They Are Not

Client guests from Bangalore.  Yes.  They are vegetarian.  It’s the first time back to Tokyo in a while, but we won’t be having sushi this evening.  I asked my son and he recommended what is supposed to be an outstanding vegan restaurant.  And indeed, they must be a worthy establishment as they are completely sold out and have no reservations till after 9:00PM this evening. 

Tokyo’s huge, cosmopolitan, we’ll have to take a look and find something.  Searching for things is suddenly easy in Tokyo as all my google apps work and I don’t have to dick around with make-believe search on Baidu.  Here is a list of Tokyo’s top vegetarian restaurants.  My colleague is looking at the same list and suggests one that will be near to where we are staying.  It’s difficult to tell much, looking at the thumbnail, reading a few words, but it seems reasonable. 

We cabbed it over to Ebisu and were shown to our table.  It was beneath a huge television screen that must have been broadcasting in 4K as it was particularly clear and captivating with content I had absolutely no interest in viewing.  Chatting with my colleagues proves impossible after ninety seconds with this remarkable distraction.  Other people must have better powers of compartmentalization.  I suppose if you watch TV all day long it comes naturally.  I explain to my colleagues that I will need to move and ask to take a seat on the far end of the table beneath the screen, where I’ll be unable to view it. 

A pleasant young lady comes over and hands us the food menu and the drink menu.  Looking over at the cashier there is a full bar along the wall, which is a bit jarring with the imagined veg environment, but I’ll work with it.  One of my Indian clients asks if the meat dishes on the menu are mock-meat.  “They must be:” I declare.  They are not.  There are lots of veg options but it’s hard to see how this should pop up on the Tokyo’s top veg list when they have chicken cutlets and minced pork available.  I apologize to my guests but they laugh.  It’s no big deal, of course.  They are used to this.  And we all comment that the salad is good, but it wasn’t anything special.  The falafel balls were undistinguished and the pizza was wonky.  The highballs however, had some fresh herb taste added to them, and this was about the best thing about this carnivorous vegie joint. 

Tuesday, 12/19/18