DIY Lunch, a great deal

Area: Nagoya Station (Takashimaya side, close to Kintetsu wicket)
Restaurant: Hisayda-ya ひさだ家
Website and Info: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/n020221/lang/en/

The lunch here is all about making your stomach happy (980円)! The reason is that you choose 4 dishes from 12 different dishes and make your own bento box.  It comes with rice and miso soup, and a small Japanese-style dessert as well.  I was feeling like a healthy meal so I chose fish with ama-zake sauce (made from the curds of the sake-making process), hijiki (seaweed) salad and jakko (tiny fish) and wakame sunomono (vinegar salad) and sashimi.  The fish was the best part, being moist and sweet, it's a dish that matches well with rice.  The dessert was also nice as it was light and not overly sweet, it was a perfect ending to this lunch.

Any Time Cafe: Cheap, Go-To place at Nagoya Station (closed)

Area: JR Nagoya Station (Takashimaya side)
Restaurant:  Any Time Cafe
Map and Website: http://www.heart-link-c.co.jp/anytime/access.html

This cafe serves everything from sandwiches, pizza, pasta, loco moco to sweets, coffee and beer.  I had the shio chicken (salt seasoned) loco moco (in the 800 yen range).  When you say loco moco here in Japan, it usually means hamburger patty, but this one is shredded chicken with the usual salad and egg on top of rice.  I actually enjoyed this version which was a change from the sweet teriyaki sauce that usually is associated with loco moco.  The chicken breast meat was juicy, and the seasoning was perfect to accompany rice.  The egg yolk mixes with the chicken and rice creating a different, delicious flavour and experience.

Although crowded, as it is in a main train station, the location is convenient and it is on the cheaper side compared to the station's other eateries, so I'd consider it as a great place to go if craving cafe or western-style food.

Blueberry: For sandwiches you would never make yourself, and a light lunch (closed)

Area: Unimall ユニモール　around exit 13
Cafe:  Bluberry ブルーベリー
Map and Info: http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23028090/

For lunch you have a choice of pilaf, sandwiches or curry and included is a salad and drink (680円).  What I like about the sandwiches here, are that there's variety in one lunch (you choose from prepackaged sandwiches, each package with a different mix of sandwiches).  For example, shown here in the hotdog bun is half kara-age (fried chicken), half mushroom and spinach.  The baguette is an omlette with lettuce.  There are other varieties as well, such as a croquette (fried potato patty), yakisoba (pan-fried noodles), tuna salad, etc stuffed in a sandwich.  These are probably things you wouldn't have the patience or time for to make yourself just for lunch, right?

Also, I like the balance of having veggies and fruit on the side.  This cafe also specialized in real fruit drinks, a little pricey but if you're craving a refreshing drink, you can find it here.  There are also cakes and sweets, of which I've only tried the little almond flan (delicious by the way) for 130円 to go with my coffee.

It's not the most elegant cafe, but it's not crowded and you can enjoy your laid back time if you wish to do so.

More than the food, I recommend this area

Area: Chika-machi at Cross Court Tower B1 Level (it's between and attached to the basement level of Midland Square and Winc Aichi, which are in front of JR Nagoya Station)
Restaurant: Maruha まるは　
Map and info:  http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23045794/

This is the Kaisen-don (880円), a bowl of rice topped with fresh sashimi and tamago-yaki.  I like ordering kaisen-don because of the variety of sashimi that you get.  It was my first time having black shrimp sashimi.  Plump and sweet, I quite enjoyed it.  By looking at the photo, I'm sure you can imagine the flavours of this bowl (just like ordering sashimi, you dip each piece in your own soy sauce and wasabi concoction).  I can say that it was fresh, but sashimi is mostly always of this quality in Japan.

Next time, I would like to try the ebi-furai (friend gigantic shrimp) at this restaurant.  It seems they are known for it.

What I actually wanted to showcase in this blog was the area this restaurant is in.  It's in the basement of a building, but every restaurant is open concept, and the design makes you feel like you're dinning on the patio of a small street.  There are a variety of shops to choose from (Korean, Chinese dumplings, a chicken donburi specialist, Spanish, English bar, etc), so I do recommend taking a trip over.

A taste of Nepal...enjoyed the Nan immensely

Area: Jingu-mae station 神宮前 (on the side of the station without the shrine)
Restaurant: Spice スパイス
Site and Map: http://hitosara.com/0006024256/map.html

This gigantic nan (flat bread) included, and it's all for just 680円? Unfortunately the cheese nan (in the 2nd photo) is not included in that price, but it is worth the extra fee!  I'm not sure if cheese nan is authentic Nepal food but it sure is delicious.  The curry is mild with a slight sweetness and goes well with the chewy, but soft and fluffy nan.  

It's a small restaurant with floor seating but somehow it feels like a different country, making the experience feel authentic (even though I've never actually been to Nepal!).

Light Cafe: Find quietness in a busy area

Area: Spiral Tower (a 5 min walk from JR Nagoya Station, in front of Meitetsu department store)

Restaurant:  Light Cafe ライトカフェ

Map and info: http://tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230101/23041386/

The daily lunch, with drink and salad included, comes to 880円.  The daily quiche was already finished for the day, and although it seems pancakes are a highlight of this cafe, I was here for lunch, so I chose the peperoncino pasta lunch.  The spaghetti was cooked to a nice al dente, but I found the dish to be a little too on the salty side.  BUT I do think I tasted a hint of truffle oil which I am a huge fan of, so that made it a pleasure to eat.  The coffee art is also a nice little treat...how cute is that sleepy bear!

The shop is surrounded by beauty salons and relaxation spas so that might give you a clue as to the atmosphere of this cafe.  It's quite an open and bright space, but not crowded so you can take it easy here.

On the pricey side, but a nice treat

Area: JR Towers Nagoya (51st Floor)

Restaurant: Cepages

Website: http://www.cepages-nagoya.jp/

This is a go-to restaurant for a special occasion.  The view and modern atmosphere are great for a celebration of any sort.  I had the Menu Gourmand course which consists of a choice of 4 tapas, soup or pasta, 2 mains, dessert and coffee.

There were 8 tapas' to choose from such as smoked salmon, ikura and cream, scallops, pate, etc.  All were light and fresh tasting.  Great combinations!  The soup was a gourd soup, which wasn't so impressive, but wasn't bad either.   Next was the duck, then foie gras and steak.  You can't go wrong with ordering foie gras, so that was a treat.  The vegetable part of these dishes were a bit boring and bland, but the tastiness of the meat made up for that.  Dessert was a fig sherbert, a bit sour for my liking, but that just made it a refreshing dessert.  
All this for 4725円...I'd say it was worth it (a nice Birthday dinner!)