Tree - Anthony’s Kitchen

I have three reasons for recommending Tree - Anthony’s Kitchen. My fondness for Anthony’s Kitchen starts with breakfast. While growing up in the US, I certainly didn’t breakfast at restaurants all the time, but having Sunday brunches out was a part of most beach vacations. I can recall some outstanding hotel buffets. And when I go back to the states to visit, breakfast with friends is standard. I miss going out for breakfast here. When I saw that Anthony’s offered a “Full English Breakfast,” I knew I was about to fill-in a hole in my diet.

Another reason to recommend Anthony’s Kitchen is its ever-developing menu. Almost always, if I say I like a restaurant, what I mean is I like a particular dish. I don’t need to look at the menu. I’ve even given up on a couple of places because they’ve stopped serving my favorite. Anthony’s is a rarity for me in that I’m satisfied ordering a variety of dishes and I look forward to additions to the menu. (A good reason to follow anth0nyskitchen on Instagram - to keep up with new items and the pasta of the week.)

Some of my recent favorites…

Smashed Avocado

Bagel Sandwich

Falafel

You can see a lot more food and get info on cooking classes and catering at Tree’s website.

As the menu and the dining experience of Anthony’s Kitchen is so unique, I was interested in learning a bit about the operation of the restaurant. So I asked Anthony a few questions via email and he was gracious enough to respond.

Are your days pretty similar or very distinct?

Days at Tree tend to vary depending on weather, outside events and holiday seasons. Generally, Saturdays are our busiest day by far, followed by Wednesdays (I think this is because there are a lot of cafes and restaurants that are closed on Wednesday.) We don’t have specific delivery days that change our busyness. I tend to do shopping on a daily basis which can be quite tiresome. [as for] where do I get ingredients from… the honest answer is everywhere. As much as possible I try to use locally-sourced vegetables and meat but this is very dependent on seasonality and availability. I normally use a local butcher called Amano Meat (天野精肉徳行店), which is round the corner from my store, and for vegetables I use a variety of farms such as Crazy Farm in Yamanashi. I get my tomatoes from a farm in Chuo city (again depending on availability), celeriac from a farmer in Nagano and seasonal vegetables from different farmers. Most of my cheese is either from Costco or a local supermarket called Valor (they have a great selection of cheeses at reasonable rates). Flours and baking goods come from Shimizu Shokuhin (清水食品) in Kokubo. They have such a big variety of flours, nuts and dried fruits. Everything in between I normally get from supermarkets.  Of course most farmers tend to grow organically which adds a premium but I want to try to give my customers the best I can get whilst trying to support local farms too. When I say “locally-sourced” ingredients that doesn’t necessarily mean only goods that are produced by Yamanashi - grapes, peaches, etc. It just means ingredients farmed and grown by local farmers.

Were there any dishes you served that you expected to be popular but didn’t work out?

There were a couple of pasta specials that didn’t sell as I expected. One was a chilled cucumber soup sauce, capellini pasta, olive and ricotta fritters. I thought it was delicious but I don’t think customers liked it too much.

How about a dish you thought Japanese customers wouldn’t like but turned out to be popular?

…I would have to say falafel. Middle Eastern food is still relatively unknown so I was a bit apprehensive to put falafel on the menu. However, I love falafel, so I had an inkling that my customers might like it too. But I really didn’t expect it to be as popular as it is.

When I’m menu planning I tend to cook food that I love and am convinced others will like too. Of course it’s a whole ball game planning menus in a Japanese setting where you have to stay away from super spicy and overly salty dishes. However, that being said, I want to stay true as much as possible to the flavors I grew up eating and give my customers an as authentic as possible experience. I often get frustrated when I go to Italian restaurants or Indian restaurants and the flavours have been mellowed or suited to Japanese palates. It takes away authenticity and ends up with chefs trying to make a buck rather than delivering authentic ‘real’ food. Of course this depends much on ingredient availability and being able to source all you need.

Is there an ingredient that’s been difficult to find in Japan but you wish you could use more?

I wish filo pastry was available more in Japan. You can get it from Rakuten but it isn’t cheap. I also wish there were more varieties of fresh herbs although that is slowly being resolved by me growing my own this year. As I said I’m still a beginner so next year, hopefully with this years lessons learnt, the crop will more plentiful and in turn my menus more expansive.

I use Gyomu Super (業務スーパー), TAC, and the internet for a lot of the ingredients I can’t get from normal supermarkets. 

For specific Italian ingredients - Kameya-Foods (online)

For Asian ingredients, including fresh herbs - Akemistoa アケミストアー (on Showa Street)

For Turkish/Middle Eastern ingredients- Haselfoods (online)

Here is my yet unmentioned third reason for recommending Tree - Anthony’s Kitchen. There’s always so much friendliness and graciousness whenever I visit. There’s always a warm welcome. And though Tree has immediately become a favorite restaurant for so many, Anthony is still humble about its popularity.

He writes,

“I must admit that I’m only a beginner… the journey of cooking as a chef, running a business, and living/doing all those things is still at its beginnings. Although I have been doing cheffing for over 20 years there is still so much more to learn.”

“Generally I am living my dream although I wish my shop were bigger so I could expand the menu as I have so many ideas still. Deli-style bistro, Greek BBQ, a bakery etc..”

Even though I’d be more than satisfied if Tree just continued in the direction Anthony has already chosen, I’m excited to see what he comes up with next. He’s earned both the opportunity to chart a new course and also the loyalty of many customers that will gladly follow him.