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As George and I dust off the grooves of history, we find ourselves entwined in the warm embrace of Valentine's Day and the stirring echoes of a 1916 phonograph tune. This episode is a tapestry woven with intimate tales and cultural idiosyncrasies, from the sweetness of Japan's White Day to the quirky twist of Sadie Hawkins Day in America. We don't shy away from the gridiron either, dissecting the heart-pounding strategy and exhaustion that defined the recent Super Bowl's final quarter.
In a heartfelt moment of reflection, we offer our condolences to those affected by the tragedy in Kansas City and honor the culinary genius of the late Chef David Bouley. His legacy lingers in the savory scents of his famed New York establishments and his transformative influence on American cuisine. As we savor memories of dining under his expertise, we explore his adventurous spirit, seen in his collaborations and his aid to sake breweries hit by an earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture. This narrative flows into a discussion of New York's flourishing sake community and how food trends, like the ascent of sushi from canned curiosity to luxurious treat, shape our palates.
Join us as we peel back the layers of sushi artistry, revealing the precision and dedication behind each sliver of sashimi and the intense labor poured into its perfection. Discover the global odyssey of sourcing the finest fish and the competitive zeal that drives New York's sushi chefs to emulate Tokyo's Toyosu Market standards. With my impending journey to Japan, we tease the prospect of bringing you even richer stories of culinary tradition in future episodes. As the sweet sentiments of Valentine's Day swirl around us, George and I invite you to join our celebration of love, life, and the continuous quest for a perfect bite.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everyone.
This is Steve from A BetterLife.
This podcast is brought to youby our sponsors, premium
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(00:25):
Now our podcast the Best of theBest, the Best of the Best, the
Best of the Best.
Hello everyone, and welcomeback to A Better Life with
George and Steve.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
How are you, george?
Good Steve, nice to be back, itis.
I walked into this studio and Idon't see any extra phonographs
, which is a plus, a good sign.
But I see a lot of extra space,which will lead to, I think,
more phonographs.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Nothing out here, it's all going in the back room.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
So is this a new law that you've instilled?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I haven't instilled just the one big one, because I
don't think it'll fit back there.
It's so big.
I never realized how big it isuntil I started comparing it to
everything else.
I have four others two arebeing restored, two I need to
pick up, and then that's goingto be it, and then I'm working
on organizing and completing themusic portion of my collection
(01:26):
I see, I see, and lighting isvery different.
I see today I have to give someof the lamps for the back, so I
took one out and put it backthere because I need a little
light.
I don't like the bright lightwhen I go back there and play
something, because I usuallyvideotape it and post it on
Facebook or post it somewhere.
So I've been trying to everyday at least play one of them
(01:50):
whether I record it or not, it'sanother story Only because
that's what they're here for andI'm going to use them so I can
enjoy them.
That's right.
So I'm trying to do that everyday.
Some days I play more, some daysI play less.
Some days it's 78,.
Some days it's anEdison-Ambriola cylinder.
Sometimes it's a two-minuteEdison gold cylinder.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
How many people get to say that?
How many people have these toyswhere you're connecting with a
century ago of the highesttechnology money could buy back
then?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, pretty cool.
Today's song was I think it wastoday called Wake Up America.
Oh, and it's about I don't knowsome obscure writer, but it was
a song saying to America youbetter start realizing we have
to enter World War I.
It was written in 1916 becauseeverybody needs to get on the
same page, because we have toprotect America's interest.
(02:44):
Let's not forget what GeorgeWashington and Abraham Lincoln
did and those kind of things,which is interesting.
I thought it was a littleironic by everything that goes
on in the world today.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
but yeah, and then you George Washington, right,
the founding fathers.
Then a few decades go by andthen you have massive like the
Monroe Doctrine happens, andthen other few decades happen.
And then Wake Up America.
And now we're rolling into, goBack to Bet America.
Wake Up Early America.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
So today is our, I think, valentine's Day special
edition.
I know everybody out there hasdone something special for their
Significant ValentineSignificant Valentine, At least,
I hope they did.
I hope you're going to listento us, but only after
Valentine's Day, because I'm notediting it tonight.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I just would like to wish my special Valentine a
wonderful day and give out allthe love out there to the world.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's very nice.
I mind this one in Japan,mine's only in New Jersey, so
it's a little easier.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Our time zones makes things a little harder, but the
sentiment's there and the love'sthere.
Absolutely, did they celebrateValentine's?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Day in Japan.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
They actually celebrate something even more.
There's a White Day as well,and countries that celebrate
White Day.
The Valentine's Day thenbecomes a reverse.
The ladies propose theiraffection and love to their man.
Therefore, on Valentine's Day,february 14th, the girl gives
(04:21):
the guy a chocolate or flowersor a card, and one month later,
on March 14th, that's whentraditionally, the boy then
returns the.
If he declares the sameaffection, then he returns
flowers, chocolates.
Only in Japan are they soorganized?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Here we have a Sadie Hawkins Day.
I have no idea what it is, butthat's when you'll see Sadie
Hawkins dances, and I don't knowwho the heck Sadie Hawkins is,
but it is traditionally whenwomen ask men out.
I have been asked to dinner inthe past on Sadie Hawkins Day
and they not only asked but paid, which was an unusual event,
(05:06):
and that's the only thing.
It has no relationship toValentine's Day, and some women
do give Valentine's Day gifts totheir men, but it's not as
required, and if you don't dosomething for Valentine's Day,
you're always left to be.
When I was in the florist today, there was a line out the door.
People were like looking at thecheapest thing.
(05:28):
Guys, come in, I laugh at thecheapest thing and I'll be like,
yeah, I'll have that one andI'll have balloons and I'll have
this.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So that's the way it works.
Chocolates, candies, flowersokay, they're great for that
industry.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So for a second.
Maybe we should just follow up,because we talked a lot about
the Super Bowl last week and wetalked this week and the game
was, I think, by all accounts,moderately boring until the last
quarter.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Well, the first three quarters were like extremely
boring, and then there was likea turnaround.
This tingling feeling of oh,some magic's going to happen and
, little by little, this destinywas coming true.
And yeah, Kansas City.
Just, they looked more prepared, they looked like they knew
what they were doing and theyjust executed, play by play.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I think the defense was exhausted.
Oh, absolutely, san Franciscodefense was exhausted and that
was the turning point.
But just to mention, on ahorrible note, today also there
was the parade in Kansas Cityand there was three apparently
three gunmen who opened fire onthe ground and then one person
(06:36):
killed and 22 people injured.
At this point, which is ahorrible thing that we have to
live with every day Shocking,it's hard to know or say,
especially a town like KansasCity who had the bombing so many
years ago it's middle Americaand by any other counts, it's
definitely middle America and Ifeel horrible and I'm sure
(06:57):
George is with me and we'll sendout our hearts and thoughts and
prayers to everyone in KansasCity, not just the people that
are injured but the fans whosedays were destroyed by a couple
people, perpetrators that wedon't know who they are, where
they're from or anything.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
So at this point, you just watch the news coverage
and even the reporters areshaken and dumbfounded and just
completely caught as a surprise,right, and it's just.
