Cherub Score 9.1 Turned away as a walk-in, came back the next day — and ate the best katsu of my life. Ginza Bairin Waikiki's Kurobuta pork loin, scored 9.1/10.
Cherub Score 9.0 A Shinkansen ride to Kobe for fusion cuisine that smashes Japanese and Western traditions together — and an A5 wagyu steak that nearly brought me to tears.
Cherub Score 9.0 I woke up at 5am, took the train to Toyosu Fish Market, stood in line for an hour, and sat down at Daiwa Sushi. Seven pieces of the freshest fish I've ever eaten — and a tamagoyaki that made me rethink eggs entirely.
Cherub Score 9.5 A Hakata Nagahama-style ramen shop in Tokyo that looks like nothing from the outside and serves a bowl of tonkotsu that made me sit in silence for a full minute.
Cherub Score 10.0 After countless phone calls and a Ritz-Carlton booking trick, I got a reservation at Sukiyabashi Jiro's Roppongi location. 20 pieces of the best sushi I've ever had — and a photo with chef Ono Takashi.
Cherub Score 6.5 A new ramen shop opened in Houston's Westchase area and I waited almost three hours on opening week. The gua bao was decent. The ramen was not.
Cherub Score 9.6 A tonkotsu ramen shop in Tokyo where you eat alone in a booth, customize everything on a form, and walk out wondering why all ramen doesn't taste like this. Here's what Ichiran at Ueno Station is really like.
Cherub Score 8.0 An omakase-only sushi bar in Los Angeles where the chef decides everything, the wasabi is real, and you don't touch the soy sauce. Here's what it's like to eat at Sushi Zo.
Cherub Score 9.5 A Korean drama sent me down a rabbit hole. A Japanese restaurant in Houston gave me one of the best bites of my life. Here's how foie gras sashimi at Kata Robata earned a 9.5.