A cat cafe is not a place that serves cat sandwiches. It is a cafe… with cats.

Cat Cafes in Japan were very popular in the early-mid 2000s and still remain peppered throughout Tokyo. Building on the otaku culture of manga, maid and mimikaki (ear cleaning) cafes, cat cafes provide solace for people who love cats but can’t have cats in their apartments. Unlike the maid and butler cafes, cat cafes entice both sexes and are much cleaner and innocent than some of the more gender specific cafes in Akihabara (i.e. imoto or “little sister” cafes).

Cateriam is a cat cafe located near the west exit of Shimokitazawa station. Kayoko and I were walking to Second House for coffee and cake, when we stumbled upon Cateriam’s curiosity-inducing signage “3rd Anniversary: 300 yen for 15 minutes.”

After laughing and pointing at the sign for a few minutes, I suggested that as Umamimart (a media machine that brings you pressing issues in Japan), it was our duty to patronize a cat cafe.

Upon entry we were given a short, concise run-down of the rules.

Take your shoes off…

Wash your hands in the sink provided…

It is the customer’s responsibility to keep track of the clock.

Scan the menu…

Don’t mistreat or startle the cats.

Photos are OK.

Kayoko and I intended to stay there for only 15 minutes so we wanted to explore as much as we could, quickly. The general scene include about 15 cats draped all over cubbies, nabe (clay pots), book shelves and shoeboxes. Kayoko and I quickly found our favorites and admired their clean coats and pink paws.

Kayoko’s fave:

My fave:

Meanwhile, the server took our order and came back with a tray of our beverage and a little snack sized Aero chocolate.

I would say the most bizarre aspect of the cat cafe was how sedated these cats looked. Garfield would have been proud of these cats — pampered day and night by strangers whispering sweet nothings in their little, furry ears, eating Japanese canned cat food and having an array of toys to choose from. They were so out-of-it that I couldn’t tell if they were even looking at me. Their food must be really special…

Zzzzzzz…

Zzzzzzz…

“Why are you bothering me?”

Going to the cat cafe made me realize how cynical I can be. The staff and patrons seemed so genuine, not finding any part of this to be silly. Erecting shrines for cats that have gone “bye-bye” and setting up twitter accounts for some of the cats, there was something perfectly innocent about this whole operation.

Shrine for deceased Caterium cat…

Birthday illustration from fans…

Follow your favorite cat on Twitter…

Or friend them on Mixi (Japan’s Facebook):

Pink paws…

Some cats have their own DVDs.

We asked the staff person how the cats reacted to the earthquake back in March. She said that all of them piled into the corner of the room and refused to come out for a few days. These cats have recovered nicely, sleeping out in the open and providing therapy for their human admirers.

Umamiventure #30 was indeed a memorable affair, and much more than what any of us expected. It was a night of Serious Coffee Schooling– from the bean picking process, to roasting, to tasting– all courtesy of Four Barrel Coffee in San Francisco.

Since opening in 2008, Four Barrel has become a front runner in the specialty coffee scene here in the Bay Area, and is now on the menus of some of the most reputable restaurants (Slanted Door, Foreign Cinema, Bar Tartine, and on). Their beans have recently gone bicoastal, as NYC’s Maialino now serves Four Barrel coffee as well. SF represent!

Jeremy Tooker, founder of Four Barrel, was recognized recently as one of Food & Wine magazine’s 40 Big Food Thinkers Under 40, as he is known to champion small single-farm beans, in accordance with their seasonality. He’s all about letting the beans work their magic, instead of manipulating them through the roasting process.

Pamela, the head trainer at Four Barrel helped me organize the event– she is super knowledgeable about coffee, Four Barrel, and the industry in general. In a word, she is a STAR. She and the Four Barrel staff graciously invited us in, offered us coffee while we waited for everyone to arrive, then packed all 20 of us into their back roasting area.

Let Umamiventure #30 begin.

YOKO
I drink coffee several times a week and I know how I like it: black. But that was the extent of my coffee knowledge. The 30th Umamiventure at Four Barrel changed all that. I arrived a bit early, but Pamela, our guide, greeted us as soon as we walked in and offered us coffee (whatever we wanted on the house if you mentioned Umamimart.)