You're just nomin' and shocked.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
We were just watching something and I turned to
George and he said these two arein total shock.
They're just like trying todescribe how they feel and they
have the inability to do that.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Just a little moment of silence for them and
hopefully they persevere andcome back stronger.
But it must be tough.
A lot of sending a lot of loveout there.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
What have?
We talked a little bit beforeabout what we're going to talk
about.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I know you mentioned Another somber note.
A great chef, chef David Boulet, passed yesterday.
David Boulet was basically atremendous force in the culinary
scene for American chefs herein New York and he's definitely
missed.
He was and still is loved by somany who he touched, who he
(08:12):
gave a chance to work with himand to learn from a master, a
maestro.
I started my career in early2000, probably 2001, and he was
already someone of a famed name.
And if anyone's been to Bouletdown on Duane Street in Tribeca,
the moment you enter you gothrough a short galley of apples
(08:36):
he has, he's noted to startyour meal, your experience, off
with this.
It's as if you walked into anapple orchard and you're
transported into this mystery,magical land and you get seated
in this beautiful dining roomand off you go.
You're in your next two, three,four hours.
Maybe you're transported intothis almost magical Parisian
(09:02):
experience, but you're in theheart of downtown Tribeca and
you are being served some of thebest food in the world.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I used to work on Duane Street and one day, not
even knowing what it was, Iwandered in there with some guy
I went to high school with, whoended up working next to me at
the EPA, and we wandered inthere for lunch.
One day we were like the onlytwo people in a place I don't
know if it was like an earlydinner or whatever.
It was just a few people in theplace and we were blown away by
the meal Blown away.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Every bite is sensational and I gotta say
every chef that I've worked with, who's worked under Chef Poulay
or worked in that same kitchen,have nothing but the best
memories and the bestexperiences one could ever hope
for.
Certainly, new York lost agreat chef yesterday, and so did
(09:51):
the country.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yeah, I used to go to and I told George a little bit
about it.
They had I want to say it waslike on 40th Street or something
like that they had a restaurantbut it also had a teaching
kitchen where you went and gotlessons and you basically sat in
a bar and all the ovens andthings were right there.
And I forget the gentleman'sname who worked for Poulay and
(10:15):
he cooked and demonstrated.
There was one time we went to abread thing.
Another time he was very healthconscious, another time we went
to Paella where he made threeor four different kinds of
paella, and the third time Idon't remember what we went, but
it was a ridiculous expensebecause everybody goes out of
(10:35):
their mind and the best wine,the best this, and the bill is
astronomical but it's an amazingexperience.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Yeah, it's talking about just Boulay and not
talking about brush stroke wouldbea disservice.
Chef Boulay was also sointerested in Japanese food.
I think that's where myconnection with Chef Boulay was.
I worked for a Japanese fooddistribution company.
We did sake and we also didthese really amazing ingredients
that we import from Japan.
(11:08):
He was one of the first chefsthat we would show these
products to.
He just had such a deepunderstanding of flavors,
textures and just the nuances ofanything, whether it be citrus
or something like seaweed fromthe sea, some petrified fish you
know just me, even high-endmiso, soy sauce, different salts
from different bays in Japan,and he would incorporate it with
(11:31):
his chef, chef Yamada, whoheaded the kitchen at brush
stroke, probably the mosttalented Japanese chef in New
York in terms of washokuJapanese cuisine.
He's really a true chef, trueartist really, and together, mr
Yamada and Mr Boulay, together,opening up brush stroke, new
(11:54):
York got a taste of some reallyexcellent early-stage washoku
cuisine and I think that reallyopened the floodgates for more
Japanese chefs to really spreadtheir wings and embrace the New
York market with their art form.
Again, I have nothing but thefondest memory of everyone who's
worked with Chef Boulay andalso my very limited exposure
(12:16):
with Chef Boulay trying some ofour products back in the day and
when he gave us the thumbs up,that was a testament to the
sourcing and all the hard worktrying to get those products to
New York.
Great memories.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
A legend.
I saw condolences and notationsfrom every great chef.
You would know.
It's amazing.
He was a legend and that reallyjust sums it up.
And he was an artist, right.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
Here's to you, Chef.
Last week was Super Bowl andthen actually, yeah, this past
Monday, I went to this reallyamazing benefit, charity,
benefit event for the sakebreweries that were damaged by a
massive earthquake in IshikawaPrefecture in Japan.
So a lot of the sakeprofessionals whether from the
(13:01):
PR side, from the distributionside, from the importing side,
from the restaurant retail sideeveryone got together and
chipped in and were able toraise quite a significant amount
of money through ticket salesand through donations and things
like that.
I got to see a lot of old faces, old friends that I haven't
seen in almost a decade or so.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
So is that the earthquake that took place when
you were there?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
This was a week prior .
This was a bigger earthquake.
I was in.
It registered a 4.2.
That would be big here, butthat's a once every two, maybe
three, four months in Japan.
You'll get a nice shake and itwas only like a second, you too.
So earthquakes that last fiveseconds plus almost 10 seconds
(13:47):
are catastrophic, even if theyregister smaller.
But a big shake with a onesecond shake not too bad.
But the one in Ishikawa was.
It was big enough that itbrought down buildings, brought
down houses, brought downbreweries that have been around
for a few hundred years, five,six, seven generations old.
A ton of them have nowdisappeared and there is a
(14:09):
massive effort to rebuild.
There's a massive effort toraise funds so that we can make
it possible.
And the sake community here inNew York, I have to say, is
amazing, filled with a lot ofindustry professionals
passionate about the craft.
I know there's wine people whotransferred into the sake world.
I know there's guys who workedin the restaurants as GMs, as
(14:34):
servers, who now are on thedistribution and importing side
of sake, because it's just, it'sreally amazing, almost
renaissance of the beverage here.
I think in the next five, 10years we really will see sake as
a major varietal on a lot ofbeverage menus.
It's tremendously delicious,has a lot of potential for
(14:57):
pairings and we'll I think we'llcapture the hearts and the
palates of all Americans.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Really it's interesting.
I look forward to that.
It's always.
It's funny how the culinaryworld never sleeps right.
There's always some artist outthere that comes up with
something they never thought ofbefore.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
I used to tell myself Raps, listen, you have to
consider food, what we eat, asfashion.
It's fashionable.
Now it might not be 10 years,it might be even more so 10
years, but understand that.
It's just like language, right,it constantly evolves.
We adapt and we evolve withfood, language, clothing,
fashion, all this is all.
(15:39):
It's not stationary.
It just continually evolves andmoves with you and food for
what it's worth.
We have certain dishes thathave passed the test of time,
right, there's just simpledishes, original dishes that
it's good, but you also havefoods that kind of have had its
heyday and it's no longer athing, and you roll with the
(16:02):
punches.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, but and there's also things that move into the
staples of American life.
Right, mexican food gets realpopular and all of a sudden it
slips into the regular rotationfor American life.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Like, I would say, avocado.
Without Mexican food, weprobably would not have been
introduced to the avocado, andnow it's considered a super food
for breakfast, right?
Like, yeah, the avocado toast?
