#1: Worldstar Cafe, Jan. 2

I found Worldstar by accident, thanks to a sudden whim to explore a new street. I'd ventured out into the surreally silent Roppongi (the neighborhood adjoining mine, and Tokyo's nightlife district) to make a Don Quijote run, and as I approached Roppongi Crossing, a small parallel street beckoned to me. I'd only ventured a few feet down this street -- to drink at the Travel Cafe and, embarrassingly, to eat at Outback -- and I thought, why not. It was a nice day, I had no place to be, and thanks to the holidays, I had the streets to myself.

The street itself proved uninteresting (and not parallel as I'd thought, although I found a good shortcut to Food Magazine supermarket). Worldstar was about the only place open, and as I passed, two bored waiters standing on the porch waved me in. But I didn't want to eat -- I wanted to explore. And to buy cat litter.

An hour later I was back, and the waiters were astonished. "You came back!" they said, clearly delighted that their sales pitch had worked, and that they had a customer. (Everything in Tokyo pretty much shuts down until Jan. 5.)

As it was late afternoon, only the set lunch menu was available. I had a grilled chicken thigh in mustard sauce and thin rounds of homemade bread with a tasty red spread. The meat wasn't the highest quality -- I found a few chunks of gristle -- but it was tasty, and the Irish coffee from the full bar warmed me up. (And, until 2 a.m., kept me up.) I missed out on Worldstar's best features, though -- a water bar with high-end waters (yes, really) from all over the world, a tapas menu, and an extensive wine bar in the back room. They're open until 8 a.m. (yep, that's until, not from), making this a great place to wait out the first train.

Worldstar: http://www.worldstarcafe.com/eng.html