Michelin Guide Unveils Top Tokyo Restaurants

[Greji]

Plus, the menu doesn't say cheesy things like "DiNiro's favorite."

Hey, when you own a large chunk of the joint, you can hang your name any where you want! He was there for the grand opening of the new place and also last month for almost the full month with his family.

[Catoneinutica]

Hey, when you own a large chunk of the joint, you can hang your name any where you want! He was there for the grand opening of the new place and also last month for almost the full month with his family.

Yeah, I know DiNiro was the catalyst for the opening of the Tokyo Nobu, persuading his Divine Culinary Holiness that his home country deserved the same cod-with-miso-sauce that Howard Stern can enjoy in NY. Still, I think the "DiNiro's favorite" schtick has a Planet Hollywood flavor to it - either that or a Bobby-Valentine-anything-for-a-friggin'-buck flavor, I can't decide.

To each his own, though. The last time I was at Nobu there was a little J-boy (it's always the goddamn boys ) screaming OISHII nonstop. So there's a diehard Nobu fan.

-catone
-cough...taser...cough cough

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Michelin stars stir controversy / Some Japanese critics question validity of ranking system

"Michelin Guide Tokyo 2008," the France-based tire company's first restaurant guidebook for an Asian city, has provided a lot of talking points since its publication Thursday, including the designation of Japan's first restaurants with three Michelin stars. However, critics have cast doubt on its credibility in rating traditional Japanese cuisine by European standards. In many ways, Michelin's first Tokyo hotel and restaurant guide does not fit the pattern of the other 21 Michelin restaurant guidebooks. For one thing, all 150 restaurants featured in the book get at least one star, and the total number of the stars given to the restaurants is a staggering 191, making Tokyo by far the most Michelin-starred city in the world. Paris comes a distant second with 94 stars, and New York is third with 54. Moreover, 89 of the featured restaurants, or about 60 percent, serve Japanese cuisine. Many specialize in indigenous dishes such as unagi eels, sushi, tempura and fugu. "It shows our respect for Japanese cuisine that 60 percent [of the restaurants] happened to be Japanese restaurants," Michelin Guide Director Jean-Luc Naret said, indicating that Michelin's first Tokyo edition was produced with local tastes very much in mind.

According to Michelin--a French tire manufacturer that has been publishing travel guidebooks since 1900--the company began the process of compiling the guide by picking in advance 1,500 of Tokyo's about 160,000 restaurants. The 1,500 were then rated by five undercover inspectors--three Europeans and two Japanese--over 18 months. The five criteria the inspectors used included the quality of ingredients and mastery of culinary technique and seasoning. Eight restaurants won a three-star rating, which means they are worth making a special trip to visit. Michelin, the most authoritative restaurant guide in Europe, started this rating system in 1926. One million copies of its annual guidebooks, called the Red Guide because of its red front cover, are bought in 100 countries every year. "I appreciate the efforts to understand Japanese food culture. [For example] it's given three stars to a restaurant that is small and maybe not so great in terms of customer comforts," culinary critic Masuhiro Yamamoto said. A case in point is Sukiyabashi Jiro sushi restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, one of the three sushi bars that were given three Michelin stars. The restaurant is located in a basement, and shares a toilet with other restaurants. Credit cards are not accepted, and there is no menu. All this seems to make it an unlikely choice for Michelin. "Amid the worldwide sushi vogue, it's [Sukiyabashi Jiro's] sushi itself that received three stars as exemplary," Yamamoto said.

Nonetheless, some have criticized the guidebook's seemingly deliberate inclination to rate Japanese restaurants more highly than Western-style restaurants. "If the essence of Western cuisine is richness created by layers of different tastes, that of Japanese cuisine is simplicity achieved by eliminating all unnecessary flavors. I wonder how much attention was paid to this difference in rating [the restaurants]," said Yasuo Terui, the editor of "Tokyo Ii Mise Umai Mise" (Tokyo's Good and Tasty Restaurants), a Tokyo restaurant guide with a history going back 40 years. Like the Michelin guidebooks, Terui's guidebook also awards stars to restaurants after thorough research by undercover inspectors. The latest edition rates 461 restaurants, more than three times as many as Michelin Tokyo. However, only 47 of those restaurants are rated equally to the Michelin guide. Although some consideration must be given to the fact that the timings of the rating by both guidebooks differ slightly, there remains a big gap between the ratings.