Perhaps not.
You would not connect thedirect dots to a enchilada or
some Mexican food.
But Because of the exposure,because it's been around in
(16:39):
supermarkets, it has its own,almost its own little island
between the aisles.
It's almost on every menu.
It's on every menu and it's anice add-on and it's delicious
and guess what?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
it's a superfood, it's super healthy almost on
every American restaurant menuright.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Add avocado right every lunch.
Any lunch salad will have anoption.
That's the way it is.
I think it's a beautiful thing,right?
We all have to eat to survive,and when I eat, better when I
eat look at tuna.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
You used to tuna with sushi and now it's Seared tuna
is almost on every salad.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Every place you go, every diner, every, everything,
there's seared tuna yesterdayyear tuna was canned tuna and
then this whole sushi and Toroboom and now everyone
understands Raw tuna is utterlydelicious and then yeah, as you
mentioned, you have your searedtuna on your menus and All these
tuna, carpaccio tuna, sushituna, poke right, anything tuna.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I'm always amazed at the fish markets in Japan and
how food, how these fishesbecome Almost like a currency,
that they're so expensive.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
The auctions are in the auctions are insane.
The previous so the Tsukijimarket, which is closed now.
The Tsukiji market was at thattime the largest fish market in
the world and then now the newone that replaced to key G,
called Toyosu, is 40% larger.
This thing is basically a city,but it's bigger than the city
block.
It must be like three cityblocks worth of real estate.
(18:17):
And you go to the tuna auction.
They block it off now becauseTourists ruined it for everyone
and but you can look from theupstairs window and they have
these monstrous 400, 500pounders lined up in a row four,
five, six rows deep and they'rejust auctioning out to the
house that's gonna pick up thefish, then break it and Created
(18:41):
into sections for their prizedsushi restaurants.
So it's a multiple-tier systemthat has been going on for
hundreds of years and it's asight to be seen.
But the best part about it isthe auctions around 4, 30, 5
o'clock in the morning.
When that ends you just walkaround the corner and you go to
(19:02):
all these famous sushi shopsthat are open for breakfast and
Like 8,000 yen so it's about 45,50 bucks You're gonna get some
of the best sushi you've everhad.
It's not fancy Ginza or NewYork.
High-end sour, it'severything's pristinely cut and
it's glimmering and it'sperpendicular and all that.
(19:23):
This is the rustic Fishermansushi, but it's fresh, it's made
with skill and it's it's agreat experience.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So they're serving the fish they just bought at the
market.
Is that what you?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
There's today.
So again, food is fashion righttoday.
Sushi is not like the samesushi I had when I was a kid
living in Japan in the 80s.
And you can go, you can justsay the same thing every 10, 20
years.
Going back, it has evolved intowhat it is today.
Yeah, it's.
It is the same in the sensethat it has Nitta, which is the
(20:00):
raw fish, or the cured fish, ontop, the shadi, which is the
vinegared rice, and the nigiriis the action in which you're
putting it all together intoyour fist, right, so that that's
a nigiri.
And the nigiri style sushi hasbeen going on for I think, four
or five hundred years and If youhad a time machine and the
(20:21):
camera and you took a snapshotevery 10, 20 years, you would
see that it's gotten smaller.
It used to be a two finger withhand nigiri and now most chefs
only use one finger, and maybethat's because so that you can
try more dishes, more bites.
So it's improved the experience, but it's.
It's a different animal, it's adifferent exposure experience.
(20:43):
You're not biting the nigirianymore.
It's a one, one-shot deal.
It's seasoned with the masterssoy sauce blend.
Back in the 80s very few placeswould do that it was.
Basically, you would dip thefish into the soy sauce and put
as much whereas little as youwanted.
A lot's changed, but it'sUndoubtedly delicious.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
It's an.
I love sushi and I don't likesome of the things that are like
still crawling when you eatthem, kind of thing.
But I love it and you couldtell the fresh one Mm-hmm summer
aged to know.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
So that's where I should have mentioned earlier
and I was reluctant to say oh,they're using the fish right out
of auction because theyrealized that the science and
the art form of fishing has alsochanged and improved.
The moment a certain type offish and it depends on the type
of fish right, they may, theymay KG minute, which is, once
it's caught, they'll drain theblood, they'll cut the under the
(21:37):
collar, they'll crack and thenmake sure that it exposes the
vertebrae from the tail part.
They'll cut and basically bleedout the fish.
They'll stick a metal, metalwire through the spine to stop
it from and paralyze itbasically.
So you're stopping all theadrenaline from going into the
bloodstream and therefore thatwill sour and ruin the texture
(22:00):
of the protein.
So you want to we're able tokeep that in pristine condition.
So, taking that fish and nowthrowing it into a super freezer
, you're able to stop time.
Essentially, the fish, if yourethought it, is basically 20
minutes old, one hour old.
It hasn't even gone throughrigormortis yet.
(22:21):
The fish that they thaw like afluke or like a flounder, once
it's perfectly thawed and yourest it, it's going through
rigormortis now and then at thattime they will filet it and
slice it and now you have this,amazingly, what they call in
Japanese, which is it's ananamonipia.
It just means that it's almostcrunchy.
(22:43):
The flesh is so fresh, it's inrigor, it's so crunchy.
You have this really nicetoothsome feel.
And that's the pinnacle ofwhitefish, sashimi Tuna, I
believe they age for seven days,some fish they'll age for two,
and chefs just know how tomanipulate the protein to
accentuate the umami, thetexture and also the color.
(23:06):
We're in the golden age ofculinary delights.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Really, that's more than I ever contemplated.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I know just about this much.
There's so much to learn, andthe greatest sushi chefs, I
think, are the ones that engagewith their customers and they
live off of smiles.
I think that's what chefs do.
Sushi chef watches theircustomers sitting at the counter
eat their sushi, the eyes close.
You give out a little breathout of your nose.
(23:39):
You're chewing and you justyour whole way through.
You open your eyes and tell thechef that was delicious Chefs,
thank you.
Pulls up either their book,ipad, a picture.
This is the fish that you justate.
It's unique because of this andthis.
It was caught this day by thefishermen over in this part of
the world.
They know everything about whatthey're sourcing, and that's
(24:01):
the beautiful thing aboutpremium, high end sushi.
If you're not to me, if you'renot asking those questions,
you're doing yourself adisservice.
You're paying an astronomicalamount of money Mine as well.
Get educated as long as well asenjoying the delicious meal.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Interesting.
So is that going to New York aswell as it goes on in Japan?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Yeah, so New York, I would say the last 10 years,
right off the bat.
If you give me a pen and penpaper, I could give you 30 names
of chefs that have come fromJapan, all parts of Japan, not
just Tokyo, but to come here andshow their craft.
So I would say 10 years ago Iwouldn't say New York was a
sushi destination.
(24:42):
You'd have to go to Japan forthat experience.
Today, I think, dollar fordollar, maybe more, I think
maybe you'd that's crazy, right?
You pay more in New York forhigh-end sushi than Tokyo.
If you paid and this isdisgusting to say but you'd have
to pay $500 in New York toexperience something for $200 in
(25:05):
Tokyo.
