HUNGRY GERALD

SJ has long had thousands of Facebook followers for his brilliant “SadChairs” instagram account and blog. In various forums he has written penetrating political and cultural insights plus, SJ is noted expert in everything about reggae music, reggae events, vintage records, Jamaica, etc. The consummate New Yorker/Brooklynite has moved (with family) to Tokyo. SJ has an affinity for big cities so it is no surprise that SJ is falling in love with Tokyo. SJ is reporting on Tokyo’s food, culture, regional distinctiveness in SJ’s just launched blog, OishiGevalt.com. If you ever plan on visiting Tokyo, Oishi Gevalt is essential reading. The blog will also bring pleasure to all who are interested in food and brilliant, evocative writing. OG surpasses HG. Makes HG proud. HG is also pleased that SJ continues to edit and illustrate hungrygerald.com. And, happily, SJ is discovering many gloomy chairs in Tokyo.

HG is very fond of many things Japanese. Foremost, HG adores his Japanese daughter-in-law, Exquisite Maiko, and HG/BSK’s enchanting half-Japanese grandchildren Haru and Teru. And, being an obsessive food nut, HG revels in the standard bearers of Japanese cuisine: sushi, sashimi, sake, tempura and ramen; in addition HG has been lucky to fall in love with the more obscure home-cooking side of Japanese fare through the culinary expertise of Exquisite Maiko. HG’s delight in things Japanese extends to architecture, furniture, wood-prints, calligraphy and much more. Recently, HG/BSK had the privilege of seeing a show of pottery by Bonnie Lynch in a sublime setting: the Galisteo (a town just south of Santa Fe) home of Japanese/American architect and master woodworker, Sam Takeuchi. Takeuchi has been working on his home’s interiors and gardens for seven years. He has combined some regional details (a door from a Mexican jail, for example) with seamless Japanese cabinetry in the most subtle finishes. Stone, brick, slabs of wood (reminiscent of Nakashima) all play a role in the deceptively simple, ethereally quiet interiors created by Takeuchi’s skill and imagination. Lynch’s pottery, many of which are fired to a near-transparent whiteness, were breathtaking in Takeuchi’s setting. HG/BSK are hopeful that an architectural photographer, who is sensitive and able, will someday photograph the Takeuchi home in order that its wonders reach an appreciative audience.

HG is very fond of unagi (Japanese fresh water eel). It is always available, cooked and glazed, at the Whole Foods fish counter. HG likes it as an appetizer. Some slices with wasabi and sliced scallion. Chilled sake. Very civilized way to start a meal. HG also likes it atop a bowl of slightly vinegared rice. And, of course, in all the creative dishes a serious chef turns out at a good Sushi restaurant. In Japan, there are many restaurants that serve nothing but unagi — including the 160 year old Nodaiwa in Azabu where SJ was treated to an Unagi meal by the Eel Prince (whose family has been running Nodaiwa for 6 generations).

HG’s lovely Japanese daughter-in-law, Maiko, was saddened last year by the passing of her grandfather. He ate unagi every day. He lived to be 102.