The difference is particularly noticeable in the sushi category. Michelin Tokyo picks 15 sushi restaurants, while "Tokyo Ii Mise Umai Mise" chose 17, so the numbers of the restaurants in both publications are close. But of the restaurants that appear in both, only Sukiyabashi Jiro and Sushi Mizutani, also in Ginza, won Michelin's three-star rating. "I have the impression that they [Michelin] gave three stars to [sushi] restaurants that no one can dispute, and the other picks are strategically based on elements preferred by non-Japanese customers, such as the selection of wines and whether there is a relaxing ambience," said Hikari Hayakawa, the author of "Nihonichi Edomaezushi ga Wakaru Hon" (Japan's Best Book for Learning All About Edomae Sushi). "So I think it's not necessarily about a strict rating of the food alone," he added. Even among the restaurants that won Michelin stars, some are not very happy with the way they were rated. The proprietor of one Japanese restaurant that received two stars says he does not feel the judges understood the subtle taste of suimono (clear soups), or the meaning of "wabi-sabi" (the traditional Japanese notion of simplicity and serenity.) The owner of a tempura restaurant that won one star questioned how restaurants with tables and those with counters could be assessed using the same criteria.

"A single star in Tokyo and a single star in Paris are rated in the exactly the same way. That's the way with our rating," Naret said, stressing the credibility of the Michelin rating. But he also showed consideration for the uniqueness of Japanese cuisine, saying, "This time the rating was done by three European judges and two Japanese judges. In the future, we'd like to use only Japanese judges." "Michelin Guide Tokyo 2008," published in both Japanese and English, will likely serve as a trigger to spread Japanese food culture to other countries. "I think there's room for more fun reading about the difference between Japan and the West regarding the sense of taste and dietary habits from the perspective of comparative culture and without sticking to their rating criteria," Terui said, offering his suggestion for next year's issue.

[Mulboyne]

Like the Yomiuri above, the Asahi also has some local comments on the rankings. The article doesn't appear to be up on their website yet [Edit: it's now here] but this caught my eye:

Yuya Tomosato, an outspoken cuisine critic, was vocal about the Michelin rating, saying "My impression is that they selected ones good for entertaining overseas visitors from Western countries". Keiko Moriwaki...is also critical of the Michelin choices. "In terms of taste, there are much better ones than those rated with stars."

The manager of Zagat is also quoted wondering about an apparent bias against yakiniku restaurants. I wonder whether Michelin think it is tough to rate a restaurant's food when you do most of the cooking yourself. This next comment is also interesting:

Some Tokyo restauarnt owners declined to co-operate with Michelin. One is Toshiya Kadowaki, of Azabu Kadowaki...Kadowaki said Michelin asked this spring to be allowed to take photos of the restaurant and its dishes. The restaurant was asked to foot the cost of the dishes photographed. Kadowaki said he declined because he had doubts about the standardized rating criteria. "Iwondered if the really understand Japanese cuisine, given such fundamental differences in culture," he said. Now, he has mixed feelings. "Winning three stars would have been a great encouragement to our workers. It is also regrettable if people think Michelin did not rate us highly," he said.

There are a few people who have egg on their face now. Credit to Kadowaki for admitting as much. I don't use Michelin ratings to choose restaurants and probably won't start now but it is interesting that some of the wider fears in Japan that Michelin would give a star to somewhere like Gonpachi or Inakaya because foreigners like them, have proved unfounded. For all the complaints that Michelin missed out some top restaurants - and we don't know if that is down to Michelin or the restaurants themselves - I haven't seen anyone really saying that their selections are actually bad restaurants.

The coverage the guide's choices has received in the national press has reflected well on the restaurants and many have reported an increase in reservations. One place said they got calls at a rate of one a minute and decided to stop taking bookings for next year in order to give their regular customers a chance to get in. I would guess that most of these calls are from Japanese rather than foreigners because they also think there might be some cachet to dining at a Michelin establishment. Japan generally loves lists and rankings and some people might feel that choosing a place with stars gives them a kind of safety net when they are taking out someone they want to impress. While there might be some Tokyo chefs who will say they are happy to be overlooked by some big-nosed French snobs, there are probably even more like Kadowaki who are regretting not getting the publicity and bragging rights of having stars.