But the quality is the same.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
So is the fish coming from the Pacific or is it
coming from All over?
Speaker 2 (25:13):
the world, all over the world, but for the most part
Toyosu Sushi auction market iswhere all the premium fish will
go first, because that's wherethey know the people who want
the best of the best will payfor, and you'll have scouts and
buyers going in the morning,picking out, putting into boxes,
(25:39):
throwing some dry ice around it, putting another box around it,
and then it's FedEx overimmediately.
The moment the people buy it inToyosu, within an hour it's
already on a truck going toeither Narita or Haneda Airport
and 12 hours later it's at JFK.
Another hour or two goesthrough all the paperwork and
(26:01):
it's within 24 hours.
Let's say, the chef in New YorkCity has the same fish as the
chef in Tokyo.
And yeah, they do their magic.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
I know my friend has a rather large fishing boat and
he goes all over to NorthAtlantic, as well as in Florida,
and he catches tuna all thetime and he'll bring in somebody
who'll pay $5,000, $6,000dollars for a tuna.
Oh easy, hundreds and hundredsof pounds, yeah, it's for fuel.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
He says the champion tuna, so the homo-mago-rood, yet
the bluefin, the highlysought-after bluefin tuna, from
either the Sea of Japan or thenorthern part, where Japan and
Russia meet, that part of thewaters, those fish, let's say a
500 pounder, it can command overa million dollars.
(26:55):
Wow, I kid you not.
And the pride in which thesesushi restaurants, I guess they
uphold, they can never not havetuna.
That's basically, if they cansecure their hands on good
quality tuna, they're not goingto open.
And it's just like samuraimentality.
It's shameful Samurai mentality, but it is.
(27:17):
These guys are just hardcoreblue-collar workers.
That's their badge of honor toserve what they can source the
best, best products possible fortheir customers.
And there's guys like there's achain, there's a chain that has
40 restaurants in Tokyo calledSushi Zanmai and the CEO.
Every year, near Ziv, he's onnational television, he takes a
(27:41):
spot for his commercial and hesays, yeah, today I bought the
most expensive tuna.
It's a Tsukiji or Toyosu marketand I'm breaking it all up to
all my stores around Tokyo,around the country.
If you want the best, you cometo my place.
And it's smart, right, well,brilliant, even though he paid
(28:02):
$2 million, whatever, it's worthit Because, yeah, his claim is
factual and it's an everydayperson's Sushi place, although
it's become a little bit moreexpensive than I remember.
He must be doing pretty wellgathering clientele and charging
a nice premium, but good forhim.
(28:23):
You play the game and you wantto give the clients the best of
the best.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
But in Japan no one's going to tolerate anything but
the best right, the barrier ofentry is low.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Competition is high.
So you take a country of 130million, that's one-third of our
country, right, we're at like370.
We have about 500,000restaurants in our country
500,000.
Japan is 600,000.
So they have three times morerestaurants than we do.
(28:56):
The barrier of entry of owninga restaurant is very low.
It's not necessarily a creditcheck, it's just.
Sometimes I've heard it's ashake of a hand and you turn the
key and now you're running thisrestaurant.
You would never stiff the guyout of a contract or wages, or
(29:19):
the owner of the real estatedoes not have to chase the store
owner for rent.
Let's put it that way.
That's not really a thing inJapanese culture and unthinkable
here, right, without ironcladcontracts.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
But yeah, that's the thing.
So the barrier of entry is easy.
It's low.
You, a lot of amateurs right, alot of guys who just love
cooking, a lot of ladies whofinish their first career and
wants to open up a restaurant,can, you can open a cafe with
some food.
You just have to get a foodlicense, food service license,
and you're up and running.
The barrier of entry is verylow, very easy, and you can make
(29:58):
a living out of it.
It's not uncommon to eat two,three meals outside the house
and still relatively close tothe same budget.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Really.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
I know that I've seen a lot of shows about
restaurants in Japan and.
I always find it interesting.
I think I'm going to start, orI'm trying to make it and the
honor, that's involved and thetradition that's involved.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Relationships with your food purveyor is tremendous
.
It is a samurai mentalityExactly Like.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
you coined it perfectly.
I never thought of it like that, but it's a samurai mentality.
It's all about honor andtradition and hope you make
money.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Yeah, you want to make a living.
You want to make a decent,honest living for you and your
family, and that's somethingthat, as an adult, I see even
more clear now.
Doing business in Japan, doingbusiness with Japanese, it's not
the fastest, it's not the mostglorious in terms of glitz and
fame, but at the end of the day,when you're counting everything
(31:01):
from, just everythingeverything included, you can say
that you did an honest day'swork.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
It's interesting.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Yeah, yeah.
It was so cold today, yesterdayand the day before I thought we
were in the clear and no suchluck.
I woke up this morning and itwas what?
23 and it said real feel 14.
Oh boy, and I walked to thestation, hop on the train, get
to Grand Central, walk a fewblocks and I'm in my office.
(31:30):
But it's great.
And it's also oh boy.
Some days you're like my boneshurt, my hip hurts.
How am I going to make it?
But we all do somehow, don't we?
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Nothing like a CBD gummy for the help of your aches
and pains.
So that was very interestingabout it being Valentine's Day
and you think about going to asushi restaurant or something
like that.
It's nice to know a little bitmore and I appreciate the
overview.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Oh, and sushi is one of the funny things I thought.
By being raised in Japan, I hadan inside track and then,
entering the food world, I met agentleman, Trevor Corson.
On his business card it saysSushi concierge.
Basically, people pay Trevor tosit with them to eat sushi and
(32:23):
he narrates and takes you on ajourney based on what fish, what
the sushi chef prepares.
He has a dialogue with the chefand then basically adds a
tremendous amount of knowledgeabout whatever it is that makes
that dish so incredible.
(32:43):
He's written numerous booksabout sushi, about Japan, and
sushi is just one of those skillsets that are passed down
generation to generation.
And there are those chefs inNew York City third generation
sushi chefs that are doing thecraft of a hundred years ago.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I have to say I don't think there's anything more
American and Nouveau-reach thanheaven.
I would come with you andexplain what you're eating.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Nouveau-reach.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Absolutely, but being Valentine's Day, I think we can
abbreviate it a little bit here, if you don't, unless there's
something else you want to cover.
But I think that was a greatoverview of Japan and sushi in
New York City and everythingabout it.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Yeah, it's funny, I'm just getting hotter and hotter
about Japan, I think my newposition and I'm actually
heading over to Japan next week.
I'll be there for two weeks onbusiness and I think I'll be
traveling to five differentprefectures with my colleague
and I'll be very excited to comeback and talk about all the
food we ate.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I think we may have to do some on location there.
Maybe we could do some andwe've been talking about this, I
know.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
We have the technology.
We haven't tested it out.
We have it all, but I would behappy to dial in from either
Tokyo or up north or south.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Wherever it is, I think we're definitely going to
do that.
Next week you'll be away.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Or is it weekend?
I'm flying out Tuesday and I'llbe back the following Okay,
maybe Thursday or.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Friday next week We'll put something together.
