15 Sep 2017
by scolgin
in Humor, On the Road
Tags: doburi, Hokkai-don, Hokkaido, japan, Japanese cooking, Kanda, katte-don, Otaru, sushi, tokyo, Washo Fish Market
“Are we going to eat a lot of sushi in Japan?” my 7-year-old daughter, Imogen, asked before we left on our trip.
“You betcha,” I assured her.
“Just sushi!?” she clarified hopefully. And it was my sad duty to inform her that we would probably eat ramen and tempura and yakitori and other things as well.
Immy’s first sushi meal in Tokyo
In case you’re checking into this blog for the very first time, this is a theme that comes up with some regularity. That is, that Imogen loves sushi. She is an expensive date.
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31 Aug 2017
by scolgin
in Humor, On the Road, Recipes
Tags: Aomori, Hakodate, Hokkaido, ika, japan, Japanese cooking, Kewpie mayonnaise, ramen, squid
I always figured I could make a successful business helping the Japanese correct the English on their packaging and signage. That intuition was only reinforced on our recent trip to Japan, who’s sensational and rather wacky culinary culture I shall explore in a series of posts beginning with this one.
Squid cracker package
Helpful squid-centric Japanese observation #1: A good way to keep your kids from eating the rice crackers you brought back from Japan: Choose squid flavored. More
23 Jan 2015
by scolgin
in Observations, On the Road
Tags: beer, food, humor, Japanese cooking, matsutake, mycology, Sonoma, tempura, wild mushrooms
Fungi is a fickle kingdom. Predicting where and when a particular mushroom will grow is like betting on the stock market.
Willa with amanita coccora — the only edible mushroom in a family of deadly beauties
Some mushrooms appear only in years with late soaking rain, others only when there is an early rain followed by a dry spell followed by another rain. Some mushrooms only grow where there is something dead under the dirt, while others cannibalize nearby poisonous mushrooms, transforming them into prized edibles. More
07 Nov 2014
by scolgin
in Cooking Tips, Markets & Stores
Tags: Ballona Wetlands, carne asada, Dave Frost Automotive, Japanese cooking, Korean short ribs, Mexican food, Mitsuwa, ramen, Richard Brody, Sanchez Carniceria
My pal, Richard Brody, picked me up on the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Bentley Avenue at 11:07 a.m. on a Monday morning. We were going shopping.
Brody and his ramen
What I was doing on that particular corner without a car is a whole other story of broken struts, the Culver City green line and a client of my other, more lucrative life. But it is what Brody and I were doing that is of interest for this blog, as it has everything to do with food. More
01 Apr 2014
by scolgin
in On the Road, Recipes, Video
Tags: ceviche, gooseneck barnacles, humor, Japanese cooking, Malibu, percebes, Spain, Steve McQueen, sweet shrimp, tempura
I’ve always felt an affinity for the sea. Growing up near the shore, it was forever a part of my life. But it’s only been the last decade or so that I’ve begun to feel its pull in a more primal way, like gravity. I need the sea.
Dinner?
Fresh off a week of deep ocean connecting on the bluffs in Puerto Vallarta, we got invited to the bluffs in Malibu for a night with our friends Nadine and Andrew at the Steve McQueen beach house. Which was good, because I was already missing the sea. More
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