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A review by jwsg
Pretty Good Number One: An American Family Eats Tokyo by Matthew Amster-Burton
3.0
One of the biggest challenges of reading books like Pretty Good Number One, where the author speaks about their experience of something - food, a place, an experience - is figuring out "do I trust your taste?" "Do I think your opinions are credible?" For instance, I've decided to ignore any opinion offered by the food writer for my local paper because I've figured out over the years that any restaurant that offers fatty cuts of well salted meat and other rich foods pretty much earns a 4 star review from him. And a couple of chapters in Pretty Good Number One, I couldn't decide if I should trust Amster-Burton and continue reading the book, or if I should move on to something with more substance.
For instance, it wasn't very confidence inspiring to read 4 pages in that "If Westerners think of Tokyo at all, it's as the capital of a nation struggling to right itself after years of economic stagnation capped by a devastating earthquake and nuclear disaster. Even before the Tohoku quake, however, Tokyo was a slightly off the map tourist destination. How many Tokyo tourist attractions can you name offhand? I'm going to guess zero." Oh dear, you think. This is going to be one of those Americans who discover exotic Asia, its exotic culture and flavours and mind boggling practices. They serve the fish whole here! Including the head! They eat seaweed and drink bitter tea! They eat fermented foods! And octopus balls! Page 53, where Amster-Burton wrote "to better understand what makes Japan one of the world's greatest places to eat, we should go to 7-Eleven" almost made me shut the book for good. I was convinced at this point that Amster-Burton had spent his life eating Cheez Whiz, Pop Tarts and Twinkies and now found Japanese convenience foods to be a revelation in flavour and texture by comparison. While I agreed with his assessment that "putting together lunch for the whole family from an American 7-Eleven would be as appetising as scavenging among seaside medical waste", I wasn't sure whether he could be trusted to discern what was mediocre (it doesn't exist, in his opinion), average, above average and sublime Japanese food. Or if everything was going to be awesome and a revelation.
In the end, I decided to get over myself and read the book for what it is - how to experience Tokyo with young kids, where, let's face it, you're not going to be making plans for that sublime Michelin starred meal, to get in line early for that utterly mind-blowing hole-in-the-wall ramen joint, or beg the concierge to score you seats at Sushi Jiro. So exploring the joys of Japanese supermarkets and kombinis, train food (because kids love trains and train food is a convenient option for hungry kids during the train journey), and kid-friendly options for yakitori, tempura, ramen, sushi and what not, is probably the way to go. Read in that light, Pretty Good Number One is a pretty good read and travel guide for families heading to Tokyo.
For instance, it wasn't very confidence inspiring to read 4 pages in that "If Westerners think of Tokyo at all, it's as the capital of a nation struggling to right itself after years of economic stagnation capped by a devastating earthquake and nuclear disaster. Even before the Tohoku quake, however, Tokyo was a slightly off the map tourist destination. How many Tokyo tourist attractions can you name offhand? I'm going to guess zero." Oh dear, you think. This is going to be one of those Americans who discover exotic Asia, its exotic culture and flavours and mind boggling practices. They serve the fish whole here! Including the head! They eat seaweed and drink bitter tea! They eat fermented foods! And octopus balls! Page 53, where Amster-Burton wrote "to better understand what makes Japan one of the world's greatest places to eat, we should go to 7-Eleven" almost made me shut the book for good. I was convinced at this point that Amster-Burton had spent his life eating Cheez Whiz, Pop Tarts and Twinkies and now found Japanese convenience foods to be a revelation in flavour and texture by comparison. While I agreed with his assessment that "putting together lunch for the whole family from an American 7-Eleven would be as appetising as scavenging among seaside medical waste", I wasn't sure whether he could be trusted to discern what was mediocre (it doesn't exist, in his opinion), average, above average and sublime Japanese food. Or if everything was going to be awesome and a revelation.
In the end, I decided to get over myself and read the book for what it is - how to experience Tokyo with young kids, where, let's face it, you're not going to be making plans for that sublime Michelin starred meal, to get in line early for that utterly mind-blowing hole-in-the-wall ramen joint, or beg the concierge to score you seats at Sushi Jiro. So exploring the joys of Japanese supermarkets and kombinis, train food (because kids love trains and train food is a convenient option for hungry kids during the train journey), and kid-friendly options for yakitori, tempura, ramen, sushi and what not, is probably the way to go. Read in that light, Pretty Good Number One is a pretty good read and travel guide for families heading to Tokyo.