It turns out that this is agreat introduction to the world
of Japan on our overview ofsushi, and I think I'm going to
have to listen to it back morethan once because there was a
lot of information there.
I look forward to our look intothe world of food and culinary
and how it all works in Japan,and we're lucky that we're going
(34:30):
to have you there.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And that note I wish you all the happiest Valentine's
Day.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Yes, happy Valentine's Day, my love, and
we'll catch you guys very soon.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Enjoy your day.
Hello everyone.
This is Steve from A BetterLife.
This podcast is brought to youby our sponsors, premium
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They are the makers of HerbalSpectrum, which is a full
spectrum hemp-based CBD.
They make salves, liquids andthey have a great mixed berry
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(00:25):
Now our podcast the Best of theBest, the Best of the Best, the
Best of the Best.
Hello everyone, and welcomeback to A Better Life with
George and Steve.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
How are you, george?
Good Steve, nice to be back, itis.
I walked into this studio and Idon't see any extra phonographs
, which is a plus, a good sign.
But I see a lot of extra space,which will lead to, I think,
more phonographs.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Nothing out here, it's all going in the back room.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
So is this a new law that you've instilled?
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I haven't instilled just the one big one, because I
don't think it'll fit back there.
It's so big.
I never realized how big it isuntil I started comparing it to
everything else.
I have four others two arebeing restored, two I need to
pick up, and then that's goingto be it, and then I'm working
on organizing and completing themusic portion of my collection
(01:26):
I see, I see, and lighting isvery different.
I see today I have to give someof the lamps for the back, so I
took one out and put it backthere because I need a little
light.
I don't like the bright lightwhen I go back there and play
something, because I usuallyvideotape it and post it on
Facebook or post it somewhere.
So I've been trying to everyday at least play one of them
(01:50):
whether I record it or not, it'sanother story Only because
that's what they're here for andI'm going to use them so I can
enjoy them.
That's right.
So I'm trying to do that everyday.
Some days I play more, some daysI play less.
Some days it's 78,.
Some days it's anEdison-Ambriola cylinder.
Sometimes it's a two-minuteEdison gold cylinder.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
How many people get to say that?
How many people have these toyswhere you're connecting with a
century ago of the highesttechnology money could buy back
then?
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, pretty cool.
Today's song was I think it wastoday called Wake Up America.
Oh, and it's about I don't knowsome obscure writer, but it was
a song saying to America youbetter start realizing we have
to enter World War I.
It was written in 1916 becauseeverybody needs to get on the
same page, because we have toprotect America's interest.
(02:44):
Let's not forget what GeorgeWashington and Abraham Lincoln
did and those kind of things,which is interesting.
I thought it was a littleironic by everything that goes
on in the world today.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
but yeah, and then you George Washington, right,
the founding fathers.
Then a few decades go by andthen you have massive like the
Monroe Doctrine happens, andthen other few decades happen.
And then Wake Up America.
And now we're rolling into, goBack to Bet America.
Wake Up Early America.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
So today is our, I think, valentine's Day special
edition.
I know everybody out there hasdone something special for their
Significant ValentineSignificant Valentine, At least,
I hope they did.
I hope you're going to listento us, but only after
Valentine's Day, because I'm notediting it tonight.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I just would like to wish my special Valentine a
wonderful day and give out allthe love out there to the world.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's very nice.
I mind this one in Japan,mine's only in New Jersey, so
it's a little easier.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Our time zones makes things a little harder, but the
sentiment's there and the love'sthere.
Absolutely, did they celebrateValentine's?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Day in Japan.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
They actually celebrate something even more.
There's a White Day as well,and countries that celebrate
White Day.
The Valentine's Day thenbecomes a reverse.
The ladies propose theiraffection and love to their man.
Therefore, on Valentine's Day,february 14th, the girl gives
(04:21):
the guy a chocolate or flowersor a card, and one month later,
on March 14th, that's whentraditionally, the boy then
returns the.
If he declares the sameaffection, then he returns
flowers, chocolates.
Only in Japan are they soorganized?
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Here we have a Sadie Hawkins Day.
I have no idea what it is, butthat's when you'll see Sadie
Hawkins dances, and I don't knowwho the heck Sadie Hawkins is,
but it is traditionally whenwomen ask men out.
I have been asked to dinner inthe past on Sadie Hawkins Day
and they not only asked but paid, which was an unusual event,
(05:06):
and that's the only thing.
It has no relationship toValentine's Day, and some women
do give Valentine's Day gifts totheir men, but it's not as
required, and if you don't dosomething for Valentine's Day,
you're always left to be.
When I was in the florist today, there was a line out the door.
People were like looking at thecheapest thing.
(05:28):
Guys, come in, I laugh at thecheapest thing and I'll be like,
yeah, I'll have that one andI'll have balloons and I'll have
this.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
So that's the way it works.
Chocolates, candies, flowersokay, they're great for that
industry.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
So for a second.
Maybe we should just follow up,because we talked a lot about
the Super Bowl last week and wetalked this week and the game
was, I think, by all accounts,moderately boring until the last
quarter.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Well, the first three quarters were like extremely
boring, and then there was likea turnaround.
This tingling feeling of oh,some magic's going to happen and
, little by little, this destinywas coming true.
And yeah, Kansas City.
Just, they looked more prepared, they looked like they knew
what they were doing and theyjust executed, play by play.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I think the defense was exhausted.
Oh, absolutely, san Franciscodefense was exhausted and that
was the turning point.
But just to mention, on ahorrible note, today also there
was the parade in Kansas Cityand there was three apparently
three gunmen who opened fire onthe ground and then one person
(06:36):
killed and 22 people injured.
At this point, which is ahorrible thing that we have to
live with every day Shocking,it's hard to know or say,
especially a town like KansasCity who had the bombing so many
years ago it's middle Americaand by any other counts, it's
definitely middle America and Ifeel horrible and I'm sure
(06:57):
George is with me and we'll sendout our hearts and thoughts and
prayers to everyone in KansasCity, not just the people that
are injured but the fans whosedays were destroyed by a couple
people, perpetrators that wedon't know who they are, where
they're from or anything.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
So at this point, you just watch the news coverage
and even the reporters areshaken and dumbfounded and just
completely caught as a surprise,right, and it's just.
You're just nomin' and shocked.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
We were just watching something and I turned to
George and he said these two arein total shock.
They're just like trying todescribe how they feel and they
have the inability to do that.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Just a little moment of silence for them and
hopefully they persevere andcome back stronger.
But it must be tough.
A lot of sending a lot of loveout there.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
What have?
We talked a little bit beforeabout what we're going to talk
about.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I know you mentioned Another somber note.
A great chef, chef David Boulet, passed yesterday.
David Boulet was basically atremendous force in the culinary
scene for American chefs herein New York and he's definitely
missed.
He was and still is loved by somany who he touched, who he
(08:12):
gave a chance to work with himand to learn from a master, a
maestro.
I started my career in early2000, probably 2001, and he was
already someone of a famed name.
And if anyone's been to Bouletdown on Duane Street in Tribeca,
the moment you enter you gothrough a short galley of apples
(08:36):
he has, he's noted to startyour meal, your experience, off
with this.
