Tucson–Tonight I went out to dinner to Yoshimatsu which is one of my favorite restaurants. Yoshimatsu serves a different kind of Japanese food in a fast casual setting but somehow it works and is consistently wonderful.

Since the University of Arizona session hasn’t started yet, Yoshimatsu was not crowded. Every time I go, I order the same thing — ginger tofu bento box with brown rice instead of white rice. Brown rice costs a bit extra but to me it’s worth it. 

Tonight as I ate dinner with some friends, I wondered about the bento box. It’s the ultimate portion control accessory. I should buy a beautiful laquered divided platter box and limit myself to the suggested quanties.

The Japanese aesthetic for compartmentalization and organization is a good one and it makes perfect sense how and why it carries over to the dining aspect.

Interesting how the Americans’ idea of a box lunch and the Japanese differ so broadly.

While tea is an apppropriate beverage for a bento box as is Japanese beer, consider wine pairing. Plum wine is always a favorite although some find it too sweet. A fume blanc would work well for more sophisticated wine pairing.

See Yoshimatsu-Tucson menu.