Just remember these two phrases : 'eigo no menyu arimasu wa?' and 'osusume wa nandesuka?' which mean 'do you have an English menu?' and 'what do you recommend?' respectively. 

Here's Niki Nakayama, chef-owner of LA kaiseki restaurant n/naka, plating a selection of poetic dishes from her 13-course tasting menu and intimately explaining what kaiseki means to her

I learned something fundamental about traveling after my experience at Tempura Matsu, and that is, if you're completely dependent on guidebooks or travel sites, you'll miss out on so much. 

Rokurinsha's tsukemen is probably the most popular in Tokyo right now. If you've never tried tsukemen, it's a dipping ramen.

My sister and I didn't get to our AirBnB until 3 AM--we were starving. The only place open was a 7-11 down the street. 

Nihonryori RyuGin, No. 33 on the San Pellogrino World's 50 Best Restaurants list, is headed by bad ass kaiseki chef Seiji Yamamoto.

I really respect David Chang, and the Momofuku brand, or more appropriately--empire--that he's built. His cookbook is one of the most approachable I've read, and is accessible to anyone even remotely interested in eating.

Joe's Shanghai was good! Not as good as Din Tai Fung, or Mei in Montreal (which is my favorite), but it's up there.

Ubuntu is closed now, but I never posted these pictures, so here you go.

When I heard the Chef de Cuisine of French Laundry, Corey Lee, left to open up his own restaurant in San Francisco, I was really excited. I think we all were; us cooks in the Bay Area, at least.

While the bar was preparing our drinks, we were served the dessert course, which was an assault on all the senses. Each one consisting of only one or two bites.

Minibar is absolutely the best dining experience I have ever had--easy. Both food and drink were unparalleled.

The second wave of courses was the desserts, some of the most whimsical culinary imaginings, plated and edible. If Willy Wonka was a pastry chef, he would have worked at Alinea.