It's as if you walked into anapple orchard and you're
transported into this mystery,magical land and you get seated
in this beautiful dining roomand off you go.
You're in your next two, three,four hours.
Maybe you're transported intothis almost magical Parisian
(09:02):
experience, but you're in theheart of downtown Tribeca and
you are being served some of thebest food in the world.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
I used to work on Duane Street and one day, not
even knowing what it was, Iwandered in there with some guy
I went to high school with, whoended up working next to me at
the EPA, and we wandered inthere for lunch.
One day we were like the onlytwo people in a place I don't
know if it was like an earlydinner or whatever.
It was just a few people in theplace and we were blown away by
the meal Blown away.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
Every bite is sensational and I gotta say
every chef that I've worked with, who's worked under Chef Poulay
or worked in that same kitchen,have nothing but the best
memories and the bestexperiences one could ever hope
for.
Certainly, new York lost agreat chef yesterday, and so did
(09:51):
the country.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Yeah, I used to go to and I told George a little bit
about it.
They had I want to say it waslike on 40th Street or something
like that they had a restaurantbut it also had a teaching
kitchen where you went and gotlessons and you basically sat in
a bar and all the ovens andthings were right there.
And I forget the gentleman'sname who worked for Poulay and
(10:15):
he cooked and demonstrated.
There was one time we went to abread thing.
Another time he was very healthconscious, another time we went
to Paella where he made threeor four different kinds of
paella, and the third time Idon't remember what we went, but
it was a ridiculous expensebecause everybody goes out of
(10:35):
their mind and the best wine,the best this, and the bill is
astronomical but it's an amazingexperience.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Yeah, it's talking about just Boulay and not
talking about brush stroke wouldbea disservice.
Chef Boulay was also sointerested in Japanese food.
I think that's where myconnection with Chef Boulay was.
I worked for a Japanese fooddistribution company.
We did sake and we also didthese really amazing ingredients
that we import from Japan.
(11:08):
He was one of the first chefsthat we would show these
products to.
He just had such a deepunderstanding of flavors,
textures and just the nuances ofanything, whether it be citrus
or something like seaweed fromthe sea, some petrified fish you
know just me, even high-endmiso, soy sauce, different salts
from different bays in Japan,and he would incorporate it with
(11:31):
his chef, chef Yamada, whoheaded the kitchen at brush
stroke, probably the mosttalented Japanese chef in New
York in terms of washokuJapanese cuisine.
He's really a true chef, trueartist really, and together, mr
Yamada and Mr Boulay, together,opening up brush stroke, new
(11:54):
York got a taste of some reallyexcellent early-stage washoku
cuisine and I think that reallyopened the floodgates for more
Japanese chefs to really spreadtheir wings and embrace the New
York market with their art form.
Again, I have nothing but thefondest memory of everyone who's
worked with Chef Boulay andalso my very limited exposure
(12:16):
with Chef Boulay trying some ofour products back in the day and
when he gave us the thumbs up,that was a testament to the
sourcing and all the hard worktrying to get those products to
New York.
Great memories.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
A legend.
I saw condolences and notationsfrom every great chef.
You would know.
It's amazing.
He was a legend and that reallyjust sums it up.
And he was an artist, right.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
Here's to you, Chef.
Last week was Super Bowl andthen actually, yeah, this past
Monday, I went to this reallyamazing benefit, charity,
benefit event for the sakebreweries that were damaged by a
massive earthquake in IshikawaPrefecture in Japan.
So a lot of the sakeprofessionals whether from the
(13:01):
PR side, from the distributionside, from the importing side,
from the restaurant retail sideeveryone got together and
chipped in and were able toraise quite a significant amount
of money through ticket salesand through donations and things
like that.
I got to see a lot of old faces, old friends that I haven't
seen in almost a decade or so.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
So is that the earthquake that took place when
you were there?
Speaker 2 (13:27):
This was a week prior .
This was a bigger earthquake.
I was in.
It registered a 4.2.
That would be big here, butthat's a once every two, maybe
three, four months in Japan.
You'll get a nice shake and itwas only like a second, you too.
So earthquakes that last fiveseconds plus almost 10 seconds
(13:47):
are catastrophic, even if theyregister smaller.
But a big shake with a onesecond shake not too bad.
But the one in Ishikawa was.
It was big enough that itbrought down buildings, brought
down houses, brought downbreweries that have been around
for a few hundred years, five,six, seven generations old.
A ton of them have nowdisappeared and there is a
(14:09):
massive effort to rebuild.
There's a massive effort toraise funds so that we can make
it possible.
And the sake community here inNew York, I have to say, is
amazing, filled with a lot ofindustry professionals
passionate about the craft.
I know there's wine people whotransferred into the sake world.
I know there's guys who workedin the restaurants as GMs, as
(14:34):
servers, who now are on thedistribution and importing side
of sake, because it's just, it'sreally amazing, almost
renaissance of the beverage here.
I think in the next five, 10years we really will see sake as
a major varietal on a lot ofbeverage menus.
It's tremendously delicious,has a lot of potential for
(14:57):
pairings and we'll I think we'llcapture the hearts and the
palates of all Americans.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Really it's interesting.
I look forward to that.
It's always.
It's funny how the culinaryworld never sleeps right.
There's always some artist outthere that comes up with
something they never thought ofbefore.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
I used to tell myself Raps, listen, you have to
consider food, what we eat, asfashion.
It's fashionable.
Now it might not be 10 years,it might be even more so 10
years, but understand that.
It's just like language, right,it constantly evolves.
We adapt and we evolve withfood, language, clothing,
fashion, all this is all.
(15:39):
It's not stationary.
It just continually evolves andmoves with you and food for
what it's worth.
We have certain dishes thathave passed the test of time,
right, there's just simpledishes, original dishes that
it's good, but you also havefoods that kind of have had its
heyday and it's no longer athing, and you roll with the
(16:02):
punches.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Yeah, but and there's also things that move into the
staples of American life.
Right, mexican food gets realpopular and all of a sudden it
slips into the regular rotationfor American life.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Like, I would say, avocado.
Without Mexican food, weprobably would not have been
introduced to the avocado, andnow it's considered a super food
for breakfast, right?
Like, yeah, the avocado toast?
Perhaps not.
You would not connect thedirect dots to a enchilada or
some Mexican food.
But Because of the exposure,because it's been around in
(16:39):
supermarkets, it has its own,almost its own little island
between the aisles.
It's almost on every menu.
It's on every menu and it's anice add-on and it's delicious
and guess what?
Speaker 1 (16:50):
it's a superfood, it's super healthy almost on
every American restaurant menuright.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Add avocado right every lunch.
Any lunch salad will have anoption.
That's the way it is.
I think it's a beautiful thing,right?