YOKO
The tour consisted of three parts 1) picking and selecting the beans; 2) roasting the beans; and 3) tasting coffee.

KAYOKO
I was floored when Pamela told us she prepared a PowerPoint presentation for us, to go through the Four Barrel method of sourcing, selecting and processing the beans. At this moment I knew we were in for a true educational treat! She had our complete attention during the presentation.

YOKO
Pamela’s PowerPoint slideshow really proved how little I knew about coffee– like for instance it was a red cherry. She also emphasized how important it is to choose the right coffee beans to get the desired taste.

KAYOKO
Look at us– we are absolutely captivated. GEEKOUT!

KAYOKO
Pamela fully engaged us with her infectious energy and devotion to the subject. She spoke so eloquently and answered all of our questioned with the relaxed ease of a pro.

KISHI
Pamela’s professionalism and friendliness coupled with her wild enthusiasm and impeccable knowledge was a flood of joyous enlightenment– I thought I knew about coffee but I really didn’t, obviously. Her ability to convey the gist of coffee from A to Z so flawlessly was totally admirable.

KAYOKO
We learned that Jeremy takes great lengths in working with each farm and coffee producer directly, to assure safe, fair and well-compensated practices. He really is committed to championing these unknown, under-recognized farmers who are often underpaid and live in poverty despite the fact that it’s the THIRD most traded commodity in the WORLD! Crazy. Here’s a great visual fact sheet by Mint.com, via Ido.

YOKO
The heat picked up during part two when we were shown how the beans get roasted. Manning the 1957 steel/ cast iron German Probat roaster was Jackson who walked us through the whole process (about 10 minutes) of roasting.

KAYOKO
We all had a crush on Jackson. Ok, I can’t speak for everyone, but I know most of us did. He spoke with great confidence about his craft and we were all so mesmerized by his enthusiasm, knowledge and the physicality of what it takes to roast coffee.

In watching Jackson, we learned how patient you must be to roast coffee. He picked up a pail of beans (still pale green!), dumped them in the roaster:

Knelt down to several times to adjust the temperature:

There’s a tube like part that you stick in and out of the roaster called a “trier” which allows the roaster to check on the beans:

Here’s a great video of Jackson and the grand finale of the roasting process, by Yoko. I could seriously watch this over and over, it’s so thrilling.

KAYOKO
Like a Zen Master, Jackson was at one with the Probat roaster, as well as the beans. He just KNEW when those beans were ready, and unleash that “drop door”. It was awesome  to watch the entire roasting process, from the beans while they still green, to a toasty brown color. Et voila!

KAYOKO
Jackson roasts about 500 lbs of coffee a day. The bean should be carmelized on the outside, and each bean will have expanded quite a bit (hence that lighter-color line you see running down the bean).

YOKO
Four Barrel roasts all of their coffee at medium which disturbs less of the original characteristics of the bean.

ANNALEA
Let me say that the roasting with Jackson was a highlight– his passion for craft was obvious. And the fact that he’s really cute didn’t hurt either (ha ha). Pamela and Jackson both mentioned the fact that Four Barrel roasts to a medium roast which I thought was interesting.

KISHI
Jackson, swoon: his easy charm juxtaposed with his martial arts-like roasting technique was a thrill.

LIZ
The best part was seeing Jackson in action roasting the beans. I have never actually seen this before and I didn’t know how sensitive a process it was. One second too long and the beans won’t taste right!

KAYOKO
What I admire most about Jackson is the great pride he took in his craft. You could tell by the way he spoke about coffee, and even in the way he picked up each bean– with utter delight. For him, they are magical little pebbles that he nurses with great care, one by one, to extract the exact flavor he desires out of each bean. He’s in a powerful position, and he doesn’t take it for granted.

YOKO
Pamela joined us again for part three, with Justin, barista extraordinaire, for the tasting of the coffee (called “cupping”). They prepared six types of coffee for our tasting pleasure.

