Sushi Singularity Stateside

[matsuki]

Nah, just boredom and occupational hangover (the Tourism thing).

I took a friend to Hakone recently. Booking was too tight to accommodate us at the ryokan for food (doesn't say much about the freshness of whatever they do serve) so we had to eat out....and holy shit, the very few local eateries were pretty horrible....but packed. Eventually settled on a little "italian" joint that was pretty decent...just with tourist pricing

[Yokohammer]

Tourist food anywhere is 60% shite, 30% caca, and the remainder can be palatable if you're lucky. That's just the way tourist economies work ... the food doesn't have to be good to command silly prices.

Judging regional food on the basis of tourist-trap eateries is just wrong. Unfortunately the really good cuisine in any locale is usually pretty well hidden, and the serious foodie does plenty of research in advance to find it.

Some of the local food up here in Tohoku is wonderful, but you won't just step off the Shinkansen at Sendai station and trip right over it. Even some of the best food in a major cultural hub like Kyoto is really hard to get to. Not only do you have to know where it is, but you often have to know people to gain access.

[kurogane]

Matsuki,
A preponderance of meals included Ryokan/MInshuku in any area will always skew the pitch for any smaller startups, but even where there's room for smaller independent places there doesn't seem enough demand for anything but Local Specialties!!! Few Japanese will get off the hamster wheel far enough to just go for nice Italian or whatever, and to be fair they can get that back in the big city. It's just a newer form of postcard collecting, or those silly regional tourist stamp passports from late Showa/early Heisei. It seems to be a self-perpetuating, self-affirming cycle. Okinawa makes me smile the loudest: most of the seafood and such is shipped in because warm water fish are small and lacking in Oishi, but Oh! do those Obasans crow about it. I think that is true anywhere that Kulchur or Heritage is part of the tourist attraction, but it does seem magnified in Japan. They really have taken the Local Kulchur fetish to dizzying heights of absurdity. Which I adore professionally but can't stand in the least when a tourist. Except for an occasional bowl of Okinawan Soba I haven't eaten anything identifiably Okinawan in 5 or 6 years and I go down there all the time. Most of the delicacies are poverty food anyways, like the rotten salmon heads in Coastal Salish cuisine or those rancid putrid fish delights in Scandowegia. Or Blue Cheese, FTM..............

PS Yes very muchly to what Yokohammer said above. And the funny thing about that really good cuisine in any locale is that it isn't always Local Specialty stuff. It's just good food made by people that can cook.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Tourist food anywhere is 60% shite, 30% caca, and the remainder can be palatable if you're lucky. That's just the way tourist economies work ... the food doesn't have to be good to command silly prices.

Judging regional food on the basis of tourist-trap eateries is just wrong. Unfortunately the really good cuisine in any locale is usually pretty well hidden, and the serious foodie does plenty of research in advance to find it.

Some of the local food up here in Tohoku is wonderful, but you won't just step off the Shinkansen at Sendai station and trip right over it. Even some of the best food in a major cultural hub like Kyoto is really hard to get to. Not only do you have to know where it is, but you often have to know people to gain access.

Agreed. Asakusa is a good example. Most of the joints in the main tourist area are over priced and suck. You're actually better off sticking with the shitty chain restaurants. However, if you explore the streets behind Sensoji you get a lot of good reasonably priced mom-and-pop places.

The "foodie" (hate that word) research only works if you know the local language which works for me in Japan and English speaking countries. I tried some of the highly rated by famous chefs and other tourists restaurants when I was in Vietnam. They never lived up to the hype. I've found the best recommendations in other countries are often the long-term expats and not the locals. Unless they know you well, the locals also tend to steer you towards tourist traps. Expats usually want to show off the depth of their knowledge of "authentic" food which is fine with me.

[Coligny]

Tourist food anywhere is 60% shite, 30% caca, and the remainder can be palatable if you're lucky. That's just the way tourist economies work ... the food doesn't have to be good to command silly prices.