We all have to eat to survive,and when I eat, better when I
eat look at tuna.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
You used to tuna with sushi and now it's Seared tuna
is almost on every salad.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Every place you go, every diner, every, everything,
there's seared tuna yesterdayyear tuna was canned tuna and
then this whole sushi and Toroboom and now everyone
understands Raw tuna is utterlydelicious and then yeah, as you
mentioned, you have your searedtuna on your menus and All these
tuna, carpaccio tuna, sushituna, poke right, anything tuna.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
I'm always amazed at the fish markets in Japan and
how food, how these fishesbecome Almost like a currency,
that they're so expensive.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
The auctions are in the auctions are insane.
The previous so the Tsukijimarket, which is closed now.
The Tsukiji market was at thattime the largest fish market in
the world and then now the newone that replaced to key G,
called Toyosu, is 40% larger.
This thing is basically a city,but it's bigger than the city
block.
It must be like three cityblocks worth of real estate.
(18:17):
And you go to the tuna auction.
They block it off now becauseTourists ruined it for everyone
and but you can look from theupstairs window and they have
these monstrous 400, 500pounders lined up in a row four,
five, six rows deep and they'rejust auctioning out to the
house that's gonna pick up thefish, then break it and Created
(18:41):
into sections for their prizedsushi restaurants.
So it's a multiple-tier systemthat has been going on for
hundreds of years and it's asight to be seen.
But the best part about it isthe auctions around 4, 30, 5
o'clock in the morning.
When that ends you just walkaround the corner and you go to
(19:02):
all these famous sushi shopsthat are open for breakfast and
Like 8,000 yen so it's about 45,50 bucks You're gonna get some
of the best sushi you've everhad.
It's not fancy Ginza or NewYork.
High-end sour, it'severything's pristinely cut and
it's glimmering and it'sperpendicular and all that.
(19:23):
This is the rustic Fishermansushi, but it's fresh, it's made
with skill and it's it's agreat experience.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
So they're serving the fish they just bought at the
market.
Is that what you?
Speaker 2 (19:36):
There's today.
So again, food is fashion righttoday.
Sushi is not like the samesushi I had when I was a kid
living in Japan in the 80s.
And you can go, you can justsay the same thing every 10, 20
years.
Going back, it has evolved intowhat it is today.
Yeah, it's.
It is the same in the sensethat it has Nitta, which is the
(20:00):
raw fish, or the cured fish, ontop, the shadi, which is the
vinegared rice, and the nigiriis the action in which you're
putting it all together intoyour fist, right, so that that's
a nigiri.
And the nigiri style sushi hasbeen going on for I think, four
or five hundred years and If youhad a time machine and the
(20:21):
camera and you took a snapshotevery 10, 20 years, you would
see that it's gotten smaller.
It used to be a two finger withhand nigiri and now most chefs
only use one finger, and maybethat's because so that you can
try more dishes, more bites.
So it's improved the experience, but it's.
It's a different animal, it's adifferent exposure experience.
(20:43):
You're not biting the nigirianymore.
It's a one, one-shot deal.
It's seasoned with the masterssoy sauce blend.
Back in the 80s very few placeswould do that it was.
Basically, you would dip thefish into the soy sauce and put
as much whereas little as youwanted.
A lot's changed, but it'sUndoubtedly delicious.
Speaker 1 (21:04):
It's an.
I love sushi and I don't likesome of the things that are like
still crawling when you eatthem, kind of thing.
But I love it and you couldtell the fresh one Mm-hmm summer
aged to know.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
So that's where I should have mentioned earlier
and I was reluctant to say oh,they're using the fish right out
of auction because theyrealized that the science and
the art form of fishing has alsochanged and improved.
The moment a certain type offish and it depends on the type
of fish right, they may, theymay KG minute, which is, once
it's caught, they'll drain theblood, they'll cut the under the
(21:37):
collar, they'll crack and thenmake sure that it exposes the
vertebrae from the tail part.
They'll cut and basically bleedout the fish.
They'll stick a metal, metalwire through the spine to stop
it from and paralyze itbasically.
So you're stopping all theadrenaline from going into the
bloodstream and therefore thatwill sour and ruin the texture
(22:00):
of the protein.
So you want to we're able tokeep that in pristine condition.
So, taking that fish and nowthrowing it into a super freezer
, you're able to stop time.
Essentially, the fish, if yourethought it, is basically 20
minutes old, one hour old.
It hasn't even gone throughrigormortis yet.
(22:21):
The fish that they thaw like afluke or like a flounder, once
it's perfectly thawed and yourest it, it's going through
rigormortis now and then at thattime they will filet it and
slice it and now you have this,amazingly, what they call in
Japanese, which is it's ananamonipia.
It just means that it's almostcrunchy.
(22:43):
The flesh is so fresh, it's inrigor, it's so crunchy.
You have this really nicetoothsome feel.
And that's the pinnacle ofwhitefish, sashimi Tuna, I
believe they age for seven days,some fish they'll age for two,
and chefs just know how tomanipulate the protein to
accentuate the umami, thetexture and also the color.
(23:06):
We're in the golden age ofculinary delights.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Really, that's more than I ever contemplated.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
I know just about this much.
There's so much to learn, andthe greatest sushi chefs, I
think, are the ones that engagewith their customers and they
live off of smiles.
I think that's what chefs do.
Sushi chef watches theircustomers sitting at the counter
eat their sushi, the eyes close.
You give out a little breathout of your nose.
(23:39):
You're chewing and you justyour whole way through.
You open your eyes and tell thechef that was delicious Chefs,
thank you.
Pulls up either their book,ipad, a picture.
This is the fish that you justate.
It's unique because of this andthis.
It was caught this day by thefishermen over in this part of
the world.
They know everything about whatthey're sourcing, and that's
(24:01):
the beautiful thing aboutpremium, high end sushi.
If you're not to me, if you'renot asking those questions,
you're doing yourself adisservice.
You're paying an astronomicalamount of money Mine as well.
Get educated as long as well asenjoying the delicious meal.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Interesting.
So is that going to New York aswell as it goes on in Japan?
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Yeah, so New York, I would say the last 10 years,
right off the bat.
If you give me a pen and penpaper, I could give you 30 names
of chefs that have come fromJapan, all parts of Japan, not
just Tokyo, but to come here andshow their craft.
So I would say 10 years ago Iwouldn't say New York was a
sushi destination.
(24:42):
You'd have to go to Japan forthat experience.
Today, I think, dollar fordollar, maybe more, I think
maybe you'd that's crazy, right?
You pay more in New York forhigh-end sushi than Tokyo.
If you paid and this isdisgusting to say but you'd have
to pay $500 in New York toexperience something for $200 in
(25:05):
Tokyo.
But the quality is the same.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
So is the fish coming from the Pacific or is it
coming from All over?
Speaker 2 (25:13):
the world, all over the world, but for the most part
Toyosu Sushi auction market iswhere all the premium fish will
go first, because that's wherethey know the people who want
the best of the best will payfor, and you'll have scouts and
buyers going in the morning,picking out, putting into boxes,
(25:39):
throwing some dry ice around it, putting another box around it,
and then it's FedEx overimmediately.
The moment the people buy it inToyosu, within an hour it's
already on a truck going toeither Narita or Haneda Airport
and 12 hours later it's at JFK.
Another hour or two goesthrough all the paperwork and
(26:01):
it's within 24 hours.
