Comments on: In search of good Asian food http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/2006/07/27/in-search-of-good-asian-food/ GIL ASAKAWA'S JAPANESE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE ON POP CULTURE, MEDIA & POLITICS Tue, 07 Feb 2012 07:05:45 +0000 hourly 1 By: Gil Asakawa http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/2006/07/27/in-search-of-good-asian-food/comment-page-1/#comment-32 Gil Asakawa Tue, 15 Aug 2006 17:52:36 +0000 http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/?p=56#comment-32 Is this a different one from the one at West Side and Duncan? I've seen the restaurant at West Side and Duncan and have been meaning to stop by. It was recommended to me by the Korean owner of the Sunflower Deli, right by my office. If there's another Korean place in town, I'll definitely add it to my list! Thanks! Is this a different one from the one at West Side and Duncan? I’ve seen the restaurant at West Side and Duncan and have been meaning to stop by. It was recommended to me by the Korean owner of the Sunflower Deli, right by my office.

If there’s another Korean place in town, I’ll definitely add it to my list! Thanks!

]]> By: Jersey City Mafia http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/2006/07/27/in-search-of-good-asian-food/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Jersey City Mafia Tue, 15 Aug 2006 16:30:09 +0000 http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/?p=56#comment-31 There is a korean resteraunt on westide avenue and fairfax, they also serve sushi. There is a korean resteraunt on westide avenue and fairfax, they also serve sushi.

]]> By: Ed Suguro http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/2006/07/27/in-search-of-good-asian-food/comment-page-1/#comment-20 Ed Suguro Wed, 02 Aug 2006 08:00:40 +0000 http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/?p=56#comment-20 I don't mind if the restaurant food isn't prepared or staffed by the ethnic group the restaurant represents. One Nikkei restauranteur once said that you can't get Sansei or Yonsei to do this kind of work anymore--that is, being servers or cooks. As you mentioned, the cooks at Benihana are almost all Latino these days. I sometimes patronize teriyaki restaurants that are run by Koreans; and while they serve Japanese as well as Korean food, the Japanese foods have a Korean touch to it that doesn't taste authentic Japanese, but I like it anyway. As long as the food tastes good, I don't care what ethnic group prepared it. I don’t mind if the restaurant food isn’t prepared or staffed by the ethnic group the restaurant represents. One Nikkei restauranteur once said that you can’t get Sansei or Yonsei to do this kind of work anymore–that is, being servers or cooks. As you mentioned, the cooks at Benihana are almost all Latino these days. I sometimes patronize teriyaki restaurants that are run by Koreans; and while they serve Japanese as well as Korean food, the Japanese foods have a Korean touch to it that doesn’t taste authentic Japanese, but I like it anyway. As long as the food tastes good, I don’t care what ethnic group prepared it.

]]> By: Gil Asakawa http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/2006/07/27/in-search-of-good-asian-food/comment-page-1/#comment-18 Gil Asakawa Mon, 31 Jul 2006 17:12:11 +0000 http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/?p=56#comment-18 Hi David, you're absolutely right about how authenticity of food is hard to nail down. Here's a really early Nikkeiview column where I noted my mom's Japanese food might be authentic (to my taste) but her spaghetti and pizza certainly are not (yes, pizza isn't Italian, but for the sake of the conversation, let's say it should taste Italian). http://nikkeiview.com/nv/archives98.htm#anchor1840858 Hi David, you’re absolutely right about how authenticity of food is hard to nail down. Here’s a really early Nikkeiview column where I noted my mom’s Japanese food might be authentic (to my taste) but her spaghetti and pizza certainly are not (yes, pizza isn’t Italian, but for the sake of the conversation, let’s say it should taste Italian).

http://nikkeiview.com/nv/archives98.htm#anchor1840858

]]> By: David W. http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/2006/07/27/in-search-of-good-asian-food/comment-page-1/#comment-17 David W. Sat, 29 Jul 2006 15:49:24 +0000 http://www.nikkeiview.com/blog/?p=56#comment-17 That begs the question of what constitutes "authentic" cuisine. For one thing, good chefs (or merely good cooks) have always modified (hopefully, improving) recipies, making them their own. Food evolves, sometimes for the better; sometimes for the worse (i.e. fast-food hamburgers, etc.) So, the question is: when my mom made Italian food, was it less authentic becauyse she was Hugarian-Jewish-American than when the same dishes were made by Nita Testaverde, the Italian-American next door who taught my mom how to make the food and supplied the receipies? For that matter, was Nita's creations (which were all wonderful) less authentic than her born-in-Italy mother who had taught them to her? When I lived in California (where you really can find no decent pizza, despite what the natives kept telling me), I often felt that the "designer pizzas" created by the likes of Wolfgang Puck, et. al (while perfectly delicious) ought to be called something other than "pizza." But then natives of Chicago think that the thin-crust pizza we consume at the ubiquitous "Ray's" here in NY is not "authentic" pizza either. That begs the question of what constitutes “authentic” cuisine. For one thing, good chefs (or merely good cooks) have always modified (hopefully, improving) recipies, making them their own. Food evolves, sometimes for the better; sometimes for the worse (i.e. fast-food hamburgers, etc.)

So, the question is: when my mom made Italian food, was it less authentic becauyse she was Hugarian-Jewish-American than when the same dishes were made by Nita Testaverde, the Italian-American next door who taught my mom how to make the food and supplied the receipies? For that matter, was Nita’s creations (which were all wonderful) less authentic than her born-in-Italy mother who had taught them to her?

When I lived in California (where you really can find no decent pizza, despite what the natives kept telling me), I often felt that the “designer pizzas” created by the likes of Wolfgang Puck, et. al (while perfectly delicious) ought to be called something other than “pizza.” But then natives of Chicago think that the thin-crust pizza we consume at the ubiquitous “Ray’s” here in NY is not “authentic” pizza either.

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