Judging regional food on the basis of tourist-trap eateries is just wrong. Unfortunately the really good cuisine in any locale is usually pretty well hidden, and the serious foodie does plenty of research in advance to find it.

Some of the local food up here in Tohoku is wonderful, but you won't just step off the Shinkansen at Sendai station and trip right over it. Even some of the best food in a major cultural hub like Kyoto is really hard to get to. Not only do you have to know where it is, but you often have to know people to gain access.

Agreed. Asakusa is a good example. Most of the joints in the main tourist area are over priced and suck. You're actually better off sticking with the shitty chain restaurants. However, if you explore the streets behind Sensoji you get a lot of good reasonably priced mom-and-pop places.

The "foodie" (hate that word) research only works if you know the local language which works for me in Japan and English speaking countries. I tried some of the highly rated by famous chefs and other tourists restaurants when I was in Vietnam. They never lived up to the hype. I've found the best recommendations in other countries are often the long-term expats and not the locals. Unless they know you well, the locals also tend to steer you towards tourist traps. Expats usually want to show off the depth of their knowledge of "authentic" food which is fine with me.

In Vietnam, eat in places packed with locals...
Never failed to be cheap and awesum.

[matsuki]

In Vietnam, eat in places packed with locals...
Never failed to be cheap and awesum.

Good strategy....unless you have a weak stomach

[kurogane]

Or even just different tastebuds. I find that a big issue with foreign food in Japan. Coligny's idea is a pretty good rule though. And SJ's rule on the language issue too. It's a replay of our discussions of those World Famous Sushi places that newbie journos so adore. I'll stick with the places like that one in Higashi Nagasaki down the line from the Yanpa Palace.

[Samurai_Jerk]

In Vietnam, eat in places packed with locals...
Never failed to be cheap and awesum.

Good strategy....unless you have a weak stomach

The food's OK. Best to avoid the iced coffee though.

[kurogane]

Why is that? I have only had iced coffee once, in Tokyo, in 1987 or 1988. Had I been near home it would have been fun, but until I found a proper toilet it was no fun at all. Is it because it's so concentrated? Feck, I can still hear that final salvo at whatever swanky hotel toilet I ran into.

[dimwit]

[quote="Samurai_Jerk]

Sweet or not:

I tend to get the fuck out of Japan for my vacations so I don't get away from the Tokyo area too often. I have a buddy in Tokyo who likes to go to a lot of inaka places on the weekends though and goes to Kyushu a couple of times a year. He says he's always hoping to find some delicious local cuisine in these small towns and villages he visits but that with a few rare exceptions the food outside the big cities sucks serious ass.[/quote]

When it comes to the vomitablity of a given food, I always pose the question; if someone bet you to eat it all, would you be able to do it. In this case, I probably would, in the case of a mayo wafflecone, there ain't a fucking chance in hell.

[matsuki]

Why is that? I have only had iced coffee once, in Tokyo, in 1987 or 1988. Had I been near home it would have been fun, but until I found a proper toilet it was no fun at all. Is it because it's so concentrated? Feck, I can still hear that final salvo at whatever swanky hotel toilet I ran into.

Eh? I used to make that shit at home....super concentrated French roast and condensed milk mmmmmmmmmm but too heavy to do even weekly.

When it comes to the vomitablity of a given food, I always pose the question; if someone bet you to eat it all, would you be able to do it. In this case, I probably would, in the case of a mayo wafflecone, there ain't a fucking chance in hell.

Mayo is not salad dressing. Mayo is not vegetable dip. Mayo is not pasta sauce. Mayo is not....the worst thing on Japanese pizzas but it sure comes close.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Why is that? I have only had iced coffee once, in Tokyo, in 1987 or 1988. Had I been near home it would have been fun, but until I found a proper toilet it was no fun at all. Is it because it's so concentrated? Feck, I can still hear that final salvo at whatever swanky hotel toilet I ran into.

