"tampopo" news and stories

Last week, someone brought up the movie Babette's Feast in conversation. I was immediately swept back to the first time I saw it. I was 12 or 13 and it was a Saturday night. My mom had heard good things about it and so checked it out from the local library. We settled down on the couch in the family room to watch it and were completely swept away. I remember that at one point we paused VCR (ah, the good old days) in order to run to the kitchen and make tea. We weren't regular tea drinkers, its just that the film, with it's chilly, windswept settings and visuals of tea poured from pots, made us long to be holding steaming mugs of our own.

Thinking about that movie got me thinking about other food movies and as luck would have it, Cinematical just recently put together a list of seven movies that appeal to the foodie in all of us. Oddly, Babette's Feast (or Tampopo for that matter) isn't on the list, but I heartily approve of all the other offerings (although I recommend that you make sure you get Mostly Martha and steer clear of the American version, No Reservations). If you're looking for film that will inspire you and make you just a little bit hungry, this list is an excellent starting place.

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Last week I wrote about Rameniac, a guide to all things ramen so detailed and descriptive that it left me jonesing for a hot bowl of the stuff. As promised, I did indeed trek from my native Queens to Manhattan's East Village that same afternoon to satisfy my urge.

Rather than head to one of the neighborhood's longstanding ramenyas, I decided to try out Ramen Setagaya, a new spot that opened in mid-June amid much fanfare and accompanying long lines. Part of the reason for all the buzz surrounding Setagaya's opening lies in the fact that it's the first U.S. restaurant of a popular Tokyo chain. And a large part lies in the fact that they make one kickass bowl of soup.

I must admit that I've never really understood or enjoyed mochi, the Japanese glutinous rice cakes that are traditionally given as gifts on New Year's Day. Though I am a big fan of the hilarious mochi scene in Tampopo. But I'm ready to cast aside my aversion to the sticky rice cakes after seeing this image of rows of perfectly formed mochi arrayed like some kind of eerie alien gem stones. I'd even fly to Tokyo to visit the Takashimaya department store where this glamour shot was taken. [via Tastespotting]

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Long before Iron Chef morphed into Iron Chef America, I enjoyed the grandaddy of televised culinary throwdowns in its original format. No, that doesn't mean Food Network's dubbed Japanese version. I watched Iron Chef sans dubbing on UHF. Back then I was hardly a gourmand and my knowledge of Japanese was gleaned from watching Godzilla. Nevertheless, I was fascinated by the show's fierce competitive spirit and exotic ingredients. Those episodes and the film Tampopo convinced me that Japanese people are crazy about food.

I hadn't given too much thought to the role of food in Japanese popular culture, until yesterday. Not that I hadn't seen such snacks such as Calbee Pea Crisps with its happy cartoon legume, dancing across the package before. What shocked me out of my cocoon of hipster-foodie complacency was a friend telling me of a manga hero whose feats revolve around baking bread. That's right, bread. I'm no student of manga, but the last time I checked these Japanese comics featured darker plots often involving sex and gore.

Yesterday's New York Times featured an article about food movies past, present and future. Of course, there's talk of the usual suspects like Tampopo and Big Night, but the gist of the article is that there are plenty more food movies to come, especially from American filmmakers. Of note are a remake of Mostly Martha, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, and an adaptation of Julie Powell's blog-based book Julie & Julia. The latter is to be written and directed by Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle, Bewitched) for Columbia Pictures. Anthony Bourdain even weighs in on Adam Sandler's performance in Spanglish.