What no-one has mentioned so far is what happens next. It's one thing for foreigners to come over and praise Japan but criticizing is another issue. The Michelin guide is well known for taking away stars and there's a fair chance that restaurants will be downgraded in the future, perhaps as early as next year. If a chef changes then that's understandable but, if not, then it will be taken as a sign that standards have dropped and I wonder how that will be regarded. That might be one reason why Michelin have indicated that they would like to move towards using only Japanese inspectors for future editions.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Yomiuri: Michelin stars stir controversy / Some Japanese critics question validity of ranking system

The proprietor of one Japanese restaurant that received two stars says he does not feel the judges understood the subtle taste of suimono (clear soups), or the meaning of "wabi-sabi" (the traditional Japanese notion of simplicity and serenity.)

I always love this argument. Not because there isn't any truth to it, but because the people who say it usually have no problem talking authoritatively about other countries' cuisines. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a Japanese person say that Japanese bread is the best because it's so soft and bland (OK, maybe not bland, but that's essential what is meant). When I hear things like that I love telling Japanese people that they just don't understand Western food because they're Japanese. They look at me like I'm fucking insane.

[Catoneinutica]

I always love this argument. Not because there isn't any truth to it, but because the people who say it usually have no problem talking authoritatively about other countries' cuisines. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a Japanese person say that Japanese bread is the best because it's so soft and bland (OK, maybe not bland, but that's essential what is meant). When I hear things like that I love telling Japanese people that they just don't understand Western food because they're Japanese. They look at me like I'm fucking insane.

Try telling them that yes, an understanding of wabi-sabi requires TANSOKU (stubby legs), allowing one close proximity to Mother Japan's blessed soil. You'll get quite the shit-eating wince.

[Behan]

That's a good one. I think a lot of Chrysanthemums have a tansoku complex.

[Charles]

I always love this argument. Not because there isn't any truth to it, but because the people who say it usually have no problem talking authoritatively about other countries' cuisines. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a Japanese person say that Japanese bread is the best because it's so soft and bland (OK, maybe not bland, but that's essential what is meant). When I hear things like that I love telling Japanese people that they just don't understand Western food because they're Japanese. They look at me like I'm fucking insane.

Yeah, I love that argument too, it crops up in all sorts of places, wherever criticism occurs. One of my professors wrote a book about Kurosawa, the opening chapter explores that issue in depth. He says that Film Criticism became obsessed with this issue after Kurosawa's films came to an international audience, and the whole of Film Crit became obsessed, arguing endlessly about whether there were universal experiences in J Films, or whether you had to understand the language and culture to properly interpret them. He said this dichotomy ruined Film Crit, it took it down a totally useless blind alley. He basically destroys the entirety of of Film Crit in one small chapter, and humiliates anyone who took either side of the argument. I loved it.

[Mulboyne]

Maruzen, the large bookstore near Tokyo Station, reported that they sold out of their initial stock of 2,300 copies of the Michelin guide.

Here's a piece by Jay Rayner, a UK food critic who was in Tokyo earlier this year researching a book on the world's great restaurants. He points out one problem he encountered:

Having spent a week eating around Tokyo earlier this year...I have only one doubt over this galaxy of Michelin stars: they really haven't awarded anywhere near enough of them...I asked a dozen knowledgeable people for a list of must-do restaurants. I got back a dozen different lists...But each time I was also given a warning. They could tell me where it would be great to eat, but getting to do so was a different matter entirely. In the west, restaurants are relatively democratic affairs. If you can scrape together the cash, and book far enough in advance, you can go. Japanese high-end restaurants are not like that at all. For a start, many are tiny, seating fewer than a dozen people and sometimes just four or six. Second, they are seriously bloody choosy about who they feed...I approached a foodie friend...She has eaten her way around Tokyo. How could I go about securing reservations, I asked. She laughed, and not in a good way. "They won't let you in," she said. "You're a round eye." In short, gaijin are not welcome. Hell, even being Japanese won't necessarily do it. Many places regard the right to be a customer as a privilege to be bestowed rather than bought for the cost of dinner. The very least you need is a personal introduction by an existing customer, and ideally a blood relationship, a certificate bearing the thumb prints of three European popes, and a winning smile. Oh, and shed loads of cash: ￡500 a head for dinner in one of these places is really not extraordinary.

For all these reasons I had serious doubts when I heard that Michelin was scouring Tokyo for worthy recipients of its stars. The three French inspectors wouldn't have a hope in hell of making it inside the serious Japanese places, and the two local inspectors might not fare much better either. Eventually, to secure my bookings, I had to fall on the mercy of the executive chef at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where I was staying; thank you, Mr Yamamoto. I couldn't have done it without you. Who was going to make all the introductions for the Michelin crew, who needed to visit anonymously?

