A blog about food, history, data visualization, and more
Inspiration from AfarFor my second meal of the May 2006 Eat Local Challenge, I took a culinary trip to Japan. It might at first seem strange to go so far during a local challenge, but Japan has a compatible food philosophy, with the foundations including seasonality and simplicity. The non-locality of soybeans–and consequently tofu–creates a […]
My short trip to Japan provided a lot to blog about, and I think I have finally run out of material (at least until I buy the Washoku cookbook and start cooking my own Japanese cuisine). This will be a mix and match post to bookend the first one. The object in the photo to […]
“Curry rice” is everywhere in urban Japan: in the train stations, in the grocery store, in office cafeterias. Curry has been known in Japan for almost 150 years, but has only been a staple since about 1931. The Lonely Planet World Food Japan book (out of print) recounts some of the history of curry in […]
Okonomi-yaki literally means “cook as you please” or “cook what you like,” and the restaurants which serve this dish are a fun place to have a meal, some drinks, and conversation. Some okonomi-yaki shops have one big counter skillet where everything is cooked by the staff. They frequently have some seats at the griddle and […]
In a world of “faster, cheaper, newer,” he stands for tradition. He still believes in the old ways, believes in concentrating on a single task and doing it right. He is the chef in a tempura restaurant. His focus is on small tasks: preparing the batter, dipping the vegetable or seafood morsel into the batter […]
My blog has been dark for a little while because I was on a trip to Tokyo, Japan. I have quite a few posts planned over the next few weeks, including surviving as a vegetarian tourist in Japan, tempura at Ten-ichi, and curry rice. In the meantime, here are some images and words from my […]