My Japanese in-laws are incredible people who love family get-togethers. Not knowing this the first time I met them, I  made a near fatal mistake.

Some want "man caves" or "she sheds," we at Tampopo love our noodle room located at the front of Tampopo Kitchen. We've been making our noodles for Tampopo Ramen from scratch for many years and now we are able to use the same production to make our udon noodles at Tampopo Kitchen. Our room has our noodle production machine that we imported from Japan that helps us maximize noodle flavor and authenticity. 

My first year of touring in Japan was also the first year I got to spend some time with my Japanese mother in-law, one on one. Are you feeling nervous for me?

Chanpon Noodles is our newest special at Tampopo Kitchen! Chanpon means mixed up, and it traditionally has vegetables, seafood and meat all mixed together.

Who would guess that carbonara would make it onto a Japanese restaurant menu? Well, it's insanely delicious and there is some cultural validity to it too.

Salmon is so good for you that ordering sushi from Tampopo Kitchen is basically like going to the gym, right? That may not be accurate, but what I do know is, salmon is in season which means it's time to get your salmon lover special on at Tampopo Kitchen!

This time of year, salmon will have more fat and a deeper flavor because it's mating season. This is also a great time of year to order the salmon roe too, called ikura, which we serve gunkan style, or rice wrapped in seaweed around the side, like a little cup. Salmon is loaded in those omega 3 fatty acids, and is great for your skin, but I love eating my nigiri salmon sushi pieces with an Asahi beer, which probably cancels out those health benefits for me. And don't get me started on pairing salmon with Japanese saké, I would go with the dryer, bolder side (Tengumai or Urakasumi at Tampopo Kitchen), to balance the fatty sweet flavor of the fish.

We are still running Fall2 as an order code for the rest of the month, pop that code in for $2 off your next order.

Hope y'all are killing it this October!

Josh & Nana

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🍜Tempura and travel stories🍤
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Sep 30, 2022, 5:42 PM (2 days ago)

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Tempura and travel stories


I had a complicated relationship with Japanese Tempura. TBH, I just didn't like it that much. I never had a good tempura experience in the US. But that all changed for me on one of my trips in Japan, when I discovered Sanuki Udon! This is popular in a region called Takematsu which is the capital city of Kagawa prefecture. Although Takematsu is not an exciting tourist destination, I managed to go there maybe 8 or 9 times during my travels. Cool? Not really, it was very boring, so much so that as an activity some friends of mine and I decided to take a ferry that inexplicably went nowhere. Ok this incident may have taken place in the drunken early hours of the morning, right before performing the Magic Flute Opera. What can I say, boredom and alcohol don't mix.

But Sanuki udon was sooo cool, talk about true fast food! Restaurants that specialize in udon only do one thing: Udon noodles, broth, and all different kinds of tempura that is precooked, you can take for yourself and add as toppings. It was so fast and so inexpensive! You get your bowl, then you can fill it with all different kinds of tempura toppings, kabocha squash, fish cake, shiso leaves, shrimp, lotus root and many others. Then you take a raw egg, crack it into the broth, with the fresh udon noodles and mix it all together. It's delicious, quick and very filling. Especially good for a hangover (right before the Magic Flute, cough cough).

As I traveled more in Japan, I got to see the proliferation of Sanuki style udon through the rest of the country. Japanese cuisine tends to be very regionally specific, and different styles occasionally gain national popularity. For example Ippudo, is a southern style (Hakata style) ramen that grew in popularity throughout Japan and now across the world. Sanuki style udon started growing rapidly in the early 2010s and different brands have been popping up all over the country, to catch the wave. And for me, Sanuki Udon makes me think of the city of Takematsu and my bored silly shenanigans on ferry boats, and staying out too late at one too many izakayas.

I encourage you to try the tempura udon at Tampopo Kitchen, especially in these crispy fall months. It's comforting and filling. You can try the veggie only, or the mixed tempura that has shrimp. Try this coupon code for $2 off your next order. (good for the next 2 weeks!)
Code: FALL2
(Valid only on online order from tampopokitchen.com Exp. 10/14. One time use only.)