Ice is made of water. Water in third world countries is bad. I break that rule all the time though.

[kurogane]

aHA, of course. Well, this was Iced Coffee in Japan, but it ended up being just an orally delivered high colonic, so I never bothered trying it ever again. I still have a fond memory of ruining that swanky hotel's second floor men's room. Oh, the stink and the noise.......quel fun.

[Coligny]

Why is that? I have only had iced coffee once, in Tokyo, in 1987 or 1988. Had I been near home it would have been fun, but until I found a proper toilet it was no fun at all. Is it because it's so concentrated? Feck, I can still hear that final salvo at whatever swanky hotel toilet I ran into.

Ice is made of water. Water in third world countries is bad. I break that rule all the time though.

True... In a way...

Jap tap water try to kill me on a daily basis, I think I can rename my bunghole "python de la fournaise" after the volcano... (Also, remember, bottled water even for brushing your teeth...)

But even the seediest Vietnamese tap/puddle water is perfectly fine. Maybe it's just matter of passport compatibility. I need to try in other French colonies...

[Samurai_Jerk]

This was brought to my attention.

Inside 'Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi' Anthony Bourdain's Newest Comic Book

The comic hits shelves today.

Today, DC Comics imprint Vertigo releases the second comic book from culinary explorer Anthony Bourdain, Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi. Bourdain's first comic book, Get Jiro!, was released in 2012.

Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi is a prequel, and was written with Joel Rose. Dave Johnson designed the cover; Alé Garza illustrated the interior. As previously noted, according to a release, the story and design is "reminiscent of a Yakuza action movie." Set in Tokyo, it reveals how Jiro pursued his love of cooking even while working for his father's mob.

Bourdain explains his reason for writing the prequel (besides the all-out success of the first book): "I wanted to take the story back to its beginnings — in Japan (albeit a slightly-in-the-future, dystopic Japan), and indulge my own enthusiasms for both the place and the many classic genre films that have been made there. This is fun for me."

[kurogane]

Is he the fuckwit I think he is, or am I in an overly Christian mood?

[Samurai_Jerk]

Is he the fuckwit I think he is, or am I in an overly Christian mood?

I actually like, or liked, Bourdain but he's starting to get annoying. I can't blame him for trying to make as much money as possible though.

[kurogane]

No, no. Milk it, he's only got another week (or whatever). I simply can't take that much pretence, and still don't understand why anybody with a working IQ would watch a TV prgramme ABOUT FUCKING FOOD. YOU EAT FOOD. YOU DON'T WATCH FOOD




I do find him impossibly lowbrow pretentious, FWIW. His voice, maybe?

[Samurai_Jerk]

No, no. Milk it, he's only got another week (or whatever). I simply can't take that much pretence, and still don't understand why anybody with a working IQ would watch a TV prgramme ABOUT FUCKING FOOD. YOU EAT FOOD. YOU DON'T WATCH FOOD




I do find him impossibly lowbrow pretentious, FWIW. His voice, maybe?

He's been pretty famous for more than a decade. He's got a pretty heavy slightly gay-sounding NY accent.

[kurogane]

Famous...............on Food TV..............I saw a bit of him somewhere on TV a while back. Like nails on a blackboard. Plus..........Food TV.................I would rather watch the Fireplace channel. At least they do something.

PS The New Yoik accent makes sense though. Unless they're discussing the Mets or Yankees or Rangers nobody that can't speak properly should be allowed on TV. And nobody should discuss food on TV. IT's Food. You eat it.

[Takechanpoo]

i wholeheartedly doubt gaijins dudes can distinguish cheap sushis of franchised chain stores from "real" sushis of "authentic" privately managed shop.
most of those gaijins are nothing but pretenders, i guess.

[Samurai_Jerk]

i wholeheartedly doubt gaijins dudes can distinguish cheap sushis of franchised chain stores from "real" sushis of "authentic" privately managed shop.
most of those gaijins are nothing but pretenders, i guess.

I doubt most Japanese can either.