Sunday, March 24, 2013

Marsha Aizumi Speaking in Boston

Marsha Aizumi

Marsha Aizumi, Japanese American mom, author, and LGBT ally & activist, will be speaking in Boston next month! Marsha's talk is sponsored by QAPA, in partnership with MTPCBAGLY, and Greater Boston PFLAG. Founded in 1979, QAPA is the oldest Asian queer organization in the United States.

Date & Time
Sunday, April 7, 2013
5-7pm

Location
Make Shift Boston, 549 Columbus Ave, Boston, MA 02118
Street parking only. Please note that resident parking is not enforced on Sundays.

Admission
Free. Donations to QAPA are welcome.

Click to enlarge.

Porter Exchange Japanese restaurants to be featured on Neighborhood Kitchens



On Friday I arrived at the Porter Exchange (aka The Shops at Porter or Lesley University's University Hall) to find the little hallway of Japanese restaurants (and one Korean restaurant) more of a madhouse than usual. WGBH's Neighborhood Kitchens was there filming for an episode that will air in May. While I was dining at Ittyo, the crew made their way down the hall, filming at Café Mami, Sapporo Ramen, Tampopo and finally Ittyo.

Inaniwa udon with sweet potato tempura

I've been meaning to write about Ittyo for the past couple of months but haven't gotten around to it. Carlos Garcia, owner of Café Mami, took over Ittyo in January and revamped the menu with Sapporo Ramen's owner, Manabu-san. Ittyo now serves inaniwa udon (the previous owners served regular udon) and soba, both of which are trucked in from NYC from the same supplier that Sapporo Ramen uses.


You can design your own bowl of noodles or pick from donburi, curry rice, or salad offerings.

Host Margarita Martínez talks to Manabu-san

You can catch Neighborhood Kitchens on Saturdays at 4pm and Sundays at 6:30pm on WGBH 2 and Fridays at 7:30pm on WGBH 44. Looks like a great show. Their second season will begin airing next month. Season 1 episodes are available online.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Japanese Disaster Relief Fund Boston 3/11 Event


My friend brought this 3 hour Japanese Disaster Relief Fund Boston 3/11 event to my attention.

Date & Time
Monday, March 11, 2013
4pm - 7pm

Location
The Boston Foundation
75 Arlington Street, Boston 02116

Admission
Free
Please RSVP

Program

4:00PM - 4:30PM     Speaking Program/Final Reporting by JDRFB
  • Kate Gueji, Vice President of The Boston Foundation
  • Peter Grilli, President of The Japan Society of Boston/Co-Founder of JDRFB
  • Akira Muto, Consul General of Japan in Boston
  • Atsuko Toko Fish, Trustee of The Fish Family Foundation/Co-Founder of JDRFB
4:30PM - 4:40PM     Special Briefing
4:40PM - 6:05PM     Film Screening
6:05PM - 7:00PM     Reception (light refreshments + soft drinks)