Tempura

“There’s already a 30-minute wait on weekends,’’ my friend Vaughn argues. Another friend is more direct: “You just can’t write about it.’’ May God, the cognoscenti, and the residents of Porter Square have mercy on me: Welcome, readers, to Tampopo. Tampopo is a tiny, inexpensive Japanese restaurant with great food, in a city where good Japanese dining options are scant. As such, it constitutes a Holy Grail of fooderati (and perhaps this column): the out-of-the-way hole-in-the-wall where the owner makes the food, and one charming waitress takes care of everyone.

After the well-liked Wuchon House closed last year in Union Square, Somerville, locals wondered what would fill the large space. What emerged in June is Ebi Sushi (ebi means shrimp), a friendly, moderately priced sushi restaurant serving fresh fish and good Japanese cooking. The owners are not your typical sushi restaurateurs. Guatemalan-born Jose and Adolfo Garcia (Jose is Adolfo's nephew) insist this is authentic Japanese cuisine. Certainly their high quality fish sets Ebi apart from many other spots.

More. That’s what I want from Noche. More flavor. More spice. More freshness. More finesse. The South End restaurant, located in the former Icarus space, has a Spanish name. Chef Reginald Collier comes to Boston from Miami. You can’t blame a guest for expecting some sort of Latin accent. Aside from the basket of plantain chips that starts each meal instead of bread, Noche might as well be called Night. (It does serve until 1:30 a.m.) Instead, the menu is Pan-Asian-Cal-Mediterro-American.

Blue Fuji 38 Salem St., Medford 781-388-2888 www.bluefuji.com Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. All major credit cards accepted Handicapped-accessible To borrow from an oft-quoted adage about New England weather, if you don't like the food served on this block in Medford, wait five minutes. In the last 10 years or so, the space at 38 Salem St. has changed restaurants - with different owners, names, and decor - at least four times, although always with an Asian theme.

After the well-liked Wuchon House closed last year in Union Square, Somerville, locals wondered what would fill the large space. What emerged in June is Ebi Sushi (ebi means shrimp), a friendly, moderately priced sushi restaurant serving fresh fish and good Japanese cooking. The owners are not your typical sushi restaurateurs. Guatemalan-born Jose and Adolfo Garcia (Jose is Adolfo's nephew) insist this is authentic Japanese cuisine. Certainly their high quality fish sets Ebi apart from many other spots.

Dynamite Sushi 30 Lowell Road, Hudson, N.H. Telephone: 603-889-0055, www.dynamitesuchi.net Open Monday through Friday, lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner 4:30- 9:30 p.m. (Friday, dinner until 10 p.m.); Saturday, lunch, noon- 3 p.m., dinner 4:30- 10 p.m. Major credit cards accepted Accessible to the handicapped Reasonably priced, well-prepared Asian cuisine in a strip mall in the border town of Hudson? Go figure. Dynamite Sushi has been open for 10 years, but it remains a local secret.

Fuji is not one of those sleek, hip (read: overpriced) Japanese restaurants where people are as interested in the scene as they are the food. This small corner restaurant is all about what's on the plate: the food's freshness, preparation, and presentation. Fuji has been around a few years, but is now under new ownership, with a new menu and a new look. The two owners are both Chinese, but love Japanese food. With a large Asian population in Quincy, there are plenty of Japanese and Chinese customers who frequent the spot.

Blue Fuji 38 Salem St., Medford 781-388-2888 www.bluefuji.com Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. All major credit cards accepted Handicapped-accessible To borrow from an oft-quoted adage about New England weather, if you don't like the food served on this block in Medford, wait five minutes. In the last 10 years or so, the space at 38 Salem St. has changed restaurants - with different owners, names, and decor - at least four times, although always with an Asian theme.

Sei Bar 182 Main St., Medford781-391-4363www.seibar.comHours: Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday, 1:30-10 p.m.Reservations acceptedMajor credit cards acceptedAccessible to the handicapped Tucked behind a small storefront just outside Medford Square, Sei Bar is one of those neighborhood restaurants that are far bigger inside than they appear outside. Not only is there a second dining space behind the one glimpsed through the windows, but the expansive menu highlights the cuisines of Japan and Thailand.

Ponzu 286 Moody St., Waltham Telephone: 781-736-9188 Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 12:30 -10 p.m. www. theponzu.com Accessible to the handicapped Major credit cards accepted Ponzu, the latest fusion eatery to open in Waltham, bills itself as "Far East & the Rest. " At the beginning of the menu, Ponzu's chefs invite guests to explore the Far East without boundaries, boasting chic sounding foods such as neo-curries, seafood taro pot, and fiery Portuguese baked fish.

