Regional Japanese Fare Comes to America

choi

Merrell Hambleton, Beyond Sushi: Regional Japanese Fare Comes to America. New York Times Magazine, Nov 13, 2016.
www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/t-mag ... chiran-shibumi.html

Note:
(a) "In Japan, as elsewhere, there are hyperlocal specialties: fried chicken in Nagoya, grilled oysters from Miyajima"
(i) Itsukushima  厳島
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima
(popularly known as Miyajima (宮島), which in Japanese means the Shrine Island;Itsukushima is part of the city of Hatsukaichi 廿日市市 [qv] in Hiroshima Prefecture)
(ii) To see grilled oyster, go to images.google.com with search term (oyster miyajima).

(b) "Ichiran 一蘭, which opened last month in Brooklyn, has only one thing on the menu: tonkotsu ramen served Fukuoka-style, with straight, thin noodles and a rich pork-bone broth. "
(i) Remember: In Japanese, there is no separate sounds for consonants r and l (as in English).
(ii) ton-kotsu 豚骨 (in Chinese pronunciation in Japan) may refer to bones of a pig, or soup made by boiling them.

(c)
(i) "TsuruTonTan in Manhattan specializes in udon from the Kansai 関西 region, served hot in a fish-based dashi [almost the universal form; defined in (ii)] or twisted over a bed of ice with a soy dipping sauce [rare]."

Our Storuy. TsuruTonTan, undated.
www.tsurutontan.com/our-story(explaining the chain's name)
(ii) photo caption: "TsuruTonTan's specialty, mentaiko udon, made with cod caviar"
Japanese-English dictionary:
* dashi 《出し(P[eincipal]); 出汁》 【だし(P)】 (n): "dashi (Japanese soup stock made from fish and kelp)"
* mentaiko 明太子 【めんたいこ】 (n) (See 明太) walleye pollack roe (generally served salted and spiced with red pepper)
   ^ mentai 明太 【めんたい】 (n): "([also known as] 介党鱈) walleye pollack (Theragra chalcogramma); Alaska pollack"
* shibumi 渋味 【しぶみ】 (n): "good taste; astringency; refinement" (Shibuya-ku 渋谷区 is a division of Tokyo.)
* futaho 双子(P); 二子 【ふたご】 (n): "twins; twin"  (The "ko" 子 is softened to "go" because the syllable is no placed in the first.)
(iii) Alaska pollock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_pollock
(a photo displaying roe, not spiced with red pepper; Pollock roe is also known in Japan as tarako 鱈子 and mentaiko)

(d) "Over in LA, Shibumi offers kappo 割烹, a tradition in which the chef presents seasonal small plates — like Nagano [長野県 or its capital 長野市]-inspired fresh soba noodles in November — to diners at the counter."

present (verb) direct object to indirect objects (a person as the recipient)

(e) photo caption: "a premium beef sampler (thick tongue, kalbi, filet and harami) at NYC's Yakiniku Futago"
(i) 焼肉  yakiniku
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%84%BC%E8%82%89
(牛・豚などの肉や内臓にたれをつけ、直火で焼きながら食べる料理)

my translation: grilled beef, pork or innards
(ii) The chain's name is Futago, which is defined in (c)(ii).

大阪焼肉・ホルモンふたご とは
https://www.yakiniku-futago.net/page/how/
("焼肉の聖地大阪鶴橋で小さな焼肉店を営む母親から1980年4月13日に一卵性の双生児が誕生しました。
李純哲（リ・スンチョル）と李純峯（リ・スンボン）です")

my translation: About the name [title of the Web page] Our mother gave birth to us twins on Apr 13, 1980, in Osaka's 鶴橋町. Osaka is the holy land of grilled meat. Our mother then operated a small grill store. Our names are Ri Sonchoru 李純哲 and Ri Sonpō 李純峯.