1. Coast Rica El Tajo

2. Guatemala Ojercaibal

3. Colombia Andino

4. Ethiopia Welena Suke Quto

5. Kenya Kirinyaga Karimikui

6. Sulawesi Toarco

KAYOKO
To quote Pamela: “The coffees are placed in an order in which each coffee prepares your palate for the next coffee. For example, coffees with brighter acidity and lots of rich dark fruit (such as the Kenya Karimuki) will follow the nicely balanced, softer acidity found in most Latin coffee.”

Again, totally enthralled with the Four Barrel staff as Justin stepped in and spoke about the coffees offered at the cupping. Knowledgeable, engaging, spirited.

He added water to the coffee grounds and scraped it off the top with exact precision. Pro.

Bending down to smell the coffee.

ANNALEA
My favorites were the Costa Rica El Tajo, the Ethiopia Welena Suke Quto and the Kenya Kirinyaga Karimikui. Big differences in flavors. Some lighter (the Costa Rican), some fruity and even tea-like (the Ethiopian) and a robust, intense and very full flavor (the Kenyan). Cupping was a new experience for me and it was great to get a background and lesson from Pamela and Justin.

YOKO
I have attended wine and sake tastings before but a coffee tasting was completely new to me. Tasting how Costa Rican beans were different from Kenyan beans really opened my eyes to how much coffee can differ by region (they are all roasted using the same method).

KISHI
If I was disappointed at all that night, it was probably my lack of taste– I could hardly tell the difference between any of them! Still, it tasted great, especially compared to the sad bitter crud I made the next morning.

LIZ
Though I am not a big coffee drinker I really enjoyed the chance to have a cupping with some experts. It’s interesting how different the types of coffee taste when you try them side by side.

ANNALEA
Overall the entire visit was really informative and I learned a lot. I really connected with all of the wine references Pamela made throughout the night and started to realize that coffee has a lot of similar nuances and detail in flavor. I, for one, don’t always stop to appreciate this as I slam down my first cup at 6am. I also took away an appreciation for the process that Four Barrel follows with their sourcing and roasting process. The work they do with the farms they work with and others who stand to benefit was something unexpected and I think a huge benefit for their business as a whole.

KISHI
Well geez, the night was just far beyond perfect. I got way more than I bargained for: I literally imagined a straightforward cupping and no more.

IDO
Our visit to Four Barrel was just another example of the Bay Area’s dedication to kick*ss gastronomy without pretentiousness. The staff were all super-friendly, bringing Umamimart into their world and getting folks excited about the things they’re passionate about. I liked a good cup of coffee before this visit — now I have a better sense of what goes into making it. Thanks Four Barrel!

YOKO
I came home with 12 oz. of Ethiopian Welena Suke Quto beans and I know I am going back to Four Barrel when I start shopping for holiday gifts.

KAYOKO
Big huge THANK YOU to Pamela, Jackson, and Justin for spending the evening with us and schooling us on the art of coffee, roasting and tasting. We all walked out more knowledgeable about the industry and flavor profiles of coffee. Here’s to many years of success for Four Barrel! You all ROCK!

Fun fact: Four Barrel is named after this four barrel sample roaster for roasting samples of green coffee.

Lagunitas on tap for the staff, baby!

*Photos by Yoko Kumano and myself.

