MEXICAN FOOD …….TOKYO STYLE……this is not a joke

On our trip to Japan, T and I were in need of real food. Japan is known for its love of French Nouvelle cuisine and its traditional rice-raw-fish-seaweed meals, but anything in between was hard to come by.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The Japanese love some McDonald’s and KFC, but for fine dining there isn’t much variety.

So I was elated to find a sign that read “Food Mexican.” After walking down two sets of stairs, we entered a dank basement area adorned in the cliché American version of a Mexican restaurant.

We were seated and handed the customary Japanese characters on paper, which was what passed for the menu. This was one time I was glad there were pictures!

We played it safe and pointed away at the menu as though it were a self-checkout touch-screen at Lowe’s, and crossed our fingers.

Needless to say, you can’t screw up Mexican food unless you choose to not have a deep-fryer in the kitchen.

The meat tasted different, but it was otherwise spot-on. The refried beans were topped with powdered parmesan, and the grease tasted richer than in the states, but after a week of eating meals in Japan, T and I were glad for something that tasted a little like home.

note:

The name of the place was Food Mexican. The photos showing the “Cold Mexican Food” are of one of many signs in the place that made us chuckle. I believe the ladies’ room was labeled “Muchachos;” the men’s room said “Hombrus.”