A B&B in Tokyo

Wouldn't it be great if we could all just make our way out to the Hamptons or Napa Valley for a good ol' Bed & Breakfast? What a lovely way to spend a weekend with your significant other, right? In a cute little cottage or something overlooking a couple hundred acres of chardonnay vineyard...

Unfortunately, we have no such luxury here in Tokyo. People are too preoccupied with work, I think they've forgotten about breakfast. I've noticed that most shops and restaurants don't even open until 11:00am. Where do you go for brunch around here? Where you can sit down and have some eggs benedict or a stack of blueberry pancakes and sausage? I have not the faintest clue. I guess, either you eat breakfast at home (who has that kind of time at 6 o'clock in the morning?) or buy a rice ball and miso soup at your local convenience store and eat at your desk when you get in for work at 7 (that's what I do most days when I don't have time to go down to Starbucks - this is when you know you're busy... when you can't spend 10 minutes of your morning for your coffee to brew and your panini to grill). I can't believe I'm still working in an industry that makes employees come in before 7 am.

Ok, I'm actually straying off subject here. What I wanted to say is that I actually found an alternative B&B in Tokyo. Not bed & breakfast, but rather, butter & borscht. Alright, so it's not really an alternative. Just a play on words, I suppose. 

Butter's Factory in Gohongi, which is just down the street from POPHOT, is a little restaurant specializing in borscht and homemade butter. While I can hardly pronounce borscht, it's a Russian/Ukranian stew with beets, cabbage, potatoes, beef shank, and onions. The vinegar makes it a bit tangy, but it's extremely tasty and goes well with freshly-baked bread. Butter's Factory makes both hot and cold versions and boasts a variety of other dishes to please your palette, like rolled cabbage, curries, risottos, and gratins. And of course, their homemade butter is creamy and mild and definitely a delight. 

A little heavy on the stomach, but easy on the wallet, Butter's Factory is open late so it's a nice place to grab dinner after a long day's work.

BUTTER's FACTORY

Meguro-ku, Gohongi 3-33-2, Tokyo

Open 18:00 - 27:00

Tel: 03.3791.9870

A little bit of France on Komazawa-Dori

You can get crepes anywhere in Tokyo but I think Shibuya and Harajuku are the hot spots for crepes. Basically, anywhere that teenage girls like to flock after school, you can find crepe stalls. The simple, generic versions are those filled with various fruits and cream. The more intense ones have veggies, barbequed meats or even seafood in them - like a hotpocket, only better.

Crepes were super trendy 10 years ago in Japan, but the fad has died down a bit since then. They were (and still are) for the majority, cheap street food. Wrapped in paper in a cone shape, they're like an on-the-go hot and cold dessert. We've all outgrown them, I think. It's embarrassing to line up at crepe stalls now unless you're 16 and on a date with your high school sweetheart. 

But we still have cravings.

So where should the grown-ups go for grown-up crepes? 

POPHOT in Gohongi. Mature tastebuds will surely appreciate both les galettes sarrasin and les crepes froment here, provided by Chef Yoshida. The chef whom some may know as the original man behind the legendary Au Temps Jadis in Shibuya, where crepes first took off in Japan. Yoshida's POPHOT is a more casual version without the Bourgogne, afternoon tea flair. Conveniently situated along Komazawa-Dori (my jogging route), I think it's a great place to take your date after a nice dinner. Why go to a pretentious bar with moody lights when you can wow your girl with a great dessert place that has fantastic antique interior decor? The service is wonderful, the air is homey, and they're open 'til 10pm. Treat your girl to the pear and caramel crepe topped with vanilla bean ice cream. You'll get a goodnight kiss for sure.

Definitely going back next week to have lunch. 

I hear the Oeuf Fromage Saucisse Champignons (Egg.Cheese.Sausage.Mushrooms) galette is fantastique.

POPHOT - crepe and galette -（ポポット）

Meguro-ku, Gohongi 3-31-6, Tokyo

Open 12:30~17:30, 19:00~22:00 | Closed Wednesdays. 

Tel: 03.3794.6769

http://www.cakepia.info/shop/recommendation/pophot/index.html

For those who want the original and are willing to get out of your sweats and dress up a bit, try Au Temps Jadis. They have a very cute French-inspired garden and open terrace. A great place for a girls-day-out!

AU TEMPS JADIS Creperie（オタンジャディス）

Shibuya-ku, Jinnan 1-5-4, Royal Palace Harajuku 102

Tel: 03.3770.2458

http://www.many.co.jp/jadis/salon.html