THOUGH THE full Jimbocho Den experience means opting for the seasonal 10-course omakase tasting menu, a new à la carte menu allows you to pick from Zaiyu Hasegawa’s most popular dishes. Here, monaka—Den’s version of a Japanese confection of sweet bean paste sandwiched between crispy rice wafers—is a foie gras terrine, layered with dried persimmon jam and smoked daikon pickle, balancing sweet and savory, creamy and crunchy. The Dentucky Fried Chicken comes with different fillings depending on Hasegawa’s whim; a recent version contains black sticky rice and toasted pine nuts, lifted with a tart goldengooseberry paste.
The house salad consists of more than 20 vegetables subjected to a battery of preparations, inspired by Gargouillou, French chef Michel Bras’s vegetable dish. There is burdock root rolled in roasted tea powder, a cherry tomato steeped in vanilla-infused vinegar, friedyamaimo (mountain yam) and a single ant from the Nagano prefecture, with a distinct citrusy flavor. The vinaigrette flavored with salted kelp pulls everything together with a thread of subtle umami.
Hasegawa himself presents clay-pot rice dishes at the table before serving individual bowls of rice topped with jewel-toned salmon roe marinated in dashi, sliced ovoli mushrooms foraged from Mount Fuji, or aged wagyu beef brined in sweet soy sauce and grilled over low heat for four hours.