Also we have a lovely new seasonal fall special, which is the Acorn Squash Tempura with a chili dipping sauce, definitely come try the next time you come in or order!




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This past Thursday Tampopo Kitchen was a proud sponsor of the MOSA Concert Series hosted at Our Saviour's Atonement Lutheran Church. The concert series is headed up by Bridget Kibbey, a very talented and engaging harpist, who I have known since undergrad days at Juilliard (let's not put a year on it, k?) The series features a multicultural approach to stringed instruments with the Harp as a theme running through many of the concerts.

The idea of the series resonates strongly with me because it features many talented neighborhood artists that have lived here for many years that often have international performing careers, but don't have an outlet to perform at home. The work she and her executive director, Brent Ness, are doing on the series is incredible; they are bringing an elevated multicultural experience to the uptown community. This is similar to the long term business goals that Nana and I have, which is to bring an elevated, yet casual dining experience to Washington Heights. Music is culture, food is culture, these are all things that make us feel human, and we are grateful to be inspired and have a chance to partner with such great creative people.

As the weather cools down, we are about to begin ramen noodle season! We hope you continue to enjoy your spicy miso ramen, at Tampopo Ramen, but don't forget about the Tan Tan Udon noodles, at Tampopo Kitchen, (featuring ground pork, house made sesame flavoring, and house chili oil), it may just become your favorite comfort food. You can still use the coupon here if you haven't tried it yet!

NEWEATS to get 20% off on Tan Tan noodles or Teriyaki Chicken Roll.

Cannot be combined with other deals. Valid on online order from Tampopokitchen.com One time use only. Expires on September 30. No cash refund.

Nana and I have a joke that everything is better in Japan, well at least when it comes to food it seems that the Japanese have mastered and perfected all kinds of cuisine that come from other cultures.

We are taking a break from our usual programming to highlight some menu updates! You can now get the Tan Tan udon with Ramen noodles at Tampopo Kitchen. Isn't that fun? I just had it for lunch and it was delightfully delicious.

After rice, soy sauce is the most important signature flavor of Japanese cooking. Having lived with my Japanese wife for a decade and a half, I've learned new adventurous ways of using soy sauce in home cooking.

This week I'm gonna start breaking down the basic elements of Japanese food and what makes them unique from other cuisines. My hope is to make you feel more confident in ordering at Japanese restaurants and inspire you to play with these ingredients when cooking at home.

July was the month that as a classical trumpeter, I always used to travel to Japan with The New York Symphonic Ensemble led by Mamorou Takahara. We would go for three to four weeks depending on the year. I did it for eight years and got to travel to almost every prefecture in Japan.

Learn about Shochu, Japan's oldest distilled spirit
I love shochu, I spent many hot summers in Izakayas drinking it on the rocks in Japan. It's cool, clean, and has endless varieties and possibilities. Shochu is distilled and can be made from rice, potato, buckwheat, barley, molasses, as well as others.

The moment you all have been waiting for, hot saké vs cold saké, what is the deal? Am I doing it wrong?
Here are a few common misconceptions about Japanese saké- “hot saké generally is bad quality” and “All saké has to be consumed hot”

Growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut, I didn't eat a lot of uni. In fact I don't think I had sushi until I was 18, which was a California roll from a supermarket.

Growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut, I didn't eat a lot of uni. In fact I don't think I had sushi until I was 18, which was a California roll from a supermarket.

Did you hear the news? Tampopo Kitchen got its liquor license! That means sake and beer with your premium sushi! Now you can come, sit, sip and slurp, and sushi (is that a verb?).

Hi neighbors! We are so excited about our new dine in setup, and we want you to try it! Here is a coupon for $10 off your first dine in experience at Tampopo Kitchen, (dine in only, exp. 6/15/22), with any purchase over $30. Show this to your server to redeem.

In case you missed last episode, I'll recap, we were talking about different kinds of dining styles found in Japan. Two weeks ago, we featured "omakase" or chef's choice.