Robson Fries

If you like your chips served with cheese and gravy, you're probably either a resident of Quebec or a regular customer at this tiny Shimokitazawa eatery. Poutine – that quintessentially Canadian fast-food combo – is the speciality at Robson Fries, whose Japanese owner first encountered the dish while living in Vancouver. Chips are fried to order in 100 percent rice bran oil (it's lower in cholesterol), then served with a choice of gravy, butter chicken curry or chili con carne; if you're going all-out, opt for extra toppings like jalapenos, meatballs and roast beef. Purists might be aghast that the shop substitutes shredded cheese for the cheese curds used in the original dish (hey: try buying cheese curds in Japan), but that doesn't detract from what's otherwise a hearty, comforting snack.