Otomisan: Making History in Boyle Heights
About two miles east of Little Tokyo in the community of Boyle Heights, a tiny café embodies the concept that small can be beautiful and even delicious.
Otomisan restaurant at 2506½ East 1st Street commences its 69th year of continuous operating with a new owner, Jeff Ige, and a Historic-Cultural Monument designation from the City of Los Angeles.
Efforts to secure the designation were spearheaded by Otomisan’s previous owner Yayoi Watanabe in collaboration with the Los Angeles Conservancy and Boyle Heights Community Partners president and CEO Vivian Escalante. Then, in January 2022, following months of documentation and advocacy, the L.A. City Council unanimously approved the designation.
Remembering the L.A. Retail Fish Association
Sixty years ago to this day, twenty-one fishmen posed with their trucks along the wharf of San Pedro Harbor for a dramatic, panoramic photo, captured by Jack Iwata. The men were members of the Los Angeles Retail Fish Association, a.k.a. the Los Angeles Japanese Fish Peddlers Association, an important but little-known organization formed in the […]
Digitizing Deliciousness: Jennifer Hasegawa Honors Community “Aunties” by Reviving Old Hawaiʻi Cookbooks
Jennifer Hasegawa seems an unlikely preserver of simple community cookbooks from the Hawaiian islands’ early statehood period of the 1960s through 1990s. The digital maven, a Sansei who had worked around the Bay Area’s tech industry since moving to the North American mainland from her childhood home on a Hawaiʻi “neighbor island,” appears a master […]
Bob Furuike: Creator of Delite-ful Pies at Gardena’s Pie Kitchen
Some of my favorite memories of childhood were of eating a slice of Citrus Delite pie, the signature dessert at Pie Kitchen in Gardena. Bright orange and yellow circles of tangy meringue on top of vanilla custard and a crisp, flaky crust — Citrus Delite tasted of summer evenings visiting with family and friends. Whenever […]
Muriel Miura: Trailblazer of Hawai’i Regional Cuisine
Author of nearly 30 cookbooks and host of two of the first TV shows focused on local Hawaiʻi and Japanese cooking, Muriel Miura Kaminaka was also a multiple award-winning home economist and a passionate educator to Hawaiʻi’s youth, home cooks, and aspiring chefs, including Sam Choy and Alan Wong. Muriel’s influential and long career as […]
Asato Family: The Legendary Waffle Dog and the Japanese American Family Behind It
What is a waffle dog? In Hawaii, this hand-food looks something like a long U.F.O – basically a hot dog encased in a waffle with delectable crispy corners. While it looks futuristic, it came to Hawaii in the late 1920s and is now considered a food legend. But for the Asato family, the waffle dog […]
The Culture of Okinawa is the Culture of Awamori
Peace, Love, and Gratitude are most important to Okinawan people. So important, they infuse it into everything. Awamori is no exception. In various small villages of Okinawa, an awamori distillery is the heart that keeps the community thriving. The employees are a family that consists of people of all ages and abilities. When awamori is […]
Madame Yuriko Soyu Tanaka: “Tea is my life”
Madame Yuriko Soyu Tanaka sat under folded legs on pristine tatami mats, perfectly posed in a pastel silk kimono as she watched her student make tea. She was playing the role of honored guest, but she noted her student’s every move: the way Sachiko Okazoe entered the room with tea utensils and bowed. The way […]
Exec Balances Careers with Vineyard, Uber
Jason Mikami is a modern-day Renaissance Man who is proving that it’s possible work for a major corporation while also tending to his family’s 123-year-old enterprise. Mikami, 48, is somewhat of an enigma. He currently serves as Head of Efficiency, Site Reliability Engineering, for global transportation giant, Uber, and holds degrees in computer science, electrical […]
Etsuko Tani: Sakae Sushi, Gardena
Etsuko Tani is the heart of Sakae Sushi, the beloved sushi restaurant in Gardena that is keeping true to the original flavors and high standards set decades earlier. The traditions at Sakae Sushi remain very much the same since the small restaurant was opened by Aya and Sumizo Tani in 1962. Their signature white box […]