For this reason, it is deliberately tucked behind an unprepossessing door in a terrifically hard-to-find back alley not on some trendy main boulevard with diners' Rolls-Royces and Jags parked out front, as a restaurant of this quality would probably be in America.
Tiny rice crepes are spread out like flower petals, and the fillings (slivered mushrooms, seaweed, sweet onions and more) set out in small heaps so diners can roll their own.
Yet stick some rooms upstairs for pleasantly stuffed and slightly tipsy diners to roll up to after a languorous dinner and you've got an even more appetising proposition.
Most of the drinkers don't move into the brasserie-like dining area, where preserving jars filled with artichokes and lemons glow amber, and diners must roll up their sleeves to engage with the messy but memorable bucatini alla carbonara.
On New Year's Day, Pinewood Social opens for brunch at 9 00 AM but diners can roll in from NYE festivities until mid-afternoon.
A sign inside reiterates that last blast of nay-saying, admonishing diners: "No California rolls.
In the quiet intimate room that used to be Little Dove, Kazuo Yoshida, formerly the sushi chef at Jewel Bako, presides over a smart-looking sushi bar, sending out sushi, sashimi and some unusual rolls to diners, both upstairs and down, who get two menus, one for the brasserie kitchen, the other for Mr. Yoshida's little enterprise.
A chance encounter with enigmatic waitress Alison (Wilson) at local diner the Lobster Roll sets in motion an extramarital affair, with its emotional and psychological effects fascinatingly explored.
Today, Wade's seats 400, has a staff of 125 and, per day, serves 2,500 diners, bakes 3,500 homemade yeast rolls, brews 260 gallons of iced tea, and dishes up over 700 pounds of fried chicken.
"Happy Days," the hit sitcom that began in 1974, reveled in the comic innocence of the 1950s and its emblems: poodle skirts, diners and Elvis Prockey-era rock 'n' roll.
