Jan M.
Yelp
i went into this super tentative as it is clearly a popular place for japanese-speaking locals. i arrived 45 minutes before the noon opening time on a sunday, and there were already four people waiting, despite the sub-arctic (to me) december temperatures. after fewer than ten minutes had passed, i looked back, and there were **twelve** more people in line behind me! yikes. anyway, Tensuke opened promptly at noon, and the staff was immediately sympathetic to my needs as the only non-japanese speaking customer (i'm black; it was obvious). we all took our seats at the single counter, which bends around the corner of the space and faces the cooking area. no menus were offered; seems folks come there for a specific meal, which was explained to me in english by my behind-the-counter waitstaff dude. fried egg over rice with fried vegetables. set price: 1300¥. i asked if the egg would be fried hard--cooked all the way--and i think they did only mine that way to suit me.
when you sit down, there is a hot green tea (i think that's what is was) and a bowl of, like, chopped onion/accoutrements before you. a bowl of clear tannish-orange colored liquid (with some stuff in it) will then be placed before you. it's not soup! it's dipping sauce! :-) (just follow your neighbor's lead.) the chef then starts cracking eggs and doing tidy little no-look backboard shots into the trash with the shells (he WILL be cleaning that wall later). the egg, with a little batter messily splashed in, is fried quickly (it puffs up a bit rather than being flat) and then placed atop a bowl of rice with some crispy fried batter bits, all of which is doused in a soy-sauce-y sauce. this will be placed before you. itadakimasu! hope you're good with chopsticks. i am not, but when in rome...¯\_(ツ)_/¯. as you eat, a bowl of clear, fish-y soup will be added to your collection of things. no spoon. drink this right from the bowl, if you like it.
next, the chef starts tempura-ing things. i was presented with, one at a time and in this order: a good-sized shrimp, a wedge of green bell pepper, a slice of eggplant, a hunk of broccoli, a piece of fish, another (different) type of fish, and--the grand finale--a big ball of shrimp. the food was good. the tempura batter provides crunch more than flavor, but the dipping sauce, which is mild and slightly sweet, complements the soy-sauce-y rice and makes the meal.
i felt a little pressured because, as i continued working on my food, my seatmates all finished and left, and i knew there was a line outside. i also knew that the place is only open for lunch from 12 to 2pm. i'm just not very quick at eating with a pair of sticks--i did my best! to be fair, though, no one rushed me; the pressure to finish up came only from myself.
all-in-all, i'm glad to have braved the experience, and i left VERY full. if you're nervous about going into very traditionally japanese eateries, i recommend this as a good place to try.
PRO-TIP: use the chopsticks for EVERYthing. there aren't any napkins on offer. (i made the mistake of using my hand to pick up and eat that first shrimp and found myself helplessly stuck with grease-covered fingers. WOMP-womp. the waiter saw my plight and offered me a wet wipe.)
