Tokyo

Real soba is sooooooo good. The homemade kind that's cut unevenly and is a little chewy and actually tastes like buckwheat. This place has that. Plus a lot of other homecooking-style dishes, like fresh black-sesame tofu, and your classic rolled egg omelet, and a vinegary slimy seaweed dish that sounds gross but is actually really tasty.

And it was here that I re-discovered soba-cha — buckwheat tea — which I couldn't drink enough of. Man, it's good.

They also have big tables that you share with other people, which adds to the whole family atmosphere, and makes it all the more comfortable.