The Corner Place, Gil Mok, Cerritos to Re-open 5/1/07

Yes, tomorrow, Gil Mok (The Corner Place) will re-open tomorrow under new management. I'm wringing my hands and furrowing my brow at this very cautious re-opening. Will they still have the dongchimi? Will it be as good? Will the Kalbi be just as tender? Will they keep the same shredded onion and cabbage salad?

All these things will be revealed at their Grand Opening.

I don't work for The Corner Place, and I'm not affiliated with them, but I go there damn near every week for at least one lunch. That's a 15 minute shot down the 91 and another one back. I drove by today and saw the Grand Opening sign for tomorrow and knew I'd have to make the trek back...hopefully it won't be too crowded!

New Show Dropping Today or Tomorrow

In my endearing inconsistent publishing schedule, the lastest Gastrologica will drop sometime in the indeterminate next 24 hours. I need to cut a warning to insert before the porn segment, then it can be released.

The parts that I actually let Lew talk, I found fascinating. The adult industry is a money making juggernaut, and I was particularly interested in getting a peek into this rather obscured industry.

It has nothing to do with food, but sex is like food so I say "close enough." The interview does contain persistent and graphic descriptions of sex and sexual activity, and the business of filming and producing sex, so it is not for anyone who might be offended by that subject matter. I've included it as an addendum to our regular show this week because I personally found the business interesting, and I think many of you might too. When I allowed him to speak, that is...

So What?

I know the pictures are hanging over the edge below! I would reduce them, but then you wouldn't get the full-face afterburner effect of the torched mackarel.

It tasted great, by the way.

Food Porn

Everyone knows the term, and I think some of my childish pictures have turned up on some food porn sites.

But the upcoming Gastro isn't about that. A friend of ours who runs Damaged Pictures drops by and we have a blast talking about the adult video industry. We cover everything from lighting, to psyche, to myth and of course a raw discourse on sex as a business.

Don't be a prude! You know you want to check it out. This episode of Gastro will drop in a couple of weeks, don't miss it!

What do we have here?

I like keeping things loose and fast, and I think that's reflected in my work ethic. Dan and I banged out a few shows last week, and are grinding out a few loose dialogs tomorrow night. It looks like everything is churning up (thank god for Prilosec).

This week's Gastro is the actual resurrection of Gastro. That's sort of like the Grand Opening that occurs 3 months after the actual store opening.

Why? Due to technical difficulties from wine, we realized our topical show [I know, that sounded pretty gay] should be the Passover/Easter for the first episode, and this frothing chunk of nuclear powered food talk should be dropped afterwards.

But hey, we're just nappy headed hoes. So, download this week's episode to be disappointed and left with a sort of hollow feeling because there's really no secret or drama. My current distraction is taxes...are taxes.

Some of the upcoming articles, which I think I'll rename to Broken Literary Promises, will be reviews of Providence, Mesa Grill, Joe's Seafood and a smattering of South Bay Asian joints where I experience the lush texture and sensuous form of pig ear. Ok, they're a little chewy, but I dig pig ears. This did not appear on my seder table.

Wolfgang Puck, a Chef-Whore whom I totally admire, is hopping on the foie gras ban-dwagon as well as other cruelty-free production methods. This is a noble cause, and I respect his position.

However, I'm a sociopath. I don't care or understand about the feelings or suffering of others, so I'll truly miss the Foie Gras Three Ways. It was my favorite dish.

There are still a few retail sources of foie gras accessible to consumers like us, and frankly, it is so easy to prepare you don't need to pay a chef 375% markup for 2.5 grams of seared foie gras glazed with Welch's Apricot Jam.

I've decided not to tell you about those sources so I could horde it all for myself, but Monsieur Mercel and Bristol Farm's in West Hollywood are good places to start. Take out a small business loan.

I reluctantly accept this as the inevitable outcome of the Animal Equality Movement. Even though our experience as people is eroded when a tradition or technique fades into the obscurity of history, its not necessarily a bad thing to have been able to experience it, but rationally decide it's better to think in those terms, even if it sometimes results in absurd conclusions.

For me, the sociopath, I realize it's probably not the nicest thing you can do to a goose, but it does put Pavlov to shame.

The Kobe Fraud

It's true. Like the Angus Beef Markup Conspiracy that tore through the restaurant world during the 90's, 'Kobe Beef' has now infiltrated even midrange and 99 cent Wendy's menus.

So what is Kobe beef? What is the great mystique about this meat that commands such a garish pricetag? What has The National Cattlemen's Beef Association found that makes this a perfect product for hyper-markup?

It begins with the Japanese production and raising of the cattle, and pretty much ends there. What is sold to us as 'Kobe Beef' is no more Japanese than Jackie Chan. The problem is, our Beef Industry has pulled a bait and switch on us, so we believe we're getting this extravagantly pampered meat, but we're really getting American raised Waygu beef, which isn't produced in the same way.

True Kobe beef, from the Hyogo prefecture of which Kobe is the capital, is rasied in under strict conditions of treatment. The better known practices are being beer fed and massaged by hand daily. They're so pampered, if you put one next to Elizabeth Taylor in a spa, you couldn't tell the difference.

American Kobe beef is produced from cattle imported from Japan in 1976 and 1993, but isn't raised in conformity to the Hyogo method, so much of the extreme cost of the beef isn't really reflected in the intense labor it takes to produce real Kobe beef. The assumption being the exhorbitant cost of the beef is due to the rarity and painstaking attention it takes to produce such tender, well marbled beef.

It all depends on whether you, as an educated consumer, are willing to pay upwards of $100 for 8oz of American Raised Kobe beef. Does it matter to you? You would have had to have eaten true Japanese Kobe beef in order to make a comparison, so if the beef tastes better than other breeds (say, Black Angus), then is it worth it?

This ambiguity also exists at a time where most mutually reciprocal US-Japan beef bans have been lifted. Unless a restaurant specifically calls it Japanese Kobe, chances are you're eating American Kobe.

Many restaurants propery identify the product as Waygu, or American Waygu. Some even identify it as American Kobe.

If you're wonering whats the big deal, it's because the term Kobe is associated with a premium price point. For example, a two ounce tin of Beluga caviar ran run upwards of $200. The same tin produced from American Sturgeon runs about half that because the market assumption is, although the caviar is almost indistinguishable from the Russian product, it's not Russian. Its the origin and expertise people pay the money for, not simply the food itself.

This sort of regional protection is evident in France's protection of the name 'Champagne' or Italy protecting names like Reggiano and Parma. The premium value comes from where and how it's produced, not simply quality of the product.

So, should the Beef Industry be forced to distinguish Japanese vs. American Waygu? The point may be moot. A large percent of Kobe beef is raised right here in America, produced the American way, and shipped back to Japan for consumption.

Just like Toyotas that are built in Kentucky using Mexican parts, neither country has total ownership of the product anymore. American produced Kobe may eventually obscure 'real' Kobe beef after all.