Our Newest Addition

You guys! Hey! Hey! You guys!  

...

There's a new cafe in Yokosuka!  

{And the crowd goes wild!  Aaaaaaahhhhh!}

Ok, maybe that's a little much. But let me tell you that this cafe is capital-G great. Great. GREAT! You know that corner across from Daiei Mall? Right on the tip of the Honch and basically the first thing you see when you come into the city? Where there used to be a men's clothing store that no one ever went into? Well BOOM, it's now a coffee shop, ready to welcome you to sweet little Yokosuka. Come on in. Stay awhile.

Ok, that was cheesy. But you can't hate me for it.

This shop is Mikasa Cafe. It just opened a few weeks ago, and we took our first excursion there last weekend. We were absorbed in the tone almost instantly. It has a modern cozy chic kind of feel, and if you could drink up the atmosphere alone, it would be mighty tasty. 

The cafe has good offerings too. Coffee and pastries, of course, along with a few meal sets. But they also serve a few characteristic beers. We didn't partake - coffee was on our minds - but we were still impressed by what they had to offer, and would definitely spend an evening there.

They also sell Navy Curry. In a can.

The coffee was pretty good. Very enjoyable. My only critique was that it wasn't consistent with the tone of the shop itself. My iced mocha was really sweet - delicious, yes - but after walking into a place that felt very mature and modern, my mind was set up to drink something bitter, something had coffee written all over it. Sweet didn't feel right sitting where I was, surrounded by earthy tones and modern motif. Coherent? Make sense? I hope so.

Still, the coffee was delicious. Just not Barista Champion delicious. Would we recommend this cafe? Absolutely. It is a worthy addition to Yokosuka, and you bet your ace we'll be going there again.

Bridge Coffee & Ice Cream in Kappabashi

One of my favorite places in Tokyo is Kappabashi. It's like a candy shop for me - shops filled with kitchen and baking goods, coffee equipment, and china. I recently took my husband and our 9-month-old and also planned to introduce them to the waffle cafe that serves as the cherry on top to my Kappabashi experience. We waited for it to open only to find that it was no longer a waffle cafe. WHAT?! My dreams were crushed. I also didn't understand how a waffle cafe wouldn't just exist forever out of sheer awesomeness. 

Sigh.

But. BUT! We walked around the corner to continue rummaging through piles of things that make me super domestic. And only a few storefronts down the road was a brand spanking new coffee shop. Hooray! And It. Was. So. So. So. Good. I would recommend this shop above many others, and it sure helped me grieve the loss of waffle heaven. 

This shop is Bridge. Right smack dab in the middle of Kappabashi street, it's a architecture design firm meets specialty coffee shop. We actually spent half the time wondering why there was an off limits computer room in the back and model rooms everywhere. Oh, and there's a giant stuffed moose. That one never got an explanation, but it probably doesn't need one.

The atmosphere was homey but classy, and the coffee and food were ohmygoshsogood. I had a latte complete with beautiful latte art as my husband sipped some joe (gosh, he is so boring). They were both great, but what really took the cake (or shall I say took the muffin, heh heh) was the --- wait for it --- pistachio chocolate chip muffin that I had. It ... it just changed my life. It was so good that I'm pretty sure it ruined me for all other baked goods. But not really, because I still bake more than any person should. 

Oh and ... Curt's brownie was good too.

(overshadowed)

I highly recommend this shop. It has ambiance, it has good coffee and excellent treats. And it's Japanese, so you know the service is spectacular (which it is). You can find Bridge on Kappabashi-dori, about a 15 minute walk from Asakusa Station and a 10 minute walk from Tawaramachi Station on the Ginza subway line. The beauty of this location is that you can couple a great coffee shop experience with shopping kitchen good stores and a walk through Asakusa. Really, you just can't go wrong.