**Umamiventures are organized monthly, traveling far and wide to find good, cheap grub off the beaten path.

***Become a Facebook Fan or follow UM on Twitter to stay updated on all future trips!

Past Umamiventures include:
1.) Ocean Jewel Restaurant – Flushing, NYC; June 2007
2.) Red Hook Ball Fields - NYC; June 2007
3.) Taste of Jackson Heights – NYC; October, 2007
4.) Sripraphai Restaurant – Woodside, NYC; November 2007
5.) WINTERMARKET – South St. Seaport, NYC; December 2007
6.) Jackson Diner- Jackson Heights, NYC; January 2008
7.) Pacificana – Sunset Park, NYC; February 2008
8.) Puerto Alegre – The Mission, SF; March 2008
9.) Dinosaur BBQ – Harlem, NYC; April 2008
10.) Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden – Astoria, NYC; May 2008
11.) Brooklyn Banh Mi Crawl – Sunset Park, NYC; August 2008
12.) Sheapshead Bay Lobster Crawl – NYC; September 2008
13.) Flushing Food Circuit – NYC; October 2008
14.) Strong Beer Month – SF; March 2009
15.) Loisaida Throwback Crawl – NYC; April 2009
16.) Harley Farms Goat Dairy – Pescadero, CA; June 2009
17.) Tomales Bay Oyster Farm – Marshall, CA; August 2009
18.) Din Tai Fung – LA; September 2009
19.) Din Tai Fung – Tokyo; September 2009
20.) Schroeder’s Oktoberfest – SF; October 2009
21.) Fish Taco Crawl – San Diego; November 2009
22.) St. George Spirits & Hangar One Vodka -  Alameda; January 2010
22.5) Everett & Jones – OAK; January 2010
23.) Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse – NYC; February 2010
24.) Guerilla Ramen Night – SF; April 2010
25.) Knife Sharpening Workshop at Hida Tool & Hardware – Berkeley, May 2010
26.) San Pedro Fish Market - LA, June 2010
26.5.) Candytown – LA, June 2010
27.) The Trappist – Oakland, July 2010
28.) San Tung Restaurant – SF, August 2010
29.) Bitters Tasting with A.B. Smeby - Brooklyn, NYC, September 2010

Update (Thurs. 11/11, 12pm PST): EVENT SOLD OUT!!!

+++

Wow THIRTY Umamiventures, can you believe? Pretty damn awesome, considering the very first one was in 2007, on a trek out to Flushing, Queens for quite possibly the best dim sum in New York City.

I’m living in the Bay Area now, and still organizing these events monthly. We’re thirty deep! Umamiventures have become so integral to this blog– it’s such a wonderful way to meet ya’ll in REAL LIFE!

And to celebrate the launch of the Umamimart Shop (coming Nov. 16th!), in line with the limited edition UM Artist Mug, our next event will be with San Francisco-based coffee roasting company, Four Barrel, for a private coffee cupping (aka tasting) on Sunday November 21 at 5pm. They have also generously offered to give us a tour of their impressive in-house roasting facilities, as well as talk with us about their farming, processing and sourcing practices.

This is an Umamiventure that I’m particularly excited about since Four Barrel is breaking some serious ground in the coffee world. Jeremy Tooker, founder of Four Barrel, was recognized recently as one of Food & Wine magazine’s 40 Big Food Thinkers Under 40, and is known to champion small single-farm beans, in accordance with their seasonality. He’s all about letting the beans work their magic, instead of manipulating them through the roasting process.

Four Barrel only opened in 2008, and is already such a big deal nationally! Its beans can be found at Maialino restaurant in NYC now too. HOT.

I hope you will join us. The event will be at Four Barrel, in the Mission district of San Francisco (Valencia at 14th Street). Since this event is private, we’re capping it at 15 lucky people. Please RSVP on the Facebook event page, twitter me, comment below, or email me directly at kayoko@umamimart.com. You will receive an email from me to confirm your spot.

Don’t miss this! Make sure to RSVP! Can’t wait to see all of you.

*Special thanks to Pamela and Emily of Four Barrel for helping me put this event together. It’s gonna be AWESOME!