The results published this week appear to have borne out my concerns. The place where I ate that fabulous crab, Yukimura, a simple unprepossessing dining room on the third floor of a residential apartment block that could seat just nine, has made it into the guide. It has earned a single star for its extraordinary, multi-course set tasting menu of raw scallop with shaved, dried sea cucumber, raw venison the colour of a fresh haemorrhage, tiny white vinegared fish, crab legs and brown meat and a whole bunch of other things besides.

The two other high-end Japanese restaurants I visited, which were of an equal quality, are nowhere to be seen. Michelin simply appears not to have found them. And no wonder. The sushi place where I ate, Okei, was the smallest high-end restaurant I visited in the course of researching my book. It served just one person that night (although it can seat six). That person was me. Oh, and the sushi was very, very good indeed. My 32 courses - seared belly tuna, grilled marinated clam, nigiri of sea bream and salmon and sea urchin - cost me ￡250. It felt like a bargain.

Unsurprisingly, where Tokyo-based western restaurants are concerned, the professional eaters of Michelin appear to be on much more solid ground. One of the things that defines the city is its openness to other culinary traditions. Today, every big-name chef is setting up outposts in any global city with a smattering of spare cash. Tokyo has been at this game for decades, ever since the French uber-chef Paul Bocuse first toured the country in the late 1960s. As far back as the early 1970s, Maxim's of Paris, one of the first restaurants in the world to win three Michelin stars back in the 1930s, had an outpost on the ground floor of the Sony building in downtown Tokyo.

...Here is the most interesting thing about the booming, intricate obsessive restaurant scene in Tokyo: it is now having a major impact on high-end gastronomy in the west. Today, any big-name chef worth their Maldon sea salt wouldn't be seen dead serving a mere starter-main-dessert three-course meal. Instead, it's about tasting menus of 12 or 20 or even 30 tiny courses. That is a direct lift from the Japanese tradition of multi-course menus. Likewise, the introduction of smaller courses draws chefs back to less intricate plates, pointing up single ingredients, very much a part of the Japanese aesthetic. And the fashion for hot jellies and foams, made popular by the likes of Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck in Bray and Ferran Adrià of El Bulli in Spain, draws on seaweed extracts which have been known to Japanese chefs for decades.

Not that the eaters of Tokyo will give a damn about any of this. Nor, indeed, are they likely to care much what Michelin thinks of their city's restaurants. They didn't need the French to come and tell them just how good the eating opportunities are in their town. They've always known. This Michelin Guide is for the rest of us, or at least those of us who care just a little too much about our dinner. We can only flick through its pages, read the descriptions of food we are never likely to be able to eat, and dream.

The article quotes some of London's leading chefs on their experiences of Tokyo dining. Most stress the ready availability of fantastic ingredients. That would seem to be one of the main obstacles to any of the newly crowned Japanese stars opening restaurants outside Japan in the same way as top overseas chefs can open in Tokyo and still maintain their standards. One Japanese chef suggests in the piece that there is an "innate awareness of Japanese people with regard to the safe preparation of the ingredients."

Less well publicized has been the debut of Michelin's guide to Los Angeles. It has received some poor reviews in some quarters. Some of the city's Japanese restaurants have been awarded stars so I wonder whether anyone will be able to compare a starred sushi joint in Tokyo and one in the US.

[Charles]

Less well publicized has been the debut of Michelin's guide to Los Angeles. It has received some poor reviews in some quarters. Some of the city's Japanese restaurants have been awarded stars so I wonder whether anyone will be able to compare a starred sushi joint in Tokyo and one in the US.

I'm surprised any restaurant in LA received a star. LA is just not a food town. People don't go to Spago's for the food, they go to be seen. Of all the restaurant's I've been to, the Japanese ones tend to be the best, but nothing approaching a star. Far more important is the new Health Inspector's codes, they work a lot harder for an A than anything else, nothing will kill your place faster than a B or C, since it's pasted right in your front window.

[Adhesive]

I prefer yelp.com for all of my gastronomic guidance.

[TennoChinko]

Yeah, I know DiNiro was the catalyst for the opening of the Tokyo Nobu, persuading his Divine Culinary Holiness that his home country deserved the same cod-with-miso-sauce that Howard Stern can enjoy in NY. Still, I think the "DiNiro's favorite" schtick has a Planet Hollywood flavor to it - either that or a Bobby-Valentine-anything-for-a-friggin'-buck flavor, I can't decide.

