Oct.03
Jimbocho Den Part.1
Oct.03
Mora Chartrand
Jimbocho Den: Dishes Without Rules…Part I by Mora Chartrand Much has been written about restaurant Jimbocho Den since its 2007 opening by chef-owner Zaiyu Hasegawa, then a 29-year-old unknown. Today, he is no longer unknown. Den is almost always on the must-dine list of those passionate about Japanese cuisine, both from Japan and abroad. In…
Sept.12
Autumnal Eggplant 秋茄子 “aki nasu”
Sept.12
Elizabeth Andoh
by Elizabeth Andoh Botanically a fruit, not a vegetable, eggplant (Solanum melongena) is a member of the nightshade family (as is the tomato and potato). Thought to have originated in India thousands of years ago, the Chinese were probably the first to make use of eggplant in a culinary manner. Widely known throughout Asia, eggplant…
Sept.04
Stagiaire by David Israelow
Sept.04
David Israelow
Stagiaire, literally “trainee” in French, often refers to short kitchen stints where a cook works for free. This labor exchange is generally to learn from a great chef or as part of the process to obtain a job. I was in Tokyo for the former. The only issue was I had no contacts, knew no…
Aug.15
Clams are superstars at Ibaraki destination restaurant: Hamaguri-ya
Aug.15
by Akemi Koyama, Cultural Ambassador Restaurant in Hitachinaka city serves only one special prix fixe hamaguri meal. Hamaguri is Japanese for clam, I mean a huge clam that is a size of the palm of a hand. I stopped with friends at Hamaguri-ya on the way to Fukushima from Haneda airport. It was a pleasant…