**Umamiventures are organized monthly, traveling far and wide to find good, cheap grub off the beaten path.

***Become a Facebook Fan or follow UM on Twitter to stay updated on all future trips!

Past Umamiventures include:
1.) Ocean Jewel Restaurant – Flushing, NYC; June 2007
2.) Red Hook Ball Fields - NYC; June 2007
3.) Taste of Jackson Heights – NYC; October, 2007
4.) Sripraphai Restaurant – Woodside, NYC; November 2007
5.) WINTERMARKET – South St. Seaport, NYC; December 2007
6.) Jackson Diner- Jackson Heights, NYC; January 2008
7.) Pacificana – Sunset Park, NYC; February 2008
8.) Puerto Alegre – The Mission, SF; March 2008
9.) Dinosaur BBQ – Harlem, NYC; April 2008
10.) Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden – Astoria, NYC; May 2008
11.) Brooklyn Banh Mi Crawl – Sunset Park, NYC; August 2008
12.) Sheapshead Bay Lobster Crawl – NYC; September 2008
13.) Flushing Food Circuit – NYC; October 2008
14.) Strong Beer Month – SF; March 2009
15.) Loisaida Throwback Crawl – NYC; April 2009
16.) Harley Farms Goat Dairy – Pescadero, CA; June 2009
17.) Tomales Bay Oyster Farm – Marshall, CA; August 2009
18.) Din Tai Fung – LA; September 2009
19.) Din Tai Fung – Tokyo; September 2009
20.) Schroeder’s Oktoberfest – SF; October 2009
21.) Fish Taco Crawl – San Diego; November 2009
22.) St. George Spirits & Hangar One Vodka -  Alameda; January 2010
22.5) Everett & Jones – OAK; January 2010
23.) Sammy’s Roumanian Steakhouse – NYC; February 2010
24.) Guerilla Ramen Night – SF; April 2010
25.) Knife Sharpening Workshop at Hida Tool & Hardware – Berkeley, May 2010
26.) San Pedro Fish Market - LA, June 2010
26.5.) Candytown – LA, June 2010
27.) The Trappist – Oakland, July 2010
28.) San Tung Restaurant – SF, August 2010
29.) Bitters Tasting with A.B. Smeby - Brooklyn, NYC, September 2010

Who knew that the one and only Ferran Adrià had created a coffee “drink” for Lavazza? I definitely had no idea, since I’m so clueless. But of course Matt, my #1 informant for all-things-awesome, knew about this. Hooray for informants!

For some reason, Lavazza, one of the most popular line of espresso beans sold in Italy, has a few cafes dotted around Chicago. I have no idea why Chicago– maybe their US offices are headquartered there? (Although I barely ever see Lavazza sold anywhere here in the States, have you?). They’ve named these cafes Espression by Lavazza, isn’t that great? I kinda love it.

In 2002, Sir Adrià created this drink especially for Lavazza to sell exclusively in their cafes. It’s called the Espesso. NOT espResso. Espesso. Again, thanks Matt for being on top of this.

So on our last morning in town, Matt and I went out in search for one of these Espression cafes to try this Espesso. We found one right off of N. Michigan Avenue. We walked in and it was set up just like any old Starbucks, really. But the food in the cold box reminded me so much of Italy. Paninis, and cornettos and these cream-filled berry fruit tart cakes that is SO ITALIAN. They totally cornered the quick “Italian” coffee shop experience.

When we ordered the Espesso, the girl gave us a, “Oh god, please don’t order that” look. I know that look well. I give my customers that look all the time when they order some hideous pain-in-the-ass drink that takes five minutes to make.

And indeed it took a little while for the drinks to come out. But it was worth the wait just to experience Ferran Adrià for breakfast. We seriously had no idea what to expect, but I don’t think either of us thought that something like this would come out:

Looks like Japanese cartoon poo. Not only that, it defies gravity!

It was foamy. Surprise, surprise.

Truth be told, this was a bit cloyingly sweet and weirdly artificially tart-tasting. Dare I call it a Ferran Fail???  Although to be perfectly fair, it was supposed to be my first cup of coffee of the day so of course I was super disappointed that it was foamy and cold. It’s more like dessert– I would have appreciated it more like at tea time, or in the middle of the day when I need a pick-me-up.

I was way more into these cool cups and saucers, designed especially for the Espesso.

In general, the Lavazza cafe concept is modern, art-centric Euro. This cool spoon and coffee cup sculpture dangles from the ceiling. Kinda neat.

I liked this poster on the bright yellow walls.

Now I can officially say that I have tasted El Bulli in my life. Although this is not really how I want to remember Ferran.

DEAR EL BULLI: Please hook me up with a reservation in 2011. CHOOSE ME! CHOOSE ME! PLEASE!!!!!!! I will wash dishes every single night until you close the shop forever. Omg so sad.

LAVAZZA CAFE
162 East Ohio Street
Chicago, IL 60611
T: 312.255.8850

I saw the coffee cup and stopped dead in my tracks.

Best. Logo. Ever.

The colors! The font! The way the logo takes up the entire length of the cup! It’s all very 1970′s punk rock meets Communist Russia. LOVIT.

