Rant: Why Boston Restaurants Should Emulate Tokyo Restaurants

Should Boston restaurants specialize more? Are Boston restaurant menus too large? 

Let's begin with a couple interesting statistics and comparisons. In Boston, which has an approximate population of 674,000, there are about 4300 restaurants, which roughly works out to 1 restaurant per 156 people. In Tokyo, which has an approximate population of 14.2 Million, there are about 300,000 restaurants, which roughly works out to 1 restaurant per 47 people.

The culinary scene in Tokyo is renowned throughout the world. In Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture (2015) by Matt Goulding, he wrote: "There are a dozen factors that make Japanese food so special—ingredient obsession, technical precision, thousands of years of meticulous refinement—but chief among them is one simple concept: specialization." Matt got a bit more down to earth, adding "...in Japan, the secret to success is choosing one thing and doing it really fucking well." In Super Sushi Ramen Express (2016) by Michael Booth, he commented on Tokyo restaurants. "Many of them specialize in just one style of cooking, or even just one dish. And this is the key, I think, to the unparalleled wealth of Tokyo's dining scene."

Maybe this type of specialization would benefit Boston restaurants.

How many Boston restaurants specialize in one type of food, carrying only a very limited menu? Very few. Most have far larger menus, providing numerous choices so they will appeal to a broader audience. Consider the numerous Asian restaurants which offer Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and other Asian cuisines on a single menu. Do you actually receive the best food from such spots? Probably not. Do the restaurants employ true experts in all of those cuisines? Probably not. With such a huge menu, how can you be assured of the freshness of all of the ingredients? You probably can't. The food might be good, but it rarely excels. 

Now, consider that 311 Omakase, which received Boston's only Michelin Star last year, is a more specialized restaurant, offering only an omakase experience of Japanese cuisine. And a number of the other Michelin recommended restaurants in Boston also tend to be more specialized, at least concentrating on a single type of cuisine, from Korean to Thai. 

Why do so few Boston area restaurants specialize? I think the primary reason has to do with the average restaurant goer who feels entitled that they should be able to get almost anything they want at any restaurant. Rather than enjoying what is offered on the menu, some complain about what isn't there. And that outcry has caused some restaurants to give in to their demands, expanding their menu to include items that might have been outside of their original concept. 

It's a tough position for restaurants. I'm sure some would love to specialize, to have a more limited menu but financially that can be very difficult. Yet with a more limited menu, the quality of what was offered could potentially be increased. Those chefs could excel at what they produce, creating an even better product. However, the main problem becomes trying to transform the customer base to be more accepting of such limited menus. Customers need to be convinced that higher quality food, from more specialized restaurants, needs their support and patronage. 

We must throw our support to these brave restaurants which take the risk to be more specialized. We need to convince our fellow diners that they too should support such restaurants. People have to stop thinking that a restaurant menu must cater to every customer's desires. A restaurant serving multiple different cuisines can't possibly provide top quality food for their entire voluminous menu. Customers must accept a restaurant menu's limitations, and savor what is available. 

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
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1) Throughout July and August, all Burtons Grill & Bar  locations will feature their premium lobster rolls – served either chilled Maine-style or warm Connecticut-style – for just $29. Now in its third year, Burtons tradition of lobster rolls feature five ounces of fresh tail, claw, and knuckle meat to achieve a fine bite of sweetness, tenderness, and texture. Lobster lovers can enjoy it Maine-style, chilled with housemade aioli, or Connecticut-style, warm and buttered, both served in a buttery brioche bun alongside French fries. Reflecting Burtons’ longstanding dedication to those with food allergies and dietary restrictions, both lobster rolls also are available gluten free.

2) Celebrating the best tastes of summer, Coach Grill in Wayland will feature a summer prix fixe menu through August 1. Available nightly, diners will have their choice of a collection of appetizers, mains and dessert over three courses. For starters, there is a watermelon and feta salad with basil and honey-lime vinaigrette in addition to chilled gazpacho with crème fraîche. Entrées include a spicy tuna poke bowl with avocado, cucumber, sushi rice and sesame; marinated steak tips with whipped potatoes; and lightly breaded chicken Milanese topped with an arugula salad and shaved parmesan. For dessert, indulge in a key lime tart with raspberry coulis and vanilla Chantilly cream.

COST: Three-course prix fixe: $55 per person
RESERVE: For reservations, please visit OpenTable.

