Closed Potluck

A new place to eat opens in OPENING CEREMONY
POTLUCK opened on Oct 23 2009, in the basement of the New York- style 8-level department store OPENING CEREMONY, which itself opened on Aug 30. The café, the first and only eating establishment to open in OPENING CEREMONY, is one of a kind. Upon entering, the first thing to notice is the impressive open kitchen that takes up approximately one third of the 250sqm floor space. Food prepared here is uses seasonal ingredients, freshly prepared while you watch. The name of the café comes from the concept is that the each month something new is brought to the menu, making what’s on offer a kind of potluck. In charge of Potluck’s eclectic menu is Yuri Nomura, a chef who lines up various New York favourites including a series of skillets filled with classic fares such as ham and eggs, lasagna and French toast; soups; fresh salads; and banh mi— Vietnamese style sandwiches that consists of a baguettes made with wheat and rice flour filled with ingredients such as pork, chicken, fish, tofu and pate, sweet pickled cilantro; topped with garnishes such as pickled carrots, chili peppers and mayonnaise. In addition to an exciting menu that lists quality American foods that are hard to find elsewhere, POTLUCK is also the first place in Japan to offer coffee made with organic coffee beans imported from San Francisco’s Blue Coffee Company; it’s not just the beans that are organic, the coffee served here, which is all drip filtered, also uses only organic milk and sugar. For the opening reception, which took place the evening of Oct 22 2009, James Freeman, owner and founder of the Blue Coffee Company, flew into Tokyo from San Francisco to personally serve the coffee. On regular days, you’ll have to be content with coffee served by the regular staff; however, rest assured, because only those who have received specialist training make the coffee. POTLUCK also offers a selection from the menu to go, including salads, banh mi and drinks.