Le Cafe de Joel Robuchon, Tokyo

Without question, the best ‘OMG-I’m-so-glad-to-be-off-the-plane’ meal I have had in a long time was at Le Cafe de Joel Robuchon in the wonderfully impressive department store Takashimaya, Nihonbashi, Tokyo.  It was a simple egg salad sandwich, but the execution and tastes were perfect.  In addition to the herbed egg salad, the bread was spread with a tomato confit and the sandwich was served with crispy french fries, house-made ketchup, Japanese pickles, and gazpacho.  After a long flight of indigestible slop masquerading as plane food, I nearly wept with joy at the sight of this meal. (I asked for ‘Asian Veg” on JAL.  They brought me some mysterious substance that looked and tasted like a loofa sponge in flavorless cornstarch sauce.  I asked the attendant what it was.  She told me the name in Japanese.  When I looked confused, she disappeared briefly.  She must have consulted a Japanese/English dictionary because she returned and proudly stated that it was a “sub-aquatic fungus”.  A SUB-AQUATIC FUNGUS!!!)

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