Food For Thought

For those of you who have never had a monkfish liver, I’m about to take you on a wild ride. PREFACE: I ate at Basho, and then at Douzo the next day. These are not the same restaurant, just two semi-fancy Japanese restaurants who share an owner (or something like that. In actuality their “Apply to work with us!” forms feature both restaurants’ logos at the top and have very similar vibes so I decided to review both in one post) They hid the TVs!!! Atmosphere: With ceilings chilling at a calm ~14 feet, this place is made for giants. That space is also empty in Douzo, which lets you know the restaurant is kinda expensive (Emptiness is expensive, after all). The same overhead space in Basho had weird barrel frames surrounding lightbulbs. Both restaurants had muted lighting, and allowed in a minimal influx of sunlight from their glass front doors. This place did a lot of things right that most restaurants don’t. Though they had TVs, they were small, and perfectly angled behind ...

Pretend you REALLY want a large, wall-scale mural of early 2000s anime and need an excuse to commission one from a legit artist. You decide that establishing a delightfully nerdy ramen bar in Chinatown, Philadelphia is the best cover. You name it Yamitsuki.    Atmosphere: You kinda REALLY like the look of smooth, light-colored wood. In fact, every wall should look like it could be the floor of a beach house, planks of sanded wood separated by small gaps. Additionally, you decide to trisect your restaurant with solid, standing walls of the same colored wood about chest height. This is a great move because even when full, the guests won’t feel too crowded. Now your guests have a place to sit, but you have nothing to serve drinks in! Luckily the science department of your nearby university bought too many 250 mL beakers recently. You’re in luck, and purchase plenty of surplus Pyrex cups for your patrons to drink from. Nerdy And Cool at an anime restaurant Now, about y...