Let's say, the chef in New YorkCity has the same fish as the
chef in Tokyo.
And yeah, they do their magic.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
I know my friend has a rather large fishing boat and
he goes all over to NorthAtlantic, as well as in Florida,
and he catches tuna all thetime and he'll bring in somebody
who'll pay $5,000, $6,000dollars for a tuna.
Oh easy, hundreds and hundredsof pounds, yeah, it's for fuel.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
He says the champion tuna, so the homo-mago-rood, yet
the bluefin, the highlysought-after bluefin tuna, from
either the Sea of Japan or thenorthern part, where Japan and
Russia meet, that part of thewaters, those fish, let's say a
500 pounder, it can command overa million dollars.
(26:55):
Wow, I kid you not.
And the pride in which thesesushi restaurants, I guess they
uphold, they can never not havetuna.
That's basically, if they cansecure their hands on good
quality tuna, they're not goingto open.
And it's just like samuraimentality.
It's shameful Samurai mentality, but it is.
(27:17):
These guys are just hardcoreblue-collar workers.
That's their badge of honor toserve what they can source the
best, best products possible fortheir customers.
And there's guys like there's achain, there's a chain that has
40 restaurants in Tokyo calledSushi Zanmai and the CEO.
Every year, near Ziv, he's onnational television, he takes a
(27:41):
spot for his commercial and hesays, yeah, today I bought the
most expensive tuna.
It's a Tsukiji or Toyosu marketand I'm breaking it all up to
all my stores around Tokyo,around the country.
If you want the best, you cometo my place.
And it's smart, right, well,brilliant, even though he paid
(28:02):
$2 million, whatever, it's worthit Because, yeah, his claim is
factual and it's an everydayperson's Sushi place, although
it's become a little bit moreexpensive than I remember.
He must be doing pretty wellgathering clientele and charging
a nice premium, but good forhim.
(28:23):
You play the game and you wantto give the clients the best of
the best.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
But in Japan no one's going to tolerate anything but
the best right, the barrier ofentry is low.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Competition is high.
So you take a country of 130million, that's one-third of our
country, right, we're at like370.
We have about 500,000restaurants in our country
500,000.
Japan is 600,000.
So they have three times morerestaurants than we do.
(28:56):
The barrier of entry of owninga restaurant is very low.
It's not necessarily a creditcheck, it's just.
Sometimes I've heard it's ashake of a hand and you turn the
key and now you're running thisrestaurant.
You would never stiff the guyout of a contract or wages, or
(29:19):
the owner of the real estatedoes not have to chase the store
owner for rent.
Let's put it that way.
That's not really a thing inJapanese culture and unthinkable
here, right, without ironcladcontracts.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
But yeah, that's the thing.
So the barrier of entry is easy.
It's low.
You, a lot of amateurs right, alot of guys who just love
cooking, a lot of ladies whofinish their first career and
wants to open up a restaurant,can, you can open a cafe with
some food.
You just have to get a foodlicense, food service license,
and you're up and running.
The barrier of entry is verylow, very easy, and you can make
(29:58):
a living out of it.
It's not uncommon to eat two,three meals outside the house
and still relatively close tothe same budget.
Speaker 1 (30:07):
Really.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Yeah, that's interesting.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
I know that I've seen a lot of shows about
restaurants in Japan and.
I always find it interesting.
I think I'm going to start, orI'm trying to make it and the
honor, that's involved and thetradition that's involved.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
Relationships with your food purveyor is tremendous
.
It is a samurai mentalityExactly Like.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
you coined it perfectly.
I never thought of it like that, but it's a samurai mentality.
It's all about honor andtradition and hope you make
money.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
Yeah, you want to make a living.
You want to make a decent,honest living for you and your
family, and that's somethingthat, as an adult, I see even
more clear now.
Doing business in Japan, doingbusiness with Japanese, it's not
the fastest, it's not the mostglorious in terms of glitz and
fame, but at the end of the day,when you're counting everything
(31:01):
from, just everythingeverything included, you can say
that you did an honest day'swork.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
It's interesting.
Speaker 2 (31:10):
Yeah, yeah.
It was so cold today, yesterdayand the day before I thought we
were in the clear and no suchluck.
I woke up this morning and itwas what?
23 and it said real feel 14.
Oh boy, and I walked to thestation, hop on the train, get
to Grand Central, walk a fewblocks and I'm in my office.
(31:30):
But it's great.
And it's also oh boy.
Some days you're like my boneshurt, my hip hurts.
How am I going to make it?
But we all do somehow, don't we?
Speaker 1 (31:41):
Nothing like a CBD gummy for the help of your aches
and pains.
So that was very interestingabout it being Valentine's Day
and you think about going to asushi restaurant or something
like that.
It's nice to know a little bitmore and I appreciate the
overview.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Oh, and sushi is one of the funny things I thought.
By being raised in Japan, I hadan inside track and then,
entering the food world, I met agentleman, Trevor Corson.
On his business card it saysSushi concierge.
Basically, people pay Trevor tosit with them to eat sushi and
(32:23):
he narrates and takes you on ajourney based on what fish, what
the sushi chef prepares.
He has a dialogue with the chefand then basically adds a
tremendous amount of knowledgeabout whatever it is that makes
that dish so incredible.
(32:43):
He's written numerous booksabout sushi, about Japan, and
sushi is just one of those skillsets that are passed down
generation to generation.
And there are those chefs inNew York City third generation
sushi chefs that are doing thecraft of a hundred years ago.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
I have to say I don't think there's anything more
American and Nouveau-reach thanheaven.
I would come with you andexplain what you're eating.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Nouveau-reach.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
Absolutely, but being Valentine's Day, I think we can
abbreviate it a little bit here, if you don't, unless there's
something else you want to cover.
But I think that was a greatoverview of Japan and sushi in
New York City and everythingabout it.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Yeah, it's funny, I'm just getting hotter and hotter
about Japan, I think my newposition and I'm actually
heading over to Japan next week.
I'll be there for two weeks onbusiness and I think I'll be
traveling to five differentprefectures with my colleague
and I'll be very excited to comeback and talk about all the
food we ate.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
I think we may have to do some on location there.
Maybe we could do some andwe've been talking about this, I
know.
Speaker 2 (33:51):
We have the technology.
We haven't tested it out.
We have it all, but I would behappy to dial in from either
Tokyo or up north or south.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
Wherever it is, I think we're definitely going to
do that.
Next week you'll be away.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
Or is it weekend?
I'm flying out Tuesday and I'llbe back the following Okay,
maybe Thursday or.
Speaker 1 (34:07):
Friday next week We'll put something together.
It turns out that this is agreat introduction to the world
of Japan on our overview ofsushi, and I think I'm going to
have to listen to it back morethan once because there was a
lot of information there.
I look forward to our look intothe world of food and culinary
and how it all works in Japan,and we're lucky that we're going
(34:30):
to have you there.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Awesome.
Speaker 1 (34:33):
And that note I wish you all the happiest Valentine's
Day.
Speaker 2 (34:36):
Yes, happy Valentine's Day, my love, and
we'll catch you guys very soon.
Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Enjoy your day.
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