I am generally not a picky eater but there are certain types of food that are completely off limits from my lips. Namely, seafood. Anything that is a crustacean, lives in a shell, or swims, flaps or crawls its way through the seas will have little chance of sitting in front of me on my dinner plate.
Now it’s hard to tour Tokyo without running into seafood. In fact, it’s pretty much impossible. However, there are some surprisingly tasty alternatives if you are willing to look closely enough among the sushi and squid offerings.
Mos Burger
When my cousin, who is also a non-seafoodist, told me about how she visited Mos Burger practically every day while staying in Ikebukuro during an extended business trip, I almost wept for joy. Fast food in Tokyo that wasn’t McDonald’s? Perhaps this culinary adventure wasn’t going to be so bad after all. I could pack a few less boxes of Luna Bars in my suitcase and make room for more clothes.
It happened there was a Mos Burger right across the street from the Hotel Metropolitan where I was staying. Mos Burger (Mos standing for mountain ocean sun) is second in size for fast food chains in Japan. Walking into Mos Burger immediately provided a sense of familiar comfort: seeing the plastic trays, smelling the fries and hearing the crinkle of the paper as patrons unwrapped their food made you feel that you are not that far from home after all. Despite the clichéd fast food restaurant atmosphere, the variety and choices of burgers you can create is impressive, including the somewhat rare option of adding bacon. You can choose from beef, chicken, fish and even rice burgers which can all be customized with toppings like Mos Burger’s unique-tasting chili sauce to the more mundane burger dressings like lettuce and pickles. You can also order your burger in a lettuce wrap rather than a bun, but if given the choice, I would stick with the bun. They are incredibly soft and yummy.
The burgers themselves don’t exactly look like the kind you find in between the layers of a Big Mac. The burger is more of a brown-gray color than the usual broiled brown, but nonetheless, it was still quite tasty and makes for a satisfying meal when you need something more hefty to fill your stomach. Also, don’t pass up the fries. They were incredibly good, reminding me of the days back when McDonald’s used lard to make their delicious fries.
Location: Nishi-Ikebukuro 1 -chome, 4–6 , Toshima -ku , Tokyo Yubinbango171–0021 , Japan
Café Du Monde
How about a little taste of New Orleans while in Tokyo? The iconic Café Du Monde and their beignets, those famous hot square pastries coated with powdered sugar, are part of the Ikebukuro culinary scene, much to my astonishment.
Having been to the original Café Du Monde in the French Quarter, I was amazed to find no discernable difference in Tokyo’s beignets or their coffee. Closing my eyes and sinking my teeth into a hot, fresh, sweet beignet and then chasing it with a cup of that sumptuous dark roasted coffee, I would swear I had been instantly transported 6,863 miles back to Decatur Street. Café Du Monde’s menu features a nice selection of coffee, teas, and of course, beignets and is a nice breakfast option or afternoon pick me up.
Location: Nishi-Ikebukuro 1 -chome, 10–10 Toshima, Tokyo Yubinbango171–0021 Japan
Doutor Café
On the west side of the Ikebukuro station is a little restaurant called Doutor Café. A small, brightly lit shop tucked into the corner off to the side of the escalators, it is here I met with another pleasant surprise regarding the typical Japanese menu: hotdogs. For breakfast.
I honestly wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen so many of the locals enjoying hotdogs for their morning meal. While Doutor’s menu offers other, more traditional breakfast items like a scrambled egg sandwich and pastries, the hot dog seemed to be the most popular choice to start your day. And after having one, I can see why.
If you’re an American and you are reading this, forget what you know about hot dogs. Those are poor, fake comparisons to what Doutur’s serves up. Think real casing, real meat and no fillers. If your confused tastebuds can’t imagine the end result, let me help you: delicious! The line of grainy, tangy mustard tucked along inside the freshly baked, slightly flaky bun made the beefy hotdog even better. Complimented by a smooth coffee roast, I honestly would eat this combination for breakfast everyday if I could. Which, to be honest, I pretty much did when I was there.
Location: Ikebukuro East Side, Ikebukuro Station
Kobe Motomachi
Three words for you: cheesy, meaty, heaven. This is what doria is all about.
Originally created by a master Swiss chef at the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, doria is a casserole dish made up of rice, savory sauce, and melted cheese. What’s not to like about that? The Kobe Motomachi restaurant, located on floor 8F in the Lumine department store in Ikebukuro, has perfected this mind-blowingly delicious concoction that I could not get enough of. It was the number one, most satisfying, most delicious meal I had in my entire stay in Tokyo.
The picture doesn’t do it justice. The meat was fork-tender with a depth of flavor I have only experienced in high-end, organic cuts of beef. The sauce, while curry based, was not overwhelming in a curry type of way. There were so many more spices and flavors blending together to create a warm, rich experience that it became one of the many notes that made up this symphony of a meal.
I can see why Japanese consider it one of their go-to comfort foods. After consuming my doria, I wanted to go home, sit in front of a crackling fire place with a cat on my lap and explore the finer points of napping. Nonetheless, I considered this the high point of my culinary adventure and would heartily recommend it as a ‘do not miss’.
Location: Floor 8F, Lumine Department Store, Ikebukoruo Station
So there you have it. Don’t let your fear of seafood hold you back from exploring the interesting alternatives Tokyo has to offer. You won’t regret it.
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