麺’s倶楽部
In October, I received a message from my friends about a drinking party. They suggested having BBQ at a place on Stars and Stripes Street. I wasn't sure at first, but when I checked the restaurant's website, I saw the slogan "BBQ in the heart of Tokyo" - apparently, they do BBQ all year round. I used to wander around this area a lot during my student days, but now it's almost unrecognizable. On a weekday night in October, I visited the dining bar located on Stars and Stripes Street. The outdoor area has a wooden deck where they grill BBQ on two stoves. Right in front of me is the Stars and Stripes newspaper, a newspaper for US Department of Defense personnel. It's a bit of a lonely sight. The course for the evening was an all-you-can-drink BBQ course for 4,980 yen (including 2.5 hours of all-you-can-drink). We started with a toast inside the restaurant with beer. The all-you-can-drink options included beer, wine (red/white), shochu (barley/sweet potato), cocktails, bourbon/whiskey, and soft drinks. The staff was friendly and quick with serving drinks! We then moved outside to start the BBQ. The first dish was "cucumber and tomato marinated in miso". For grilled items, we had "processed fish cakes, hanpen" I believe. Next came a variety of "grilled vegetables" (pumpkin, lotus root, zucchini, bell pepper, baby corn, shiitake) with various sauces (salsa, anchovy mayonnaise, basil, BBQ mustard, yuzu pepper, aurora). This was followed by "grilled mackerel" and sausages. Be careful not to burn them! The "spicy tandoori chicken and shishito pepper skewers" were served on skewers and wrapped in tortillas. It went really well with alcohol. Then we had a whole piece of bacon, grilled until crispy and cut into dice. Next was "grilled stuffed bell peppers with cheese" - the peppers were filled with cheese. The combination of sweet pepper and salty cheese was quite enjoyable. Lastly, we had beef, I'm not sure which cut, but meat is always a hit at BBQs. It was getting a bit chilly outside, but the hot dishes kept us warm. With 9 dishes included in the BBQ course, both men and women enjoyed the unique menu items. However, if you're craving carbs, head over to Kaotan Ramen Entotsuya Minami Aoyama, as they're open until 5 am and you can even have BBQ late at night.