Fried Chicken Street Vendors in Boston

Imagine you're walking down a street in downtown Boston, and you see a man on the corner, a street vendor, holding a basket full of fried chicken. Would you purchase a piece? 

Over 100 years ago, that was an actual option!    

The Boston Globe, February 9, 1908, published a lengthy article about "street lunch men," who sold hot dogs, chestnuts, fried smelts, and fried chicken. These vendors did a good business because the service was very quick, much faster than dining at a restaurant, and the food was very inexpensive. So, there were plenty of street vendors, competing for the many customers. 

However, a few weeks prior to this article, the city of Boston instituted a new law where these numerous vendors had to obtain a license, and pay a $5 fee, to sell food on the streets. In addition, their sales were now being restricted to specific streets. This drastically reduced the number of street vendors, although the numbers might have increased after a time, when they realized the fee was relatively small, compared to their potential profits. 

These street vendors could make a significant profit, from 100-300%, depending on the specific night and the specific product. For example, it was estimated that it cost a hot dog vendor about 20 cents to buy 18 raw hot dogs (one pound) and rolls, but that the vendor could sell each dog for 5 cents, generating sales of 90 cents, making a profit of 70 cents. A good hot dog vendor could thus make $35-$45 a week (about $1200-$1600 in today's dollars). The roast chestnut vendors could make even more money, from $40-$90 a week! 

The article continued, "A choice delicacy of the curb lunch is fried chicken. It is the top liner, too, as to price, commanding double and in some instances, triple the rate of the more plebeian edibles of the street." Nowadays, hot dog and sausage carts are popular on the streets of Boston, but have you ever seen a fried chicken cart? Sure, there are food trucks that sell fried chicken, but what about small carts? Or even just a man carrying a basket of fried chicken? There are plenty of hot dog and sausage carts near Fenway Park, but I've never seen a fried chicken cart or basket there. 

Back around 1908, nearly all of the fried chicken vendors were black men, and they had to pay the $5 fee for a license to sell. Unlike the hot dog vendors, the fried chicken vendors generally didn't limit themselves to any particular curb spot, but kept on the move, following where the customers might be. "Garbed in a short coat and long apron of white, and carrying on one arm a capacious basket, in which is his supply of chicken, he flits about from place to place on those downtown streets of the city...."  Rather than have a stall or cart, they simply carried their chicken in a basket, allowing them to easily travel around with their food for sale.  

What were the economics of this business? The article writer spoke to one of the chicken vendors, learning the fascinating details. The vendor had started the night having first purchased 50 chickens, totaling 135 pounds, at ten cents a pound, making his total cost $13.50. Each chicken could then be cut into six pieces, making a total of 300 pieces, and once fried, each piece would sell for 10 cents. That generated total sales of $30.00, making a profit of $16.50. And it only took that vendor two hours to sell out of his chicken. A fried chicken vendor could make as much, if not more, than a roast chestnut vendor. 

Unfortunately, the article didn't describe how the fried chicken was prepared. It seems likely that the vendor fried the chicken at his home, but did he do the actual frying, or did some other member of his family, such as his wife, fry the chicken, or at least assist in its preparation? In addition, how long did it take to prepare all that chicken, such as frying 300 pieces? Plus, were the various vendors using different recipes to make their fried chicken, and thus were certain vendors considered to be superior due to their recipe? 

The photo at the top of this article is of John B. Campbell, who lived in the West End, and who was known as "the original fried chicken man of Boston." He was the first fried chicken vendor in Boston, and had been working as such in the West End for several years. "He was patronized quite largely by actors and actresses from the vaudeville houses and popular-priced theatres who stop at West End hotels during their engagements here and take a piece or two of his fried chicken with them to their rooms for lunch."

Unfortunately, I've been unable to locate any more information about John Campbell, although I suspect his story would be quite fascinating. What led him to become a fried chicken vendor? How long, after 1908, did he continue to sell fried chicken? Did he assist the other fried chicken vendors, or were they viewed as competition? Did his family get involved in the business? So many answered questions. 

Today, it probably would be impossible for any street vendor to obtain a license, especially because of hygiene restrictions, to sell fried chicken out of a basket on the streets of Boston. However, it's an intriguing piece of Boston history as well as local black history. 

Rant: Touch Your Food & Enjoy It More

I don't believe it's a coincidence that some of our favorite foods, from burgers to hot dogs, lobster rolls to tacos, pizza to French fries, are held in our hands as we eat them. With summer here, we will likely enjoy more of these such foods.  

