Arigato
Tokyo 7-7 is at a great place in time and space
By Richard Foss
When I showed a friend a menu from Tokyo 7-7, she asked what year it was from, assuming it was part of my collection of restaurant memorabilia. (Yeah, I have one.) When I told her that I had ordered from that menu an hour before, she didn’t believe me.
Everything else at Tokyo 7-7 Coffee Shop is, like this menu, an artifact of the early 1970s that just happens to still be in use. The restaurant itself is at the intersection of a pair of one-way alleys behind Main Street in Culver City – itself an interesting place, partly by virtue of being the shortest Main Street in America. Go about two-thirds of the way toward the south end of the one-block street and peer down the alley – the low, scruffy-looking building with no visible sign is Tokyo 7-7. (They have a sign, but it’s not pointed at the alley from which most people will approach the restaurant. Why? I don’t know.) Inside, the cheap imitation walnut paneling is covered with pictures of obscure movie personalities from a few decades ago. You are welcomed to sit at the counter or a table and given that menu I mentioned earlier. It’s a page of Japanese-American coffee shop fare, pretty ordinary except for one thing – the most expensive item is a whopping $4.60. Wait, I forgot – if you splurge on the Tokyo 7-7 Special of cha-shu pork, sunomono salad, tamagoyaki omelette, miso soup, and rice, you can spend all of five and a half bucks. Then again, that’s a fair pile of food, and might be considered a split entrée. Those on a budget might consider getting an egg, home fries, toast, and bacon or sausage for $2.35 instead. I pay a lot more than that to park at most restaurants in L.A.
You get the idea – prices out of another era, served in the décor of another era, by cheerful Japanese waitresses who remember when the place was new. The only thing that seems to have changed since they opened are the hours, which used to be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (hence the restaurant name), but are now 7 to 2 p.m. Changing the name would confuse regulars and cost money, so they don’t do it.
So how’s the food? It’s not gourmet but pretty passable – a Hawaiian-style open-face omelet with Portuguese sausage and onion over rice was downright decent, and the ginger beef was tender and had a nice, lightly sweet and sharp tang. Those entrees and others were served with rice and a green salad – one composed mostly, if not entirely, of iceberg lettuce, but still a
salad. Splurge and get some fried gyozas on the side – go on, you can afford it, and they’re good.
On my most recent visit I tried the oyako donburi, a bowl of rice topped with a mixture of chicken, egg, scallions, and dashi/soy sauce. It’s Japanese home cooking, and it hit the spot. My vegetarian companion asked for an avocado and mushroom omelet, which they cheerfully prepared even though it wasn’t on the menu.
After several visits, I’ve found many things to like and only one I won’t order again – the teriyaki is made with a very sweet sauce that
isn’t to my taste. Nothing is brilliant, but just about everything is good. Add in the enjoyable novelty of dining there, and you see why I keep going back. On another day, I will go to another restaurant and order the best L.A. has to offer, savor it, and happily pay for the privilege. But today? It’s a very fine day.
Tokyo 7-7, 3839-B Main St., Culver City, (310) 204-5728. Entryway between Bottle Rock and La Ballona restaurants. Open 7 a.m.-2 p.m., cash only, some vegetarian items, wheelchair access OK.
Published: 04/30/2008
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