Grilled Shishito Peppers with Sesame Oil and Salt

There’s no reason you need to ferret out Izakaya-Tamotsu. (But if you want to, the address is 2-3-2 Yuraku-cho, Miyauchi Building 1 F, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.) There are thousands of similar establishments in Tokyo: tiny yakitori bars with a handful of stools at an L-shape counter and a handful of tables on the sidewalk in nice weather. Straw baskets line the counter, one piled with shiitakes (stems and caps to be grilled and served separately), others filled with tiny taro roots, grapelike gink