Pannikin is an awesome cafe in Encinitas, housed in an old train station. Their motto is, “Waking up San Diego Since 1968.” SWEET! The coffees are organic fair trade, and they bake their pastries, pies, and everything else from scratch.

Such a dreamy local hangout. There are a couple more Pannikin cafes dotted around SD, but this one is ultra special.

The logo, as you can see, is the same exact replica of their roadside sign. Amazing. Their website is also a thing of artful, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood beauty.

PANNIKIN COFFEE & TEA
510 N. Highway 101
Encinitas, CA
T: 760.436.5824

Just got back from LaLaLand for the last in a never ending series of weddings this year (uhhh, SEVEN). Jon Sublet got hitched!!! It was quite the wedding for the ages- the dessert table consisted of Persian sweets, fresh figs and these beautiful petite WHOLE CUCUMBERS. Of course I shamelessly had like five of them, it was awesome. How often do you get to eat whole cucumbers at a wedding??? Exactly.

LA is a place near and dear to my heart. It’s the first city my family and I moved to from Tokyo, and my brother was born there. I have nothing but love for that city- the pulsating energy reminds me of NYC (untz, untz, untz), despite warring sentiments on both sides. Fuck that! LA now has the BEER FLOAT, thanks to The Golden State. NYC, whatchugot???

As I wrote back in February, my good friend Jim Starr opened this joint along with his friend Jason Bernstein. This was my first time there since they opened in March- I won’t bore you with a massive review since they have gotten so much I N T E R N E T love, not to mention Jonathan Gold love. Whoa.

And here she is… The Famed Golden State Beer Float.

Old Rasputin Imperial Russian Stout
1 Scoop Horchata Ice Cream by Scoops
1 Scoop Dulce de Leche Ice Cream by Scoops

HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS THIS WAS AMAZING. Creamy, velvety, chocolaty, the perfect pairing. UMAMIPORN HOLLER.

How amazing, you ask???

This amazing.

Incidentally, my brother works here a few nights a week, so if you see him, make sure to say hello! He’s the scraggly Asian kid, can’t miss him.

THE GOLDEN STATE
426 N. Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA
T: 323.782.8331

*Kayoko will be eating pho for lunch today, somewhere in Santa Clara, CA.

ANDERS:
It’s funny how you as a foreign tourist constantly walk around in Tokyo expecting to be shocked, appalled and freaked out by the weirdness of the Japanese. Maybe it’s the over-hyping guide books, maybe it’s Scarlett Johansson’s robot watching and Bill Murray’s submissive hotel whore experience – or maybe it’s just what enters your mind when walking down Akihabara street with its melting pot brain damage invoking techno supermarket vibes. Tokyo is different and you feel it instantly. And therefore you start to expect this feeling when you turn every street corner. It’s like the first time you try heroine – after that you just spend the rest of the time chasing that first feeling of another world.

And so we brace ourselves for another shot of Tokyo as we meet up at Akiba Eki to visit a maid cafe, the hangout for the so-called otakus – the Japanese nerd generation obsessed with games, movies and things that rarely see the real world or even daylight… Hitting the streets of Japan, around the year 2000, different cafes sprung up featuring a new element of fun for the bored Japanese, constantly in search of escaping the 17-hour workshift life.

The essential thing in all the places is the behavior of the waiters – they perform a role and you play along. Some of them just act very politely while others take it all the way to Hollywood and perform particular characters from fx video games, movies or certain fairytales. The cafes are themed, in the beginning mostly 1800 Victorian maid-style decor and costuming with the servants in classic maid uniforms, serving cake, food and the lot. But many offshoots have exploded in recent years – and you can now treat yourself with cafes sporting a church theme with waiters dressed as nuns, a Little Sister Cafe with waiters acting out the interesting role as your annoying but cute little sister who pours chili in your pancake while you look away, and even a place where you can pay to get slapped in the face while enjoying your de-caf latte.

But hey, game otakus, umami otakus – it’s all the same, right? So what better venue to meet each other and celebrate otakuness than at a maid cafe?

