A taste of home

I will never get tired of trying new foods.  I could probably eat something different everyday here.  That's the beauty of Japanese food.  There is so much variety- sushi, tempura, ramen, udon, soba, yakitori, katsu- it goes on and on and on.  I have loved every bit of it.  But sometimes, you just want a taste of home.  This is especially important when you are feeling lost.  Maybe that day you got overconfident.  You attempted to make small talk with someone in Japanese.  What were you thinking, you can only say two things!  That ended well.  Or maybe you overreacted to a very small earthquake that everyone else thought was nothing.  On days like these, you need something familiar- some comfort food.  Thank goodness that isn't too hard to find here, if you know where to look.  Luckily, I am pretty good at my food research.

Case 1:

One smell of this took me right back to the Book It program

In case the pan crust didn't make it obvious

Pizza Hut.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of this back at home.  I much prefer Papa John's.  But that's not really an option here, so I'll take what I can get.  It was a little difficult to not get distracted by all the toppings.  Octopus balls in your crust?  Mayonnaise drizzled over your pizza?  Seaweed sprinkles?  No, thank you.  Today I will have the American version.  I even want pepperoni, and I NEVER want pepperoni.  Delicious.

Case 2:

Ba, da, ba, ba, ba- I'm lovin' it!

Give me back that filet-o-fish!  Give me that fish.  Golden delicious french fries.  Enough said.  This one is everywhere.

Case 3:

This is not what you think

Rice, beef, salsa- must be Chipotle!

Burritos.  Fajita Burritos.  I know someone back home who can't go very long without Chipotle (you know who you are!).  Alas, there is no Chipotle here in Tokyo.  But this place was pretty darn close.  It's called Frijoles.  They don't give you quite as much rice, and your burrito doesn't feel stuffed to the maximum.  These are both fine with me.  It definitely satisfies the craving!

I don't have to have these things every day or even every week.  In fact, I've begun to crave some new foods as though I've been eating them my whole life (see more on onigiri later).  But on some days, when you're feeling a little misplaced, it's nice to know a taste of home isn't that far out of reach.