NORM!

Everyone needs that place where everybody knows your name. I’ve been missing that since our move. Back in good ole Old Town Alexandria there was Union Street, the Bayou Room, Southside, Shooter McGees, Mango Mikes, Flying Fish… okay so no one ever said there should be only one. But getting that status has been slow here. While well known at the yakitori stand (the husband even went last week and they asked for me to come around – so getting there on the Norm status in Yokosuka at least) but in our new little home town of Zushi, we haven’t made much stride. Until this weekend that is.

Friends called and asked if we wanted to meet them for dinner. I needed the drinks more than the food after working on a paper for over nine hours so we gladly accepted the invite. At 7, we left our house and took the fifteen minute walk to a place we have been before called Matchpoint. Great bar and they make extraordinary drinks where the bartender has taken more than three minutes of tender loving care preparing one drink (I’ve timed it). The food is a cross of pasta dishes, curry dishes and raw dishes. The best thing on the menu is the appetizer of garlic potatoes. They take the fat, homemade French fries and slather oil and garlic on them. Not good for a date and I know it sounds simple but they are better than any fry you have ever had and I will guarantee that statement. The décor is one of the most interesting things… American Indian. How does a bar in small town Japan get an American Indian theme going? Have they even seen an Indian? There is a large, feathery headdress, some dream catchers and colorful weavings lining the walls. Not to be left unnoticed is the antique bow and arrow above the door. An upright piano lines the back wall where an Indian drum lays waiting for the eager drunk. On top of the piano is where the theme falls apart slightly… a wooden statue of Jim Brown grins out. Leaning against him is one of Stevie Wonder’s early records. Let me not forget to mention the large collection of miniatures… miniature dragons and snakes… as well as the large stuffed snake that sits across from Jim.

This was not the first or even the second time we have been there. The food is a draw and the fact that the menu attempts English translations on all dishes although some I simply would never eat thanks to that same translation. The bartender/servers have a good grasp of English and like to chat. The bar menu is extensive. I’ve said this one already but this is a very important point to make in a town where bar often means simply forty varieties of beer and sake and not a single bottle of my dear friend, the Captain, in the house. And there was something else this time when we walked in the door… that lovely, warm Norm feeling. We don’t have the shouting of names thing down quite yet but by next visit, it will be a sure thing.