The Insular Summer 島国根性の夏

Greatest Hits

• The War on MSG

  “No MSG.” This self-congratulatory proclamation adorns countless food packages around the Anglosphere. We’ve all seen it, on bags of potato chips or Chinese takeout menus, on instant noodles or those “just add meat and sour cream” Mexican meal kits. Oh thank heavens, we think when we spot it. This food is safe. This food is [...]

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  The Fukuoka Beer Guide ザ・フクオカ・ビア・ガイド

  This is another article for FukuokaJET.com. Each establishment’s address, phone number, and opening hours can be found at the very end of the post. Please leave a comment if you need directions! In response to comments graciously informing of new beer developments in Fukuoka, I have updated this article on September 23, 2009. Kyushu is [...]

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  Soul Food for Thought

  On my recent, brief trip to New York to visit family and friends, I had a checklist of specific foods I wanted to eat there; I wanted nothing but good food experiences – nothing mediocre, nothing mundane. To these ends, the trip was beyond satisfactory. Fork-tender Greek-style grilled octopus, colorful piles of Ethiopian curries on [...]

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  An Introduction to Ramen (In Fukuoka Prefecture) （福岡県の）拉麺入門

  This is an article I’ve been working on for FukuokaJET.com, a resource website made for JETs living in Fukuoka prefecture, especially new recruits. The information here focuses on Fukuoka, but I think it’s a fairly good survey of the major ramen styles for anybody who’s interested. Tonkotsu (Pork Bone) 豚骨・とんこつ Tonkotsu ramen is the richest [...]

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  Rebuilding the Japanese Food Pyramid 日本のフードピラミッドを建て直す

  The other day at one of the middle schools where I work, a certain poster caught my eye. It advocated “balance” in your daily diet and featured a graphic that reminded me an awful lot of the USDA’s food pyramid: This, I later learned, is the “spinning top” model for a healthy shokuseikatsu 食生活 (“food [...]