Gaijin Ramen

[Mulboyne]

WSJ: Trying to Out-Noodle the Japanese
Until four years ago, Ivan Orkin led a comfortable life as a chef in New York. He worked at well-known restaurants such as Mesa Grill and Lutèce, and later ran a corporate dining room at an investment firm. Now, Mr. Orkin cooks in a very different place. The 44-year-old American recently opened a 10-seat restaurant in suburban Tokyo that specializes in ramen...The restaurant, Ivan Ramen, is in an old-fashioned shopping arcade near a cigarette shop and a tofu maker...In opening Ivan Ramen, Mr. Orkin has thrust himself into one of the most competitive corners of Japanese cuisine...The biggest challenge facing Mr. Orkin is that unlike most of his competitors, he's not Japanese. "I know that I am a big attraction. I'm a gaijin [foreigner], and I'm from New York," Mr. Orkin says. "But what I really want is for people to sit down and taste my ramen and say, 'Man, this is some of the best ramen I've ever tasted.' " Early press reviews are encouraging. Hiroshi Osaki claims to have eaten more bowls of ramen than anyone else in Japan -- an average of 800 bowls a year. He says Mr. Orkin's ramen is tasty, if a bit ordinary. But he credits Mr. Orkin for paying attention to details, such as warming each slice of pork before gently placing it on top of the noodles...more...

[Takechanpoo]

I personally think he better shave his arm's tousled hair.
We Japanese are so sensitive about something like that.

[2triky]

Great article...Lutece was legendary in the culinary world, helmed by French master Andre Soltner...so this guy has some serious credentials. I admire his drive to compete in the crowded world of ramen restaurants.

[kamome]

Thanks for posting that article, Mulb! What a great story.

Btw, I admire the intensity of this guy's YBF. Married twice, both times to J-women!

[GuyJean]

A podcast about him..
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17758891

I like the part that suggests some "Japanese blogs have suggested that his shop is a front for a Japanese chef, or that he's really a Japanese in disguise"...

Has anyone been to his shop? From the photos in the WSJ article, the place doesn't look greasy enough to be a 'real' ramen shop..

GJ

[Greji]

I personally think he better shave his arm's tousled hair.
We Japanese are so sensitive about something like that.

Why? Cause you ain't got any?

[Samurai_Jerk]

I personally think he better shave his arm's tousled hair.
We Japanese are so sensitive about something like that.

I don't know, your women don't seem to mind being covered by my big hairy body during a good old fashioned choke fuck.