Tokyo Day 4: Amam Dacotan + Memento Mori + Pizza Strada. Tokyo. Japan.

The other bakery that caught my eye for this Tokyo trip was Amam Dacotan that originated in Fukuoka. Since this is in Omotesandō, there is always a long line. I would recommend you go on the earlier side as the line can take 1-2 hours otherwise even on a weekday. There were definitely more to choose from than étéco bread as they have close to 150 types of baked goods daily. It also has some indoor and outdoor seating for on site consumption in addition to having a small selection of beverages. I got a variety of goodies here: mortadella sandwich + anko & pistachio condensed milk + hojicha & azuki bread + matcha raspberry bread.  All of which I found inventive and enjoyable and the baby sandwiches they sell were the most adorable in addition to being delicious. Their signature sandwich is the Dacotan Burger and for sweets they are famous for their maritozzos (cream buns). Since I was on another long walking adventure, I did not get a maritozzo. What I also found interesting is that its founder Ryota Hirako started doing "sustainable bread" since the pandemic in an attempt to make his baked goods last a few days longer.

















Then I had a leisurely stroll around Omotesandō and Harajuku and found the most perfect cat lamps ever.



While I have been to both Ben Fiddich and Bar Centifolia well before either got super famous, they are both near impossible to get into now. I ended up getting us into Memento Mori as they are another one of the best bars in the world with a focus on cacao drinks, in addition to them serving cocao desserts. Don't let the fact that this is located in the business building of Toranomon Hills fool you, some restaurants here have a 1 year wait list and is for members/regulars only. I knew I wanted to try the parfait and it was a one drink per person minimum, so my friend and I got mocktails: Gift Rose Fizz + Cacao Pulp Fizz. They also do tasting menus for their cacao drinks with dessert pairings. I can attest that the mocktails were made with the same amount of care as they do their cocktails and they were phenomenal. The parfait was also exceptional. So if you are in the mood to try one of the best bars Tokyo has to offer that you can still get into, this may be a great option. They also have their specialized cacao gin you can buy to take with you in addition to interesting things like blue cheese cognac on the menu. They also had a drink called Dead Inside, which was oh so tempting. They also served us cocoa tea at the end.

I have been joking with my friends for years that the best pizza in the world is not in Italy—it's in Tokyo. I have never gotten pizza in Japan yet, so I made it a point to check it out finally on this trip. I live near Tony's Pizza Napoletana here in San Francisco, which is always in the top 10 in the world in addition to a few trips to Italy where I ate the best pizzas as instructed by many of the best chefs in the world. I chose Pizza Strada as that it had both traditional Neapolitan pizzas in addition to some with wagyu beef. We got the Margherita and the Strada. I stand by my words that the best pizza is in Tokyo. Both were great; we preferred the Strada.