When we pick up these foods with our hands and bite into them, this creates a greater connection between us and our food. There isn't an intermediary of metal, wood or plastic utensils which might interfere with our enjoyment of these foods. Although of course there are some people who do eat such foods with a knife and fork. This may create a disconnect between them and that food.  

This is all a psychological issue, and one which most people don't even think about except on an unconscious level. They understand the enjoyment of these foods and can describe in the detail many of the reasons for such, except they will rarely mention that part of the reason, and probably an important element, is that they can touch the food.

Eating with your hands can even lead to you licking your fingers, savoring the sauce, condiments, cheese, frosting, and other items that might accumulate on your skin. There's a greater intimacy involved in eating food with your hands, one which we appreciate though usually on a deeper level. Yes, you can enjoy food which you eat with a knife and fork, but there is something more satisfyingly primal with being able to use your hands.

What may make us think more closely about this issue is when we are confronted with a situation outside of the norm, when we are unable to eat a certain item with our hands that usually we should be able to do so. For example, if you order a warm buttered lobster roll, but the roll falls apart, making it almost impossible to eat it as a sandwich. Or if you order a burger, with lots of extra ingredients, but it's too large, too thick for you to bite, or too messy to eat with your hands. There's a real sense of disappointment with these food fails, as you actually wanted to eat them with your hands but were thwarted in doing so. 

You lose part of the essential aspect of the dish, the direct connection of flesh to food. I'm not sure all restaurants understand how certain foods should not require utensils to enjoy, that part of the allure is being able to hold them in your hands as you eat them. Do your own test at home. Try eating some foods with your hands and then try eating that same food with utensils. And I bet, if you're being honest, you will notice a difference and prefer using just your hands. 

And of course, there are plenty of foods which are not meant to be eaten with your hands. You can't eat soup with your hands. Sometimes you need a knife to cut your steak. But, if you can eat something with your hands, then do so.  

Touch your food and enjoy it more! 

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I'm back again with a new edition of Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I highlight some interesting, upcoming food and drink events. I hope everyone dines out safely, tips well and are nice to their servers.
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1) From July 2-5, Margaritas Mexican Restaurant will be the ultimate watering hole for its namesake cocktail while honoring America. The annual Independence Weekend Fiesta will be a four-day celebration with festively crafted drinks and tropical staycation vibes.

Margaritas will kick off the fiesta with a trio of red, white and blue margarita options available for only $6 each: a signature classic Margarita, a Strawberry Margarita, and a Blue Hawaiirita. From Thursday to Sunday, Margs also will be pouring a $12 margarita flight with four mini margs (original, strawberry, Blue Hawaii and blueberry).

Also featured in July is the brand’s signature “Margarita of the Month,” the Pop Star Margarita ($10) with Hornitos Plata tequila, Watermelon Pucker, coconut puree and pineapple juice finished with a watermelon Pop Rocks rim.

2) Kane’s Donuts and Vitamin Sea Brewing have teamed up to give dads something they actually want this Father’s Day: donuts and beer (well, beer in a donut). Introducing the Vitamin Sea Summer Donut, a refreshing fruit-forward glazed yeast-style donut made with Vitamin Sea Summer IPA, available exclusively Father’s Day weekend: Saturday, June 20th, and Sunday, June 21st at all Kane’s Donuts locations.

Crafted using Vitamin Sea's iconic Summer beer, a fruity, juicy New England IPA that has notes of orange, mango, and pineapple, this limited-edition donut feels like summer in every bite. It features a soft, fluffy yeast dough dipped in a glaze made with Kane’s Signature Honey Dip that has been infused with reduced Vitamin Sea Summer IPA. 

“Father’s Day is all about celebrating the dads and father figures who make life sweeter, and we’re excited to do that in true Kane’s fashion,” said Maria Delios, Co-Owner of Kane’s Donuts. “Partnering with Vitamin Sea Brewing brings together two local favorites for a fun, limited-edition donut perfect for the holiday.”

“Partnering with Kane’s Donuts for Father’s Day was a natural fit,” said Dino Funari, Co-Founder of Vitamin Sea Brewing. “They’re a beloved local brand with an incredible following, and we loved the idea of creating something fun, seasonal, and unexpected for dads to enjoy.”

The Vitamin Sea Summer Donut will be available in limited quantities at all three Kane’s locations.