You would probably never guess it but Tokyo is probably one of the dessert
capitals of the world.
One
day I was looking for a place to eat lunch. I came out of Shinjuku station
on the east side, looked up and saw a sign for onigiri
which at the time was a fairly new thing to find featured at a restaurant. So, I
thought "what the heck" I'll check it out. Here is what I found.
I
had the onigiri but clearly that was not the point of this restaurant.
They had this large display case featuring all their tarts, cakes and pies and
they are just mouth watering, jaw dropping gorgeous.
Most of them actually taste good too 
I
don't remember the first one I tried. This banana tart I've had 3 or 4
times and since I love bananas it's great! I think I must have been at
least 15 times since I found out about this place. I wonder how many inches
that's added to my waist? And, actually the slices are pretty large for
Japan. At least 60 percent of it is fruit so it must be good for
you. Yea, that's the ticket!
The
place is called the Cafe Comme Ca (pronounced "comb saw") and is part of the Comme
Ca corporation that has fashion and accessory stores all over Japan as well as
other random stuff. For example the Cafe Comme Ca in Shinjuku is on the
5th floor of a 5 story Comme Ca Mode store. The first floor has things
like organizers, paper clips and an ice cream stand. The other 3 floors
are clothes
There are so many types of tarts and cakes I had to keep going back and of
course each friend I had I'd ask them if they had been and if the answer was no
then of course I had to take them. They change too and there are daily
specials.
There
are some interesting cultural ideas at work though. A cafe in general and
one that specializes in dessert is considered a *girls* place. Of course
this never bothered me. First I don't believe in that kind of crap and
second, if it is all full of women what could be better for me. 
But,
it was funny to watch my friend Kyo. He is from Taiwan as we went to
different cafes he would look around the room and if there were no other men in
the place he would point it out, "hey, we're the only guys here" and
then sit nervously the entire time.
Maybe
the deal is that most of them are not open that late and so given Japanese
culture with the men working and the women staying home, only the women have
time to go to a place that's not open till late at night. Well, too bad
for the men if that's the case. More dessert for me I'm sure it's
changing though.
Cafe
Comme Ca quickly expanded. There are now two in Shinjuku. One in
Harajuku. One in Shibuya. I think country wide there are over
50. I've wondered if someone should start a place this cool in the
states. Making the tarts does not seem that hard. I don't personally
have the business know-how but whoever started the Cheesecake Factory could
probably start the Tart Construction Works using this idea. Maybe they
will hire me as a consultant and I can taste test the tarts 
Another time my friend Kyo and I found ourselves in Omotesando which is known
for having lots of cafes although most of them have pretty standard fare.
Nothing to write home about. We wanted something good though so I e-mailed
my friend Yuki on my cell phone and within a few minutes her reply told us there
was a famous place just a few minutes walk from where we were.
It's
called Qu'il Fait Bon and it was
pretty awesome too although pretty small. They also have a few stores
around Tokyo and feature a very French decor. They might actually be from
France. That day we ordered two slices each as we really wanted to try
them out.
The place is very small and the people dealing with the tarts are standing
directly behind the case preparing them right in front of you. It's fun to
watch why you are waiting for a seat.
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| a little cheesecake is a good thing |
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Another place I've been a few times is the Cheesecake Cafe. They are
also a chain. The two I've been to are the Shinjuku branch which is just a
minute from the east exit Kinokuniya bookstore.
The
is other is the Shibuya directly across from the station from the Hachiko exit
in the 1092 building. The menus are the same which is a few
light pasta dishes and desserts.
The portions at Cheesecake Cafe are more normal for a Japanese restaurant
which by American standards would be called puny or maybe even a rip-off at
probably $5 a piece but I look at it as I get my dessert and as it's small I
don't have to worry as much about getting fat.
There are all kinds of cafes in Tokyo. It's something I'm really going
to miss when I come back to the states. I don't understand why there are not
more of them in L.A. It seems for dessert on all of giant L.A. we have
like 3 places. Cheesecake Cafe, Sweet Lady Jane and Manny's.
One thought is that in Japan with very small apartments etc people need a
place to get out. In L.A. we just invite our friends over to our
place. Hence less demand.
The basic definition of a cafe seems to be a place you can get dessert and
tea. If they have more food that's bonus. Another is that they are
generally casual.
It seems like within the last few years there's been a cafe movement with
cafes springing up all over the place. I've been to one that looks like a
kids club house and there is actually a tree growing through the building.
I've been to ones with only about 8 seats. I've seen one where someone
just pulled up a van, setup some tables around it and served out of their
van. There is one in the Virgin Megastore in Shinjuku that has about 30
iMacs/iBooks for free net access provide you buy some food.
There is even practically a cafe section of many bookstores with guides to
lots of them. As many of them are very small there is a lot of turnover so
sometimes the guides will lead you somewhere that no longer exists. My
favorite guide is this
one which has lots of pictures.
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| luscious kabocha creme brulee |
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I've had other incredible non-tart, not cake desserts too
at some of the
smallest places. Many of these places are posted in my restaurant
section. Check'em out.
