deep kyoto

Right then! I’m off to Bali for a week and will be resolutely offline during the interval so there’ll be no more posts for a wee while, but before I go a short word of explanation. The astute among you may have noticed the appearance of a black box on the upper right of this page which proudly bears the name “Tadg’s”.

It looks like this (only smaller):

I’m pleased to announce that Tadg Mc Loughlin has agreed to become Deep Kyoto’s first official sponsor! Fond as I am of good food and tasty beverages, I don’t think I could have found a better partner. Tadg’s Irish bar and restaurant has a phenomenal selection of craft beers on tap (just check out the list on his site! go on click it!), and a fantastic menu. As I don’t eat meat myself, I’m particularly keen on the vegan selection. Take a look at Tadg’s legendary vegan pizza :

Mediterranean veggies, cheeseless pizza with organic Ise Miso

I ate that you know – and it was gorgeous! I ate this Tuscan bean and vegetable stew too (not at the same time though – that would be silly).

Tadg & Mika

Look at those colours! That’s not just food you know, it’s a beautiful piece of art. It’s poetry – in a bowl.

So there you have it; Tadg’s has great food, great beers, beautiful views over the Kamo river and super friendly staff and (I might be courting controversy here but), it’s also the only real Irish bar in town (in the sense of you know, actually having someone Irish in the place). That’s why I’m more than happy to have Tadg as my sponsor – I’m delighted!
To find Tadg’s walk straight up Kiyamachi from Sanjo, before you get to Oike you should see the Empire building on your right. Tadg’s is on the 8th floor. Click here for a most convenient map.

Recently I heard that an old friend Philippe Goulier, had opened up his own bar. I was curious to see it. Philippe had always talked about running his own little cafe, or tea house, or restaurant… or something, but it always seemed like it was just talk. It’s awfully nice when people exceed your expectations. Philippe has created a really nice little place. The name F.S.N. stands for Frontieres San Nations. I’ll let you puzzle over what exactly that might mean yourselves…

Burgundian, Philippe Goulier – a man of many talents.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Home of Craft Beer in Kyoto

Meet the family: Jimmy, Tadg, Mika, and Ben.

Four years since it first opened, the Irish pub formerly known as Mc Loughlin’s has been renamed as Tadg’s. Not a big change really, as I think everyone was calling it that anyway. I’ve written previously about this pub; its friendly hospitality and the fantastic views over the river and city. And Tadg’s cooking is also justifiably renowned; he uses locally grown organic vegetables in his many fine creations and the menu features an impressive vegan section. All that aside though, this bar’s most impressive feature is the selection of craft beers: Rogue, Ise Kadoya, Minoh, Yeti Imperial Oak and Victory at Sea… I had a snifter of the latter last night; a fine coffee flavored porter with hints of bitter chocolate like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. Absolutely gorgeous. Read the rest of this entry »

The sun was out and so were the crowds for Sunday’s Vegan Earth Day festival.

Amir from Falafel Garden – smiling the smile of good business.

Now obviously, the big thing at this kind of event is the food (apparently there’s no meat in it - but it still tastes ok!), but even if you aren’t hungry, just wandering around people-watching is pretty entertaining. I saw some familiar faces – like Falafel Garden‘s Amir for example. And then there were the unfamiliar faces of these handsome brutes – the men who sell Otokomae Tofu! Read the rest of this entry »

“…now that people in Japan understand what it means to be vegetarian, we hope that the next step will be that people understand what VEGAN means…”
~ Chiko

The people who organize Kyoto’s Vegetarian Festival every autumn (since 2003!) have decided to up the pace and add a spring vegan festival to the calendar! The very first VEGAN EARTH DAY festival will be held next Sunday May 2nd in Okazaki park.

“The biggest vegan festival in Japan…  gives you a place to enjoy veggie food and workshops and listen to music while focussing on the relationship between environmental issues and our diet…”

Features include: Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE!! JUNE 14th 2010: Hankering for a gluten burger and onion rings yesterday, I went along to the Karasuma branch of Speak Easy only to be deeply disappointed. It’s not there any more. Presumably the Shugakuin branch is still intact though. Mewby and I intend to venture north next weekend and find out.

Every now and again I am overcome by a terrible yearning for junk food. But not just any old chain-store-Big-Mac-style-mass-produced junk food. I want junk food with character. I want junk food of superior quality. I want to eat it in some comfort and away from the common horde. And I want to wash it down with beer too. In all these respects Speak Easy satiates all my more sordid culinary desires. They have burgers of every description (even vegetarian), and mexican food,  and bagel sandwiches, and really unhealthy but oh so tasty looking American breakfasts with bacon and eggs and french toast and hash browns and all that jazz. And booze. They got booze too. (Hence the name, eh?)

