Dr. Sus Ito, a veteran from the 442nd, will be in attendance.
Apologies for the formatting fail. I just copied this out of The Genki Spark email and don't have the time to figure out how to make it happy with Blogger.
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Friday, October 26, 2012
The Genki Spark / Pilgrimage to the Past: Tule Lake and the Japanese Incarceration Why it Matters Today
The Genki Spark just sent out updated info on their Tule Lake lecture next week. Looks like it's going to be a great event. I believe this is the 4th Japanese American incarceration-related event in Boston this year. I've posted about Eric Muller and Wendy Maruyama's talks, but have yet to finish my post on Konrad Aderer's film showing at the Boston Palestine Film Festival.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Ramen coming to Central Square?
Some of you may have heard that H Mart, the Korean grocery chain, is coming to Central Square. One of my Japanese friends told me a few days ago that he heard there will be ramen in the food court. No idea if it's true, but just thought I'd mention it. Will update if I hear more.
Boston Asian American Film Festival
The 2012 Boston Asian American Film Festival starts tonight! It runs through Sunday at several venues around town. There are two films by Japanese American filmmakers: Model Minority, directed by Lily Mariye (Saturday @ The Paramount Center) and short film, People Aren't All Bad, directed by Matthew Hashiguchi (Sunday @ The Paramount Center). Sadly, it doesn't look like either of them will be in attendance.
Earlier this month the BAAFF co-presented Enemy Alien, a really powerful documentary by Japanese American filmmaker, Konrad Aderer, at the Boston Palestine Film Festival. He did a Q&A and a few of us went for drinks with him afterwards. I've been meaning to write about it, but have been too busy writing about ramen. I was sorry the film didn't get more publicity in Boston's Asian American community - I think there were only five of us in attendance.
There are many other interesting looking films by non-Japanese Asians and a lot of the directors are planning to attend (see press release for details). Check it out!
Earlier this month the BAAFF co-presented Enemy Alien, a really powerful documentary by Japanese American filmmaker, Konrad Aderer, at the Boston Palestine Film Festival. He did a Q&A and a few of us went for drinks with him afterwards. I've been meaning to write about it, but have been too busy writing about ramen. I was sorry the film didn't get more publicity in Boston's Asian American community - I think there were only five of us in attendance.
There are many other interesting looking films by non-Japanese Asians and a lot of the directors are planning to attend (see press release for details). Check it out!
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Gyu-Kaku coming to Brookline
Months ago a friend told me that a Japanese yakiniku chain was going to open in Boston but I completely forgot to look into it. Tonight my fellow volunteer at Yume Wo Katare reminded me about it. He heard that it's a franchise and the owner isn't Japanese, but that shouldn't matter. It's going into the former Ginza location. I didn't even know they'd closed.
Update 4/28/13: Gyu-Kaku had their soft opening a couple of weeks ago. I haven't made it there yet, but the report from a friend who ate their a week ago is that Gyu-Kaku in NYC is better, but it's still good. Per their website (and a phone convo I had with them), you should call for a reservation.
Night 6 @ Yume Wo Katare: Craziness in the rain
Please see my Everything you need to know about Yume Wo Katare post
for more information.
for more information.
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| 6:09pm |
I thought that the rain would keep people away tonight but by 5:45pm there were 55 people in line. By 6pm the line was already to the end of Dunkin Donuts. The first guy told me he got in line at 4:30pm!!! That's the earliest the line has started. Doors opened at 5:50pm and the line was closed at 9:25pm, apparently because they were running out of broth. The wait was well over 2 hours for a lot of people. By 7pm, around 40 people had gotten in and received their food, but things slowed down later on. There were some particularly slow eaters tonight. The last customers were in the door by 10:25pm but didn't get their food another 10:45pm.
The crowd tonight was very heavily MIT. Twenty people showed up from Sloan and I saw at least 2 others from MIT (they had an MIT umbrella :). The Sloan guys told me that someone had invited a few friends and then it turned into a chain mail and the next thing they knew there were 20 of them. They had to split up into several groups.
The crowd tonight was very heavily MIT. Twenty people showed up from Sloan and I saw at least 2 others from MIT (they had an MIT umbrella :). The Sloan guys told me that someone had invited a few friends and then it turned into a chain mail and the next thing they knew there were 20 of them. They had to split up into several groups.
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| 8:27pm |
There were a lot more families with young kids than I've seen before. When one family got to the front of the line the little boy was jumping up and down yelling, "Tabetai! Tabetai! Tabetai!" (want to eat!). It was pretty funny. Earlier in the night I'd actually heard an adult in line yelling, "I'm hungry!" Someone in line asked me why there was a seat that had been empty for the hours she'd been standing in line. Just because there's an empty seat, doesn't mean that it's available. The number of people who are let in next is based on the number of each group. They usually only let 5 or 6 people in at a time, but sometimes it's only 4. They generally won't let people jump the queue by more than a few people, so if a group of 4 is followed by groups of 4, 5, 3, and 2, the group of 2 can't move ahead.
I know it's frustrating for people to see an open seat, but they've figured out a system to work for them. The main reason the line moves so slowly is that many people eat slowly, talk, text, and surf the Internet while they're eating, and sometimes continue to sit at the table after they've finished eating. If people ate quickly and left without chatting with their friends for 30 minutes, the line would move more quickly. Being Japanese, the owners are too polite to rush people out the door. It surprises me that after waiting in line for 2 hours people aren't more mindful of the people behind them.
I asked my fellow volunteer how long it takes him to eat ramen and he said 10 minutes. Even when I hurry and don't talk, it takes me a good 15-20 minutes to eat Yume Wo Katare ramen. He said to me that girls always eat more slowly. I gather that most men in Japan can inhale a bowl of ramen in 5-10 minutes.
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| 9:01pm |
People continue to ask me when the best day/time is to come and I still don't have a good answer. I thought the rain would deter people but it seems not. It was surprisingly warm tonight so maybe if it's cold and rainy on a weeknight, maybe that would deter people, but on the other hand, that's perfect ramen weather. You really need to be in the first 6-12, although if the line starts at 4:30pm, then you're still going to be waiting a long time for your ramen. It seems that you ought to get in arrive by 9pm to ensure the line hasn't closed.
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| 10:15pm |
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| This is what the guys eat at the end of a long night. |
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| 10:45pm Bowl #5! |
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| Itadakimasu! |
I really am beginning to think that getting through a bowl of Yume Wo Katare ramen is a process of building up endurance. I did better tonight than I did on Wednesday night and left less broth behind.
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| Gochisousama deshita! |
Friday, October 19, 2012
The Original Yume Wo Katare
Please see my Everything you need to know about Yume Wo Katare post
for more information.
for more information.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Night 5 @ Yume Wo Katare: Less crazy
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