Anders and Rene got a cute note on the back of a Pinafore pointcard from the maid at check-out:

YOKO:
I’ll take the baton from here and describe our experience at the maid cafe. The maid cafe team was comprised of Anders, Rene and I. We chose Pinafore because it came recommended from my husband’s coworker, who works at a manga publishing company. Pinafore was really close to Akihabara station and we were greeted with a long line of about 20 people. The cafe looked dingy on the outside, with lo-res posters of manga girls lining the windows preventing passersby from getting a peek into the cafe.

Oblivious to how long it would take to get through the line, we joined it anyway, sticking out like a group of goth kids in Disneyland. That’s where we first came in contact with a man who we later dubbed “Fishboy” (his cheeks were a bit droopy resembling the jowls of a fish). Fishboy was an otaku decked out in gaudy Chanel sunglaases, a black vest and what looked to be home-made pants – one leg jeans, one leg cords. It was quite impressive and very apparent that he “dressed up” for his Pinafore outing.

As we inched forward in the line, I started taking pictures of the exterior of the cafe. That was when he shot Yugio-powered laser looks of disgust at me. He totally scolded me and said “You can’t take pictures inside (bitch)!” I proceeded to take more pictures of the exterior despite his venomous utters which sounded like a combo of “ugh”s and “tsu”s. It was from his reaction that I concluded that he was acting out of being protective of his maids. Fishboy probably felt that I was violating “his” girls and turf.

After about an hour, we were finally seated. It was pretty tame, as the girls just used a polite form of Japanese, but did not go as far as to greet us with “Welcome home master.” Some girls were dressed in maid uniforms while others were dressed in Sailor Moon-esque outfits. The skirts were short, but nothing outrageous compared to the girls you usually see in Tokyo out in public. We were seated in the middle of the cafe, which had a maximum occupancy of about 20. As we ordered, our maid tried to start up a conversation asking us if we were enjoying Akihabara and added that we make ourselves feel at home.

Although the actual maids did not act so “maid-like,” it was the guests that were much more entertaining. Fishboy, sat at the counter, scowling at us as we talked away. The only moments he seemed to turn his attention away from us was when he was being helped by a maid.

About ten minutes into getting our drinks, a man of about 40, greasy and wearing all black entered the cafe. He was a bit overweight with oversized engineer glasses. As he sat down, he pulled something out from a plastic bag he was carrying. It was a stuffed animal- a penguin of about 18 inches in height to be exact. He placed the pengin in the seat in front of him. At that moment, Rene commented, “He’s dating the penguin.” Penguin-dater downed his soda pretty quick and scooted out of the cafe in about 20 minutes.

Fishboy is pictured on the very right with the shades and hat. Penguin dater is the one on the left with the tote-bag.

Another creepy customer sighting was a middle-aged couple who seemed like they were married. They sat together in silence. The man however, had his eyes glued on the youngest-looking maid- who looked to be about 16. Every move she made across the cafe, behind the bar, to and from the kitchen, his eyes followed. All the while, his wife was focused on her drink.

My only chance to take pictures within the cafe was in the bathroom.

There was something very unsettling about Pinafore. Although it wasn’t outwardly erotic, it was a place that validated disgruntled fashionistas, mal-adjusted penguin daters and borderline-pedophiles who are married.

Given that there are hundreds more maid cafes in Tokyo, it’s disturbing to know that there is a substantial population that should be going to therapy, but instead rewarded and validated by the maid cafe industry.

The Pinafore Menu:

PINAFORE
Nakayama Building 1F 1-19 Sakumacho
Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo
TEL: 03.5833.6254

*Yoko lives in Tokyo. She loves dips, dashi and deals.
*Anders is based in Copenhagen where he draws kids books and refuses to cook unless he has guests.

Erin needed to get online for work, and we sauntered around town looking for wifi. We saw a little cafe, Yo el Rey (YeR), off the main road and what a lovely surprise- not only did they have free internet, but it turned out to be such a peaceful coffee-lover’s haven.

Owner and founder J. Kirk Feiereisen opened YeR in Fall 2008. A pristine jewel-box of a cafe, YeR gets a ton of light and paintings line the walls indispersed with whimiscal lines of poetry and quotes written by J. Kirk himself. The space is so funky and artful, I was immediately enamored.

J. Kirk roasts his own organic, fair-trade coffee in-house in this gorgeous Diedrich 15lb. roaster. Swoon.

Proudly made right here in the US of A, in Sandpoint, ID.