More. That’s what I want from Noche. More flavor. More spice. More freshness. More finesse. The South End restaurant, located in the former Icarus space, has a Spanish name. Chef Reginald Collier comes to Boston from Miami. You can’t blame a guest for expecting some sort of Latin accent. Aside from the basket of plantain chips that starts each meal instead of bread, Noche might as well be called Night. (It does serve until 1:30 a.m.) Instead, the menu is Pan-Asian-Cal-Mediterro-American.

“There’s already a 30-minute wait on weekends,’’ my friend Vaughn argues. Another friend is more direct: “You just can’t write about it.’’ May God, the cognoscenti, and the residents of Porter Square have mercy on me: Welcome, readers, to Tampopo. Tampopo is a tiny, inexpensive Japanese restaurant with great food, in a city where good Japanese dining options are scant. As such, it constitutes a Holy Grail of fooderati (and perhaps this column): the out-of-the-way hole-in-the-wall where the owner makes the food, and one charming waitress takes care of everyone.

Dynamite Sushi 30 Lowell Road, Hudson, N.H. Telephone: 603-889-0055, www.dynamitesuchi.net Open Monday through Friday, lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; dinner 4:30- 9:30 p.m. (Friday, dinner until 10 p.m.); Saturday, lunch, noon- 3 p.m., dinner 4:30- 10 p.m. Major credit cards accepted Accessible to the handicapped Reasonably priced, well-prepared Asian cuisine in a strip mall in the border town of Hudson? Go figure. Dynamite Sushi has been open for 10 years, but it remains a local secret.

Sei Bar 182 Main St., Medford781-391-4363www.seibar.comHours: Monday to Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday, 1:30-10 p.m.Reservations acceptedMajor credit cards acceptedAccessible to the handicapped Tucked behind a small storefront just outside Medford Square, Sei Bar is one of those neighborhood restaurants that are far bigger inside than they appear outside. Not only is there a second dining space behind the one glimpsed through the windows, but the expansive menu highlights the cuisines of Japan and Thailand.

A few steps down off Commonwealth Avenue, the Lower Depths Tap Room is a little mirage for beer enthusiasts in Kenmore Square. For everyone else, it's a nice alternative to superb Indian food, $12 martinis, and deafening sports bars - all staple attractions on this stretch of Fenway-friendly blocks. From the folks who brought you Bukowski's Tavern, the Lower Depths opened in December in a prime location. Sandwiched between two upscale restaurants (Eastern Standard and Petit Robert Bistro)

With the rainbow of restaurants in Boston, it's hard to believe this city used to be a dining backwater. Scrod, pot roast, baked beans, and Grapenut pudding once dominated the local landscape. These days, that's what the tourists eat at Durgin Park while the rest of us dine at Afghan, Colombian, Cuban, Ethiopian, Jamaican, Malaysian, and Moroccan restaurants scattered across the city. Now we can add another cuisine to the mix: Burmese. If my memory is correct, not since Mandalay on Huntington Avenue (and, later, in East Cambridge)

On a recent Saturday night, young couples are waiting outside under the cheerful red banners with white flowers heralding Douzo, near the Back Bay train station. Inside, the place is a maelstrom of young people jockeying for position around the bar, beseeching the elegantly dressed hostesses for news of open tables and crowding the downstairs dining room. For a moment, it looks like every pretty blond in the city has dropped by for sushi, along with their spiky-haired swains. By now, the opening of a new sushi joint is not exactly earth-shaking news -- they vie with Irish pubs to occupy every...

Aren't waterfalls meant to be soothing? An entire wall of Oishii Boston's lounge area is devoted to one, but instead of dulcet burbles, all we can hear on a recent Friday night are generic synth beats playing more than a little too loudly in the background. If they're not on a loop, the compositions are impressively repetitive. Add that to bad feng shui upon entering and impossible-to-sit-upon stools in the lounge area and any trickling effects of the wall o' water are lost. But we don't go chasing waterfalls.

Aren't waterfalls meant to be soothing? An entire wall of Oishii Boston's lounge area is devoted to one, but instead of dulcet burbles, all we can hear on a recent Friday night are generic synth beats playing more than a little too loudly in the background. If they're not on a loop, the compositions are impressively repetitive. Add that to bad feng shui upon entering and impossible-to-sit-upon stools in the lounge area and any trickling effects of the wall o' water are lost. But we don't go chasing waterfalls.

Ponzu 286 Moody St., Waltham Telephone: 781-736-9188 Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 12:30 -10 p.m. www. theponzu.com Accessible to the handicapped Major credit cards accepted Ponzu, the latest fusion eatery to open in Waltham, bills itself as "Far East & the Rest. " At the beginning of the menu, Ponzu's chefs invite guests to explore the Far East without boundaries, boasting chic sounding foods such as neo-curries, seafood taro pot, and fiery Portuguese baked fish.