To each his own, though. The last time I was at Nobu there was a little J-boy (it's always the goddamn boys ) screaming OISHII nonstop. So there's a diehard Nobu fan.

-catone
-cough...taser...cough cough

Bobby has a restaurant in Japan ?!





As for bratty noisy kids in restaurants - can't stand 'em. That's what family restaurants are for. Unfortunately, parents seem be to getting more and more idiotic. I was in a sports bar last year, and was asked by some binty dipshit if I could please put out my cigarette as she had brought in her 4 year old sprog. WTF?!! Not a fucking chance. What kind of moron brings their kids to a bar?

[Samurai_Jerk]

Bobby has a restaurant in Japan ?!





As for bratty noisy kids in restaurants - can't stand 'em. That's what family restaurants are for. Unfortunately, parents seem be to getting more and more idiotic. I was in a sports bar last year, and was asked by some binty dipshit if I could please put out my cigarette as she had brought in her 4 year old sprog. WTF?!! Not a fucking chance. What kind of moron brings their kids to a bar?

That's like taking your kid to a porno movie and asking the guy in the trench coat not to beat off. Fucking ridiculous.

[Charles]

..Unfortunately, parents seem be to getting more and more idiotic. I was in a sports bar last year, and was asked by some binty dipshit if I could please put out my cigarette as she had brought in her 4 year old sprog. WTF?!! Not a fucking chance. What kind of moron brings their kids to a bar?

Heh.. You remind me of once, a long time ago, my family was all assembled for thanksgiving, all of us smoked, except my pregnant sister. We restricted smoking to one room as a favor to her. Then she decided she wanted to hang out in the smoking room, she screamed at me to put my cigarette out, declaring "don't you know, smokers aren't supposed to be around pregnant women." I shot back, "no, you have that exactly backwards, pregnant women aren't supposed to be around smokers. So go away."

[Catoneinutica]

Bobby has a restaurant in Japan ?!

Yeah, it's called Lotteria. He shills for them, at least in Makuhari.

-catone
-Bo-bay!

[Catoneinutica]

As for bratty noisy kids in restaurants - can't stand 'em. That's what family restaurants are for. Unfortunately, parents seem be to getting more and more idiotic. I was in a sports bar last year, and was asked by some binty dipshit if I could please put out my cigarette as she had brought in her 4 year old sprog. WTF?!! Not a fucking chance. What kind of moron brings their kids to a bar?

That's kinda poignant in a way. Did she seem like a desparate single mom trolling for a hubby to support her and her li'l sprog?

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'm surprised any restaurant in LA received a star. LA is just not a food town. People don't go to Spago's for the food, they go to be seen. Of all the restaurant's I've been to, the Japanese ones tend to be the best, but nothing approaching a star. Far more important is the new Health Inspector's codes, they work a lot harder for an A than anything else, nothing will kill your place faster than a B or C, since it's pasted right in your front window.

I've heard that LA's restaurants are pretty sorry. I don't know since I haven't been there since I was 8. However, you would think a world class restaurant scene would develop with so many rich and famous people living there.

[Iraira]

I've heard that LA's restaurants are pretty sorry. I don't know since I haven't been there since I was 8. However, you would think a world class restaurant scene would develop with so many rich and famous people living there.

Last year, when I was in LA, the quality seemed to have gotten better, at least at some places I went to around the Beverly Center. Most of the Vietnamese places in Little Saigon have C ratings, but they still taste pretty good and with the right combination of anti-biotics, you can recover pretty quickly.
Shit...now I'm in the mood for Johnnie's Pastrami.

[Mulboyne]

[amdg]

Don't know about anyone else, but I'm a little bit sick of the implication that Non-Japanese aren't qualified to judge the merits of Japanese food. Others might disagree with me, and I'll be the first to admit that my palate is less than refined, but there are plenty of people all over the world who know a thing or two about taste.

If it simply comes down to nationality, or even experience, then the Japanese have no right to claim that foreign dishes are "ooishii!", or "maazui!" on TV every day. They should simply eat it, and stare blankly into the camera for ten seconds.

[ttjereth]

If it simply comes down to nationality, or even experience, then the Japanese have no right to claim that foreign dishes are "ooishii!", or "maazui!" on TV every day. They should simply eat it, and stare blankly into the camera for ten seconds.