Coffee beans go here for roasting. He roasts all his beans to a medium profile.

The large exhaust pipe goes up through the skylight.

YeR’s manual espresso machine, made by Astoria. See that lever on top? Pull that down to make espresso!

Here’s J. Kirk making my double. All the ceramic cups he uses are made by local artists!

J. Kirk is a roaster, artist and poet, committed to serving Calistoga with socially-minded, delicious coffee. He ships his beans anywhere in the US, order here.

Until next time, Calistoga!

YO EL REY ROASTING
1217 Washington St
Calistoga, CA
T: 707.942.1180

Written by Pellet
Photography by Kayoko

This place came in towards the end of the great boba craze of 2003-2004, I believe. Their boba is good, but their popcorn chicken is their fucking Gem of Cyttorak. It’s perfect, though drowning in it scary red pepper powder only makes it better.

You can post up here and talk shit with friends for hours while surfing the web via your laptop, watching hilarious Youtube videos, and then score some drugs from the shady people hanging out at Jack in the Box a block away. At least I think they sell drugs. Maybe they just mug people.

I worked here for about 3 hours learning how to make the teas, fry the pork, and make bento boxes. The owner is a really nice guy, but I always try to avoid him nowadays, because his name was Chang, or something along those lines, where if I got it wrong I’d come off as really fucking racist. I am not racist!

My dear friend Jim is opening a sandwich, beer and ice cream joint in LA!!! My three favorite food groups all under one roof- could you ask for anything more? I think not. He and his biz partner Jason have named the cafe The Golden State, that will quite appropriately be highlighting beers, meats, cheeses and other foodstuffs from… you guessed it, California. HOLLA!

They have been teasing all of us with January and February opening dates, while we have been getting our panties in a bunch, impatiently twiddling our thumbs. For the love of god, OPEN ALREADY! LA NEEDS YOU!!! Jim just told me Thursday, March 12… could it be true???? (Update: The LA Times just blogged that GS will actually be open starting Thursday March 5- YIPEE!!!)

In preparation for the grand opening, Jim and Jason have been hardcore hustlin’ for over a year now: putting up with the DOH inspection after inspection (they should get a medal for this), tasting sausage after sausage until they got one worth serving, tapping keg after keg until the foam came out just right, and most importantly, making sure that the temperature of the ice cream freezer is juuuust right. These are the true life priorities, people!

You get the picture- these guys ain’t fucking around. They have thought long and hard about how to make sandwiches and hotdogs the best you’ve ever had them, without being overly pretentious about it, or emptying out your near-empty wallet. Isn’t that nice? Trust me, you’re in good hands.

They are in an up-and-coming area on Fairfax that mixes old school (Canter’s Deli) with the new (Supreme). They literally gutted the entire space and started from scratch, exposing high wood ceilings, brick walls, cement floors and a steel outline. Industrial and minimal. Here are some interior pics:

Jim just gave me a sneak peak of some of the GS’s offerings (designed by Rustic Canyon alum Samir Mohajer):

- The Burger: 8oz. of Harris Ranch beef. Fiscalini Farmhouse cheddar, maple glazed bacon with wild arugula, housemade aioli and ketchup (cooked medium rare unless specified).

- Dogs: Let’s Be Frank- Organic, grass feed spicy dog.

- Scoops Gelato (only other place in LA serving this- it’s the best in town).

- Beers from Craftsman, Green Flash and Bear Republic.

Now I’ve known Jim a long time- we studied together in Padova, Italy, where there was this little sandwich shop run by two gentile brothers. For the last 20 or so years, these men had been making the best sandwiches in town- the place was always bustling with regulars, so welcoming, and they would make fun of us Americans for putting senape (mustard) together with salame. These brothers were Jim’s heroes, and he would always tell me that one day he would open a sandwich shop, just like that one.

The time has come, Jim! The doors are opening on March 12(ish), for real. Hours will be 11am-midnight, so no one has any excuses of not getting over there for lunch or dinner. Why not BOTH?!?

Oh, and Happy Birthday Jim! It’s going to be a great year for you and Jason! Congrats!