Seiji Nakazawa (writer, guitarist)
Nakazawa Seiji / Serialized "Standing Soba Wanderings" on the web media "Rocket News 24." He is a casual soba fanatic who has visited over 300 soba restaurants during his reporting and tours.
That curry is engraved in my mind after visiting over 300 standing soba restaurants.
It's morning in the entertainment district, and I've still not woken up from last night's dream. The bar owner is seeing her customers off. "See you later!" I hear a particularly cheerful voice say. It's as if she's trying to convince herself. Spring sleep is such that you don't even notice the dawn. I'm not going to remember it. Even the dream rolling at my feet is spring in this world. The zombies passing by are yawning. This is a road I always take. On this street, there is a squalid flower bed. The soil is hard and it looks like it can barely absorb water. The amount of water a bellboy spraying with a hose after his night shift is clearly excessive.
As I jumped to avoid a puddle that had formed on the asphalt, I spotted a flower in that hard, rigid flowerbed. A difference from yesterday that I hadn't noticed before. The boundary with the repetitive everyday life. Don't you sometimes find yourself taken aback by a subtle difference? I think the curry at a stand-up soba restaurant is like a flower buried in the rigidity of everyday life.
For example, it could be the slight nostalgia of Minogasa curry, or the slight special feeling of Yomodasoba curry. Suddenly remembering these small details, which are by no means exaggerated, you suddenly have an overwhelming urge to eat. They are not flowers grown in a greenhouse. They bloom by the roadside, soothing passersby. Perhaps this concept can be said to be the very existence of a standing soba restaurant. When you eat soba, it's time to eat soba. Soba restaurant curry adds color to a standing soba restaurant. Today, as today, the flowers bloom. Surely tomorrow and the day after will too.
Sobayoshi Nihonbashi Main Branch
Curry at soba restaurants is based on dashi stock. However, it's rare to find curry at a stand-up soba restaurant with such a strong dashi stock. It could be said to be a flower that can only be found at a restaurant directly managed by a bonito wholesaler. When you pour Sobayoshi curry over it, you can understand that it is made of thinly shaved bonito flakes. The essence of this dish is bonito flakes. In the corner of the ticket machine, there are also bonito flakes for souvenirs.
Address: 1F, 1-1-7 Nihonbashi Honcho, Chuo-ku | map
Yomoda Soba Shinjuku West Exit Branch
Speaking of curry at stand-up soba restaurants, we can't forget about Yomoda Soba. This soba restaurant is so well-known that it serves authentic Japanese-style Indian curry. It's light and refreshing, yet pairs perfectly with rice, and it's the kind of curry you'll suddenly find yourself craving.
Address: 1-15-7 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, 1F | map
Tateshina
In front of a row of gigantic buildings. Tateshina, located in front of Akasaka-mitsuke station, serves curry with the rich flavor of a Western restaurant. They have a wide variety of dishes, including curry rice, meat curry, meat and egg curry, and eggplant curry. Apparently, this restaurant was originally a curry shop. Even the curry at this stand-up soba restaurant has a past life. As you'd expect from Akasaka, the city of flowers.
Address: 3-1-16 Akasaka, Minato-ku | map
Okada
Okada's curry can only be ordered as part of a set. Once you try it, you'll understand why. The deep flavor is accompanied by a spiciness. The nostalgic spiciness creates a vivid contrast with the warm soba noodles in a sweet broth. The vertical threads are the soba noodles, and the horizontal threads are the curry. This woven set may one day heal your wounds.
Address: 13-6 Kodenmacho, Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku | map
Tamba-ya
Why would a stand-up soba restaurant make Indian curry? The 460 yen Indian curry on their menu raises this question, but it turns out it's a recipe brought in by a Nepalese waiter. The hot, spicy aftertaste is authentic. The price of this Indian curry has only increased by 10 yen in the last 10 years.
Address: 1F, 2-16-1 Shinbashi, Minato-ku｜map
Minogasa Main Store
First of all, the rice at Minogasa is delicious. The crisp grains of rice go perfectly with the Japanese-style curry, which has the sweetness of onions melting into it. The more you chew on it, the more nostalgic it becomes. Just as morning dew tells you about the night storm, Minogasa's curry tells you about the path you've walked. You've come a long way without even realizing it.
Address: 3-10-5 Iwamotocho, Chiyoda-ku | Map