On our last visit Mewby opted for a cheese burger. She likes her cheese burger with bacon and guacamole.

Cheese Burger (￥750) + Bacon (￥80) + Guacamole (￥100)

I on the other hand declined the meat options and had myself a big old greasy slab of gluten.

The vegetarian Gluten Burger (￥750)

It goes down really nicely with a glass of Sapporo draft beer (￥600).

The Speak Easy we frequent is on the north side  of Nishikikoji doori between Takakura and Higashinotoin. There’s a much older one up on Kitayama by Shuugakuin though. You can find maps to both locations here and take a look at the menu here.

Speak Easy on Nishikikoji is open Monday to Wednesday from 11:00～20:00
and Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 11:00~23:00
Closed on Thursdays
Tel:075-241-9388

Last Thursday Nick Coldicott, was in town and invited me out to sake bar Yoramu.  Nick is the editor of Time Out Shortlist Kyoto and also writes a drinks column for the Japan Times, so when he said that Yoramu was his favorite bar, I was naturally intrigued. Yoramu lived up to his promise. The master, Yoram, a quietly spoken Israeli perfectly fluent in English and Japanese, gently guides his customers through an impressive variety of flavors and happily explains how each fine beverage is made. Speaking honestly, I know nothing about sake – or I didn’t until I visited this bar – but one evening there is an education and a tasty one at that! I felt like a whole new fascinating world of booze had been opened up to me and Nick himself admitted “I never cared about nihonshu until I came here”. Many thanks are due to the calm yet charismatic master, Yoram. His passion for nihonshu and his enthusiasm is infectious. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year again! The 7th annual Kyoto veggie-fest will be held again at Okazaki Park this Sunday (October 4th) from 10 am till 5 pm. There’ll be plenty of entertainment on stage, NPO booths and of course plenty of tasty scran from a variety of local eateries, including  Deep Kyoto favorites like Sunny Place, Falafel Garden, Mikoan and Cafe Millet. Here’s a word from the organisers:

An event for all ages, the festival gives you aplace to enjoy vegetarian food and listen to music while learning about vegetarianism, the environment, and more… Thanks to everyone’s support, this year marks our 7th year. We hope to have another a great turnout this year! The Festival Philosophy In Japan, with 1 out of 2 people becoming victims of cancer, many people are reflecting on their dietary habits. The Vegetarian Festival provides a place for people of all ages and nationalities to learn about a healthy lifestyle, while bringing attention to problems like the degrading environment and World Hunger. This festival focuses on the following themes:
★Living a healthy life, both mentally and physically
★One’s respect for life, not just of humans, but of the animals with which we cohabit the world
★How pollution and food over consumption can degrade the environment
★Introduce organic retailers throughout Kyoto…

…★In an effort to reduce garbage, please bring your own eating utensils, and bags for the items you buy.

The 2009 Vegetarian Festival held at Okazaki Park, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto
October 4th (Sunday) 10:00-17:00
Okazaki Park is just east of Kyoto Kaikan, and south of Heian Shrine.

You can find out more HERE and there are directions and a most convenient map HERE.

Ted Taylor writes…

On a warm autumn afternoon, during a north Kyoto hike from Ohara over to Kurama, we came across a group of young people building a wood burning oven out of stone. Standing in front of this ishigama, we made small talk with the young couple in charge of the project. The young woman told us that the bread that this oven would bake would be a centerpiece of the cafe that had just opened here, her hand gesturing at a comfortable looking building made of wood and glass. We promised to come back again.

A month or so later we ran into them again in Ohara, this time as part of a larger group busy harvesting adzuki and soy, some of which would wind up that night on the table of Cafe Millet.

What at first seems like a throwback scene to the old hippie days is actually a large and growing trend in Japan. Driven by both environmental and economic concerns, many young Japanese are shunning a life in the cities for one in the soil.

The idea of returning to the countryside is hardly a new one. Masanobu Fukuoka’s classic work, “The One-Straw Revolution” has for over 30 years lured people back to a traditional life of farming. What is different this time is that the movement is not simply at the personal or grass roots level. In March of this year, Prime Minister Taro Aso created the Rural Labor Squad, as a way to give employment to the young while simultaneously revitalizing rural communities and their dwindling labor pool. Local farmers are for the most part grateful for the help, though some feel that the young will once again return to the city when the economy picks up. Read the rest of this entry »

Our Mewby was very pleased with her lunch yesterday.

We ate at Kei’s Cafe Oggi on Gojozaka. It’s famous for its antique furniture and for its light and fluffy rice-filled omelettes. Neither of us was in an オムライス mood though. I went for the vegan option and got myself a fantastic vegetable sandwich instead. Just look at the way the colours of those fresh vegetables leap out at you. The dressing was lovely too.

Mewby ordered a hearty meal of hashed beef and rice. Read the rest of this entry »