Big Dinner in Little Tokyo Alley

Tokyo Alley

by Chris Horne

There has never been a single time during my tenure at the paper when a suggested lunch visit to Tokyo Alley has been met with anything less than enthusiastic daydreams of Red Curry Chicken and noodle salad. It was the first meal I had there and I’ve never switched. Though normally not such a creature of habit, I can’t help myself because nowhere else in town makes it so good. The only addition to my ritual has been to start things off with one of their cheese sticks, which contains crabmeat and comes with a tangy red dipping sauce (yeah, I’m from Macon and I have no idea what that stuff is called).

Although I stick to my Red Curried guns, I know, from the testimony of my eating partners, that the Green Curry, the Hot and Sweet Chicken, the Orange Chicken and the Teriyaki Chicken is all delicious. I’ve heard such good things about each of these dishes that I’ve occasionally considered giving them a go.

One of the things I like so much about Tokyo Alley is that it’s cozy but maintains some sense of privacy. Conversations remained hushed but not so low as to require a whisper. And the atmosphere is flexible too. As many times as I’ve gone to eat with friends, catching up and joking around, I’ve also gone on business, and the setting allows each easily—a fine balance between the casual and the proper.

The service has never been a problem either though it is nothing extraordinary. In fact, it works like a good lunch should: with efficiency. There is little if any banter, and better, seldom a long wait. The wait staff mostly stays out of the way, making sure you can get your food and drink, and get back to your day. If you’ve ever had a midday hang-up at lunch, you know how important that is.

Seeing as I was raised thinking that Red Lobster and Shoney’s were the best my money could buy, I’ve had to get over thinking that every local eatery was going to be expensive. It took me years of building nerve and financial reserve before I’d go into places like Jim Shaw’s just because I thought that it had to be fancy. Same with Tokyo Alley. It looks nice to me, and since it isn’t a chain, I just assumed it was for fancier clientele. On the contrary, it’s more than affordable. I actually feel like I’m ripping them off when I eat because my entire ticket comes to less than ten bucks every time.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, considering how universal the praise for Tokyo Alley is, but I couldn’t believe it’d been there since 1992. That’s like forever in independent restaurant time. But like some of our other fine establishments, it does make perfect sense.