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by Michael
J. Miller
Rose Demode
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Checking out a pharmacist's ads on
Roppongi's main strip recently, we realized how much
our Japanese reading has progressed. Now, no amount of katakana
thrown our way can stop us from getting our supply of Prozac
and Viagra-should we ever need it, of course.
Just down a few doors from the place selling the real hard
stuff, we spotted Rose Demode. Our French isn't that
good, but feeling like true international linguists, we entered
anyway. While démodé means "old-fashioned,"
there is nothing old about this new addition to High Touch
Town.
Although the first floor looked deceptively like a narrow
shot bar, a friendly staffer wearing sunglasses guided us
up to the second floor, where the funky décor took us
by surprise. Despite being upstairs, the room's feeling
was totally '70s refurbished basement. Brady Bunch
lamps hung from the ceiling and adorned the various end tables.
Seating was mix-and-match, from a kitchen dining set to lounge
chairs and coffee tables.
It would have felt cozier if Fatboy Slim wasn't pumping
through the speakers at high decibels. But since the young
blondes near our table didn't seem to mind the volume,
we resisted our urge to ask for it to be turned down. After
all, that's what Mike and Carol Brady would have done.
Unfolding the paper menu, we found ourselves confronted with
88 numbered items. The wide selection of pizzas, pastas and
appetizers wasn't as daunting as the drinks menu. We
were so baffled by the entire page of odd names like Lycoris
Radiata (¥1,000) and Phlox Pariculata (¥1,100)
that we simply ordered standards.
To accompany our frosty Kirin draft (¥600) and Campari
Orange (¥800), we chose the pappardelle with shrimp
and tomato cream sauce (¥1,580) and the fish carpaccio
(¥1,300). Both arrived in hefty portions, and with the
extra protein in our systems, we got the nerve up to admit
our idiocy to the waiter.
We asked for the deal on this bizarre list of alcohol we had
never heard of. Was it written in Basque? Gaelic? He told
us these were all original cocktails named after various flowers-in
Latin! After all, he said, this was the Rose Demode.
We realized then that being amateur linguists just isn't
enough. We decided we would need to brush up on our botany
as well, so we could return to the Rose and get planted properly.
3-13-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel:
03-5474-1436. Open daily 11:30am-3pm, 5:30-10pm (dinner),
10pm-5am (bar). Nearest stn: Roppongi.
Courtesy of Kiwa Corporation
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