d, Lionel, who gave me a rundown of the restaurant’s history and then, when Moro-san arrived, led us on a tour of the place. It is impressive. And so was the meal. For the most part.
To accommodate guests who would like to snap photos of their food, the restaurant can arrange to have the individual dishes snapped in the kitchen and the photos emailed to guests. Or, Lionel kindly offered to borrow my smart phone, pop into the kitchen, and snap the pics himself. I elected to forego the pics on this day but, suffice it to say, they were some of the most artful dishes I’ve ever been served. We enjoyed abalone, lobster, and a chestnut soup starter that was the star of the meal.
I can’t say enough nice things about Lionel. I was less enthusiastic with the rest of the servers who promptly forgot us at one point. Three of them were fawning over the couple at the next table, chatting, pulling their chairs out for them, clearing their tables – while we sat, virtually ignored.
While we were eating, we noticed the waiters wheeling around a candy tray of offerings that would have make Willy Wonka proud. We were looking forward to checking it out at the end of our lunch. Unfortunately, the servers were too busy ingratiating themselves to our neighbors that they never bothered to bring it our way. In fact, even after our fellow diners had left – hell, even after the ENTIRE dining room had cleared out – they STILL didn’t bother to check in on us. If I hadn’t waved someone down and demanded the bill, I’m convinced they would have left us seated through dinner service.
Again, great food. But the service will ensure I won’t be making a return visit.
Between lunch and dinner, we tried to work up an appetite by strolling through Omotesando…
Mmmmm. Hamburger sushi.
The Prada Building. Gorgeous.
Another interesting-looking building.
We stopped off at a tiny basement-level bakery, d’un Rareté, owned and operated by a former co-worker who spent two years in France honing his craft. We picked up a bunch of goodies including some delectable canelés, chocolate brioches, and raspberry-stuffed coronets. When I mentioned our visit to Akemi she insisted I make a return visit – with her this time. Not only did the fresh baked goods look amazing, but she ALSO worked with Adachi-san in her Pierre Marcolini days and remembers him fondly as a sweep and supportive co-worker. So she wants to return the favor and support him in kind. And I’m happy to do so as well, if it means I can grab another chocolate brioche.
GYBE Bldg. B1F, 5-10-1 Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
http://www.dune-rarete.com/index.php
Moro-san and I concluded our evening with a very nice dinner at the homey Ristorante Hamasaki.
And then I caught the metro back to the hotel…
Where this little surprise was awaiting me, compliments of sis. A video from home:
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