It's no secret that I enjoy food. I'm not into crazy culinary creations by celebrity chefs at $50 a plate - I'm more of the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives variety. In fact, I made it a point when traveling in America to eat at DDD restaurants as much as possible.
And now that I've been in Japan for nearly half a year, I have learned to deal with the cravings for those delicious meals I can't (easily) find here. I make my own tacos. I get my hot dogs from Ikea. I eat at McDonalds (tastes better and fresher than in America) or Burger King (which has an awesome spicy chicken cutlet for only 100 yen) occasionally. I haven't had chicken wings since arriving, and my craving for spicy food means that I either live off of Burger King fried chicken cutlets or make my own spicy curry (I make my own curry, and it's awesome).
One thing I miss out here is a good Chicago-style pizza. I like New York thin crust too, and would pick up a slice in SF at Taraval Pizza about once a week. Japanese pizza is super-thin, and just doesn't satisfy like NY and Chicago pizzas do.
I ran into a teacher I know from another school and they mentioned a craft beer bar/Chicago-style pizza restaurant, and I knew I had to go sometime. I found that opportunity Sunday.
Devil Craft is in Kanda, a two minute walk from the JR station. They have limited seating, so arrive early. Amanda and I got there just before four pm, and by the time we left there was a good crowd waiting for tables or seats at the bars.
They have appetizers, and the waffle fries looked and smelled really good (it's hard to mess up waffle fries). The wings we saw looked okay, but nothing to write home about. But we were there for the pizza. They have small personal pizzas (just right for a full meal for one person) and larger pizzas that would feed three people. The two of us took on the challenge of a large pizza. We got the supreme-style "Devil Works."
It's veggie-heavy and the sauce is full of tomatoes, though there is meat included! I have to say it was delicious. The crust was very crisp and thin, and tasted great. The ingredients were fresh and flavorful. It was almost everything I'd want in a Chicago-style pizza. I couldn't talk Amanda into the Abe Froman (meat and cheese) or Meatzilla (super-crazy amounts of meat) so I had to settle for something kind of healthy. Next time, I take on the Meatzilla.
They also have classic pizzas, salads, and the previously-mentioned appetizers. The place focuses on imported craft beers. Sound Brewery is their featured brewer, and I tried the O'Regan's Revenge Irish Red Ale. It's pretty good for a red ale. I also had a great wheat beer, which must have been the Lagunitas Windsansea Wheat. Very fruity and flavorful and exactly what a wheat beer should taste like!
I'll be back, for sure. Chicago pizza isn't cheap in the States, and it isn't here either, so this is a once-in-a-long-while trip. But if you live in Japan and want Chicago-style pizza, you really need to check this place out.
Oh, and if you know of any other Chicago style pizza restaurants in Japan (especially Tokyo), leave a comment!
No comments:
Post a Comment