Japanese cuisine often feels old, but this isn’t always true. Even though ramen is Japan’s national dish, for example, it wasn’t created until the early 20th century and has been endlessly reinvented ever since. Sometimes, especially outside of Japan, that innovation tends to … [Read more...]
CITYBEAT RESTAURANT GUIDE 2017: Off the Strip (San Diego’s best Asian food outside the Convoy District)
When most people think about Asian food in San Diego they think about the Convoy District. They’re certainly not all wrong to do so. San Diego doesn’t have a “Chinatown” or a “Little Tokyo” (though it does, supposedly, have a “Little Saigon”). In a sense, though, the Convoy is … [Read more...]
WORLD FARE: Japanese style comfort food at Santouka and Musashiya
"Edible art" is an idea often attached to Japanese high cuisine like sushi or kaeseki. But the notion that Japanese food is inherently precious and high-end is exaggerated at best. Hokkaido Ramen Santouka and Musashiya, both inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace (4240 Kearny Mesa Road), … [Read more...]
MEDIA: Part II of the interview on “FOOD FOR THOUGHT” radio show on KNSJ radio, 89.1
We talk Cali-Baja food, Barbacoa as the original BBQ, the good fortune to be fed like a Mexican kid, being IDed as a food writer, ramen and MasterChefs Nathan Odom and Claudia Sandoval in Part II of my interview with Keith Langhorn -- and, crucially, co-host Mercy Baron (the … [Read more...]
WORLD FARE: Ramen on a tightrope at Tajima
Ramen—good ramen, real ramen (as opposed to late night college drinking fuel)—is all about balance. It's a wonderful broth, sometimes deeply extracted, sometimes delicate. It's rich, toothsome alkaline noodles. And it's a careful selection of tasty meat and vegetable … [Read more...]