Hinaya with Yuko and David

Hinaya with Yuko and David
Originally uploaded by ninapod.

Seattle friends David and Yuko (not to be confused with another D & Y from Seattle) visited Tokyo recently and made the time on Wednesday to go have dinner with me at Hinaya. Back during our Neuhaus Chocolate days, Yuko and I spent many hours chatting away about life in Japan and the US, beer, which chocolates we liked best (liquor-filled dark for me!), inept bosses and beloved kitties.

Hope they enjoy their trip to Japan and have a safe trip back.

toriyoshi

toriyoshi
Originally uploaded by ninapod.

Deep fried chicken wings surrounding what I thought were french fries... imagine my surprise at finding out it was deep fried chicken cartilage. Even more surprising is that I really liked it.

Ricardo's

ricardo
Originally uploaded by ninapod.

Going away parties are always a little sad and a lot of fun. There's usually drinking involved, and often takes place on Fridays, so everyone's looking to unwind and relax after a the hard week. And let me tell you, children, this was one hell of a week! Our interim art director Ricardo wrapped things up at the office and we trudged around the corner to deep fried chicken wing specialy restaurant Toriyoshi.

Ricardo came to the Halloween party dressed as a scene from Alfred Hitchhock's "The Birds." He was a great guy and great fun to work with.