Japanese Food Invasion

Good, cheap eats in Tokyo -- and coming soon to America.

by Bruce Schimmel

Something was lost in translation: Most Americans think it takes a second mortgage to eat well in Japan. Fact is, it's cheaper to dine out well in Tokyo than in Philly. And while fancy sushi may be all that Americans now know of Japanese cuisine, I'm betting that everyday Japanese food culture will soon influence western ways — because it's tasty, healthy and above all, cheap.

To make her $40 bargain budget, the Food Channel's Rachael Ray orders specials and skimps on wine. But your average worker in Japan — even in pricey Tokyo — can eat and drink heartily for less, without scrimping on food or booze. It's all in the system.

Unlike Western restaurants, which put together their menus by ethnicity (say, Italian) or food-type (beef or seafood), Japanese restaurants define themselves by process. They specialize by discipline.

Obviously, sushi is among the toughest techniques to master, and usually the priciest choice (though about half the cost of what it costs in Philly). But lower down the food chain are less expensive places that do just noodle soups, just dumplings (gyoza), only grilled foods (yakitori), rice bowls (dunburi), batter-fried foods (tempura), steamed or stewed. In Japan, meals are cheaper to produce because their kitchens operate like little specialty manufacturing plants. Furthermore, food costs are held down because you get only what's in season, and generally what's locally grown. Which all adds up to good, cheap eats.

So let's nosh through a day — with booze — and bring it in under $35.

Your typical hung-over salaryman — asleep on the subway — will start his day with a $2 coffee and a $2 pastry. This being a Western-style meal, it'll be the worst deal of the day.

Breakfast done, it's four dollars down and $31 to go. For lunch, we'll go native, even splurge a bit. At a grill, you'll get a multicourse meal in a clean, fashionable place, served on real plates. Price: $13, which includes sake or beer, service, taxes and tip.

On a black-lacquered tray, your $13 buys you the staple of most meals: a steaming bowl of vegetable-miso soup and a large helping of rice. On these, you'll heap seasonal cold salads and veggies — like simmered baby eggplants, zucchini and carrots. Maybe some spicy sweet peas, some firey cabbage (kimchee), along with sides of pickled cucumbers and radishes. And finally, there's a serious piece of charbroiled filet of fish; a stack of grilled chicken thighs; or a thick, greaseless cutlet of pork.

But to save money, you could duck into a shop that only does noodle soup. Noodles are Japan's real national treasure. There's a noodle house chain that advertises that "Ramen is a gift from God," and I believe that they mean it. You'll slurp a pile of noodles in a rich pork or seafood broth, teeming with mushrooms, tofu, spinach, carrots, spring onions, and topped with slices of barbecued pork or a slab of batter-fried fish filet. With rice and pickles, just $6, and no tipping needed.

In fact, no tip is ever needed, or sought. You don't tip servers in Japan. If you try — which I have — they will chase you down the sidewalk to hand it back to you. And, yes, the service is uniformly superb.

So now it's dinnertime, and you've got $18 left of your original $35 (or $25, if you had soup and noodles for lunch). If your average salaryman is in a party mood, he'll go to what's called a pub, and feast and drink till he drops. Again, mostly grilled things: little plates of charbroiled chicken, mushrooms, squid, shrimp, garlic cloves, baby peppers and tiny onions.

But you can also save even more money on a place that just fries pork cutlets. Or a little place that makes stuffed dumplings dipped in ginger and wasabi. Or a giant palace of a restaurant dedicated to tempura. Again, limited to what's in season.

At $2 to $5 a plate, your stomach will be stuffed long before your wallet is empty. And you can spend the rest of your $35 on sake.

For the Japanese, cooking food is all about process and local, seasonal goods. And just as Japanese can put together better cars and electronics more cheaply, I predict we'll soon be learning more about Japanese ways in commercial food preparation. Already there are highly specialized noodle shops, gyoza bars and rice ball parlors popping up in London and New York. My favorite outside-of-Japan noodle house, called Wagamama, is an incredible out-of-the-gate success throughout Great Britain.

Here in Philly, highly specialized kitchens have already arrived: huge, new Vietnamese parlors, each of which specializes in just one variety of soup; or Korean joints that just do barbeque.

For now, if someone says, "Let's eat Japanese," most Americans will think pricey sushi. But just as green tea is one of the the fastest-growing segments in the U.S. soft drink market, I predict Japanese commercial food culture will soon work its way into our food chain — leaving our wallets fatter, and hopefully our waistlines a bit thinner.