PR and I go back and forth on this a lot: he has a small, but justified moral objection to the name of this blog. He sees it as appropriative, since I don’t speak the language (well). I see the title, in the words of the inimitable, irascible Aaron Sorkin, in one of his most underrated series: “[as] a tacit admission of guilt and a silent act of contrition and that’s what’s required here.” I know I’m being bad, I know I’m taking beans from the witch’s garden, so I’m apologizing right up front for being the worst definition of a “gaijin.”

…But the food is So. Damn. Tasty.

Anthony Bourdain (my other husband? I have so many!) brought up the same question of authenticity and letting the horde in at the gate in this article from Salon from 2014. It’s an interesting read and codifies a lot of my concerns about what I’m doing.

But the food is still So. Damn Tasty!

In my defense:

“David Chang is authentic for sure in that he is sincerely offering the most kick*ss food around.”  – Alexander Chee

Against me stands the question:

“…At what point [does] cultural appropriation become exploitative inside a global economy that profits off the backs of brown bodies that consumers don’t like to talk about, especially when their mouths are full with exquisite morsels of deliciousness…Must good food also be ethically ‘good’? Or is it only required to be ‘tasty’?” – Paula Young Lee

I don’t have the answers. I’m just trying to make the food that I love; food I can’t get anywhere around here. I do so with my head bowed. I pray that’s enough.