Many people have been asking me, "When will you have your own restaurant?"
And I've been thinking...why aren't there any takoyaki restaurants in usa? there's takeo-san in LA (Tanota), otafuku nyc closed down and now is located in rairai ken in east village. dokodemo stopped making takoyaki...who's left?
karlsballs?
my crew and i have been cooking all over nyc, at pretty much every street fair (japanese), as well as nyc comic con and anime nyc.
we're the takoyaki vendor for mitsuwa's summer festival in edgewater NJ .
We have the first kei-kitchen truck in usa, imported from osaka.
we've been recognized as the first usa team to be a part of the osaka, teppanyaki conference. 2024, i'll be back as a key note speaker in the national takoyaki conference.
ok enough of my blabbing.
why no restaurant?
let me ask you a question...do you know what ramen is? I'm 99.9% sure you know what it is. there are ramen freaks out there who know more about dashi (japanese soup stock) than i will ever know.
if i ask any stranger on the street if they know what takoyaki is, they will pretty much have no idea.
some who do...know of takoyaki that is served in izakaya (frozen, pre-made).
Some know of gindaco, the largest chain in japan.
many people know of takoyaki through anime: one piece, dragonball z, my hero academia...anime has probably been the biggest promoter of takoyaki in the west.
its interesting...we cook at japan fes and have a very long line. why? people come for japanese food, for takoyaki. the next day we can be cooking at a regular street fair--and it's like pulling teeth trying to get a sale. even after 10-11 years of cooking this stuff, many americans are scared of octopus.
to really know takoyaki....the real stuff from osaka, is far in between. i'm glad i have a great support unit in japan--the konamon association has been very helpful, mana (kumagaI) has been amazing.
in order for takoyaki to be sucessful in usa, we need more information about it. in order for a takoyaki restaurant to be successful, people need to know about it.
people need to be informed.
it needs to be promoted.
so with that being said, i decided to start a takoyaki blog. all the research and places that i've eaten in osaka, will be discussed and shared here.
what is the difference between tokyo, osaka, kyoto...regional styles o f takoyaki...what makes this store special compared to that store.
where to eat in osaka? my best picks. where to eat takoyaki in tokyo? that mom and pop shop I found....i'll promote it here.
takoyaki is expensvie to make here in usa. it takes ton of skill to make it right. the equipment...you can't buy here. have to get it in osaka. there are no teachers here.
so maybe i have to become one of these things. learn as much as i can, and spread as much knowledge as possible. for the next generation...
there ar e so many lessons and things i've learned from just trial and error. i want to share them with you.
i just came back from osaka in 10/2023 with my team, tammy and adam--from the teppan(yaki) conference in osaka.
we met the biggest stores in Osaka. Kougaryu, takohachi, creo-ru, juhachibhan...a lot of business cards were exchanged. I (think) i ate at about 13-15 stores in 9 days.
so i'll make a blog post about each one. and give you my thoughts about each one. of course this is subjective, i have my favorites and you will find yours too. but maybe with a glance of my writing...it might lead you to a place that you've never known about.
i hope this will inspire you to love takoyaki as well.
so for now...i'll sign off, time for bed--maybe in my takoyaki dreams i'll be able to foresee just what is next.
karl
And I've been thinking...why aren't there any takoyaki restaurants in usa? there's takeo-san in LA (Tanota), otafuku nyc closed down and now is located in rairai ken in east village. dokodemo stopped making takoyaki...who's left?
karlsballs?
my crew and i have been cooking all over nyc, at pretty much every street fair (japanese), as well as nyc comic con and anime nyc.
we're the takoyaki vendor for mitsuwa's summer festival in edgewater NJ .
We have the first kei-kitchen truck in usa, imported from osaka.
we've been recognized as the first usa team to be a part of the osaka, teppanyaki conference. 2024, i'll be back as a key note speaker in the national takoyaki conference.
ok enough of my blabbing.
why no restaurant?
let me ask you a question...do you know what ramen is? I'm 99.9% sure you know what it is. there are ramen freaks out there who know more about dashi (japanese soup stock) than i will ever know.
if i ask any stranger on the street if they know what takoyaki is, they will pretty much have no idea.
some who do...know of takoyaki that is served in izakaya (frozen, pre-made).
Some know of gindaco, the largest chain in japan.
many people know of takoyaki through anime: one piece, dragonball z, my hero academia...anime has probably been the biggest promoter of takoyaki in the west.
its interesting...we cook at japan fes and have a very long line. why? people come for japanese food, for takoyaki. the next day we can be cooking at a regular street fair--and it's like pulling teeth trying to get a sale. even after 10-11 years of cooking this stuff, many americans are scared of octopus.
to really know takoyaki....the real stuff from osaka, is far in between. i'm glad i have a great support unit in japan--the konamon association has been very helpful, mana (kumagaI) has been amazing.
in order for takoyaki to be sucessful in usa, we need more information about it. in order for a takoyaki restaurant to be successful, people need to know about it.
people need to be informed.
it needs to be promoted.
so with that being said, i decided to start a takoyaki blog. all the research and places that i've eaten in osaka, will be discussed and shared here.
what is the difference between tokyo, osaka, kyoto...regional styles o f takoyaki...what makes this store special compared to that store.
where to eat in osaka? my best picks. where to eat takoyaki in tokyo? that mom and pop shop I found....i'll promote it here.
takoyaki is expensvie to make here in usa. it takes ton of skill to make it right. the equipment...you can't buy here. have to get it in osaka. there are no teachers here.
so maybe i have to become one of these things. learn as much as i can, and spread as much knowledge as possible. for the next generation...
there ar e so many lessons and things i've learned from just trial and error. i want to share them with you.
i just came back from osaka in 10/2023 with my team, tammy and adam--from the teppan(yaki) conference in osaka.
we met the biggest stores in Osaka. Kougaryu, takohachi, creo-ru, juhachibhan...a lot of business cards were exchanged. I (think) i ate at about 13-15 stores in 9 days.
so i'll make a blog post about each one. and give you my thoughts about each one. of course this is subjective, i have my favorites and you will find yours too. but maybe with a glance of my writing...it might lead you to a place that you've never known about.
i hope this will inspire you to love takoyaki as well.
so for now...i'll sign off, time for bed--maybe in my takoyaki dreams i'll be able to foresee just what is next.
karl