Mr. Matsumoto, who is better known as Tako, calls the restaurant’s marriage of Texas smokehouse and Japanese bar food “a pretty good representation of us as Japanese Texans. More complicated is the role that Mr. Cole, a white man born in Florida, has played in making Japanese food fashionable in this trend-conscious city. Mr. Fuse demanded that Mr. Cole learn to speak, read and write Japanese as part of his culinary training. PhotoKayo Asazu, 42, who owns Komé with her husband, Mr. Asazu, 44, says Mr. Cole made experimentation a distinguishing element of Japanese food in Austin. When she returns to Austin, Ms. Turner said, she hopes to open a Japanese restaurant of her own.

Source: New York Times April 30, 2018 15:11 UTC