If I ever start a tv station, I'm hiring you as a director

[Jack]

I'm surprised any restaurant in LA received a star. LA is just not a food town. People don't go to Spago's for the food, they go to be seen. Of all the restaurant's I've been to, the Japanese ones tend to be the best, but nothing approaching a star. Far more important is the new Health Inspector's codes, they work a lot harder for an A than anything else, nothing will kill your place faster than a B or C, since it's pasted right in your front window.

You're so right about this. The food at Spago's is a joke. The Japanese restaurants like Matsuhisa and others the names I forget are top notch.

[amdg]

If I ever start a tv station, I'm hiring you as a director

Cool. Together we'll run that sucker right into the ground

[Mulboyne]

...I'm a little bit sick of the implication that Non-Japanese aren't qualified to judge the merits of Japanese food...

It's put Japanese commentators a little off-balance to know that two of the five inspectors were Japanese. Rather than the usual doubts about a foreigner's ability to judge Japanese cuisine, I've been waiting for someone to come up with a metacriticism along the lines of "No French food critic could possibly know which Japanese food critic knows what he is talking about".

[Jack]

I think that criticism is justified in that westerners really cannot appreciate Japanese food as well as Japanese people can. Since in Japan, Japanese food is made for Japanese people, having foreigners judge the food is unfair. However, if you were judging restaurants, say in New York, you can then make the presumption that Japanese food is made for non-Japanese people and so it should be to their tastes and having non-Japanese judge the food is appropriate.

Even I, as a devout Japanophile, often cannot appreciate the fine Japanese food presented to me on the basis that I find it bland. Given the uniqueness of Japanese food I agree with the criticism.

[Mulboyne]

Jack, if we take your premise as true, do also you think that a Japanese foodie can't have a full appreciation of French or Italian food? If they can, then at what point do you think it does become possible for a Frenchman to appreciate Japanese food? Or, indeed, a Frenchman to appreciate Italian food?

It's worth bearing in mind that there are fashions in food just as there are fashions in art. Westerners found much to appreciate and even inspiration in Ukiyoe just as they were losing popularity in Japan. I think someone can have a good nose and tastebuds in the same way as someone can have a good eye.

In any case, Michelin shouldn't be held up as any kind of definitive guide to Tokyo dining because its terms of reference are unlikely to suit everyone. Even those who are guided by it would grow weary of eating in starred restaurants every day. We all value food that wouldn't warrant a Michelin rating whether it be a mother's cooking, a barbecue on the beach or a thermos of soup on a cold night.

[Ptyx]

It's the same old japanese culture bullshit. You can't get it you're a foreigner, it's a japanese thing it's just different bla bla bla...
And yes they're making way too much of a big deal of that guide, for example there's not a single ramen shop in there, and you know what ? There's not a single tonkatsu place either ! How can they expect to be taken seriously ?!

[amdg]

Even I, as a devout Japanophile, often cannot appreciate the fine Japanese food presented to me on the basis that I find it bland. Given the uniqueness of Japanese food I agree with the criticism.

That is the paradox of the Japanophile: having a deep appreciation for a culture that tells you that you can never undertand it.

[Adhesive]

Personally, I'm tired of all you Europeans commenting on American food. Fastfood like McDonald's is only garbage to you because you're not capable of the American appreciation for cheap, abundant food, with bold, cutting flavors, that meld together into an almost indiscernible explosion of fat, salt, and sugar. It probably has something to do with your aversion to free markets and capitalistic Darwinism.

[Greji]

Jack, if we take your premise as true, do also you think that a Japanese foodie can't have a full appreciation of French or Italian food?

I think that you're spot on Mulboyne, even if you never buy lunch! When given the choice, people obviously select the food they want to eat at that particular time, whether it is sushi or keigogi. The only place that culture comes in is in the determination of what food a person has been most exposed to because of the their own particular society or enviorns. Sometimes, it is availability of food, as compared to culture. They will normally become accomodated with that food and its taste, which will majorly shape their likes or dislikes.

Just because a person is not born in a country, doesn't mean that he cannot develop a particular taste for a particular food of that country. Appreciation has nothing to do with taste. It is simply whether you like it or not.

Very few people around the world make the noise about being able to appreciate their unique food like the Japanese. Who really gives a shit? If you like it, you eat it. If you don't, you feed it to the goats, who are not as picky about the cultural appreciation.

It is beginning to sound more and more like PC, so as to not to insult the "appreciative" pallet, which is more likely to make me than the food!