まい泉 Maisen
東京都渋谷区神宮前4-8-5 (Map)
03-3470-0071
Price: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Maisen is one of the more famous tonkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlet) places in Tokyo. Located in a former bathhouse, the decor is unpretentious and the environs sprawling, but the food is both tasty and reasonable. On the menu are not just pork cutlets in various styles but also an assortment of other porcine morsels, such as Chinese-style pork dumplings, and a modest assortment of other Japanese classics, like sashimi and kaki furai (breaded and fried oysters). Ravenous Rob particularly recommends those of the dishes made from the tender and flavorful kurobuta, or “black pork,” of Kyushu. Located in the fashionable Aoyama district of Tokyo, it is convenient to both the sublime aesthetic horrorshow that is Harajuku and the small but excellent Goto Museum.