Message: | on the top floor of the Yaohan/Mitsuwa complex at third and alameda are Tsukasa, a sushi bar discussed by myself and others in threads below and a decent ramen place. On the first floor is a pretty good udon place.
I like Suehiro for Udon. I'm not crazy about Sushi-gen or R-23, but obviously that's a matter of taste and others here like them fine. In the Honda Plaza (2nd St. between Central and Alameda) there's a Japanese style French patisserie, Louise's that has Japanese style iced coffees and the Japanese versions of French and other Western pastry. They're very intense and sweet but quite good, a bit smaller than the continental versions.
On the edge of the plaza, bordering on Alameda, is a Japanese beer hall whose name I forget. When you go in, it's woody, almost Swiss chalet-like (there used to be one on Sawtelle as well). They have beer and all kinds of snacks, grilled, fried, roasted, raw. You just order your bar food to go with the drinks. The grilled eggplant (nasu?) is good as is a shimeji mushroom dish. Experiment and have fun.
In the same plaza on the 2nd st side is a tempura house. It seems fine to me. That's what they do, that's all they do - tempura. You choose what you want, and you get it. I'm told that in japan, this is pretty standard. Sushi places, do sushi, yakitori places do yakitori, shabu shabu the same, kushikatsu the same, udon houses don't serve ramen, ramen houses don't serve udon. Let us know what you try and how you like it.
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