La cantina de medianoche, 1

That tiny tavern has no name, nor does its owner. Yet, in the Shinjuku district, everyone knows them. Open from midnight until seven in the morning, it welcomes Tokyo's night owls: boxers, prostitutes, porn actors, police officers, and yakuza all end up there for sake, broth, ramen, or miso soup, depending on what's in the kitchen. Each dish gives rise to an encounter, a story. If in Taniguchi and Kusumi's *The Solitary Gourmet*, food is enjoyed alone and in silence, in Abe's manga it serves to break the ice, to spark conversation among city dwellers accustomed to silence and staring at their shoes. Amid soy sauce and dried seaweed, anecdotes, laughter, and confidences are born.