Gaijin - East Meets Midwest

Aug. 5, 2016

Thanks to gastro-entrepreneur Simon Joseph, your culinary horizons, your cultural insight, and your food vocabulary are all about to expand. Or they may have already, if you’re one of the lucky ones who has discovered Gaijin, Traverse City’s first and only Japanese ramen shop, since it opened on June 10 on Front Street in downtown Traverse City.

“In Japanese, the name literally means ‘foreign person’ or ‘outside person,’” said Joseph.

“But it’s not a derogatory term — it’s just a matter of fact. It’s not really a term of endearment, either, though it can be. Typically, it’s just like ‘This is my Gaijin friend,’ because that’s what you are. So we feel that since we are literally ‘outside people’ doing ramen in a traditional way, the name makes a lot of sense.”

OODLES OF (HOMEMADE) NOODLES

Joseph, who kick-started the local food truck revolution with his Roaming Harvest food truck, now a summer fixture at The Little Fleet just three blocks to the east, and the small-but-mighty, brick-and-mortar Harvest, which made the alley between Front and State streets the hip place to catch a bite, has established a reputation for taking local, seasonal ingredients and showcasing them in new and intriguing ways. He is applying that concept to his latest venture as well. “We’re starting with a very good, highquality product from Sun Noodle, who is a major player in the ramen game. But I have imported a Japanese ramen machine, and we’ll soon be making our own noodles with locally grown and milled wheat from Grand Traverse Culinary Oils and Flours on the Leelanau Peninsula. By incorporating this local wheat, it is more traditional, in some ways, than importing noodles from Japan,” said Joseph. “Our job is not necessarily to replicate any certain style or certain ramen — and there are hundreds of them — but to respect the local ‘terroir,’ as they do in Japan.”

That kind of care to preserve authenticity is carried through in the open, airy interior design of the restaurant, which — thanks to a complete renovation — exhibits no trace whatsoever of its former life as a Subway chain restaurant. To achieve this dramatic transformation, Joseph enlisted the help of Traverse City’s Mike Albaugh from Nuart Signs (who also is responsible for Gaijin’s endearingly wacky “GCat” logo) and Peter Smith from Design- Smiths. On the one hand, the new space is very Zen, with its minimalist furnishings and sleek black, red and grey color palette. On the other hand, it also gives a nod to Japan’s pop culture, with a collage of huge manga art posters covering the walls. “We want the Gaijin experience to be not only good for the belly, but good for the eyes,” said Joseph.

CAN YOU SAY “KAEDAMA”?

Gaijin’s menu certainly does promise that goodness for the belly. Small and simple, resembling a tear-off slip from an order-taking pad — which it basically is — the menu is nevertheless very well organized and full of information, divided into six categories: Ramen Bowls, Snacks, Gyoza, Bao Buns, Rice Bowls, and Add-Ons. Sub-categories include listings such as Tonkotsu, Sunomono, Tatsuta Age, Niku Nuki and Chashu. Sound daunting? It isn’t. After a couple of visits, you’ll get so familiar with the terms that you’ll feel like you’re speaking Japanese when you’re ordering. “That’s one of the things we want to have happen,” said Joseph. “It’s part of the educational aspect. Our staff is trained to help our customers navigate the menu, and their T- shirts have all of the definitions printed on the back. Also, the menu is set up so that if someone doesn’t want to tackle the names, they can just say, ‘I’ll have the number R2,’ or ‘Can you tell me more about number 10?’ [Hint: It’s a handmade pork potsticker with dipping sauce.] Our primary goal is to have people feel comfortable and have fun with it. For example, ‘niku nuki’ means ‘without meat,’ and isn’t that a fun way to order a vegetarian rice bowl?” Gaijin wants to enlighten guests about certain customs associated with ramen culture as well. “What we are presenting is going to be a bit foreign to some folks, quite literally,” said Joseph. “But this is simple comfort food in Japan — like your grandma’s best bowl of soup. Essentially, with ramen, the way you can customize it and get just what you want is by adding things to your bowl. Take the soy egg, for example. It’s a component in three out of four of our ramen bowls. It is a six-minute soft-boiled egg, so the yolk has the consistency of custard. It’s peeled, shocked in an ice bath, and marinated in a combination of sake, mirin and soy sauce before being split open and put into the bowl of ramen.

The hot broth re-thermalizes it. People who love those eggs like to get an extra one as an add-on. And then there’s kaedama — extra noodles. Traditionally, you get this big bowl [15-ounce capacity], and you eat all of your noodles, and you still have broth left. Then, if you think you can handle it, you can call your server over and say ‘Kaedama!’ and he or she will bring you more noodles so you can keep going. Chashu — rolled, braised pork belly — is another thing that people often want more of, or they can add extra vegetables or a spice bomb, which is actually more flavor than heat.”

SLURP AWAY!

Slurping the noodles, by the way, is not only permitted, it’s encouraged, according to Joseph. “And it is meant to be loud,” he explained. “In Japan, it is very loud. So your bowl of ramen arrives, and you taste the broth [naturally, it’s bone broth made from scratch], and then you dive right into the toppings — you taste the egg, maybe have a little chashu, try some of the chili threads or green onion, and then slurping the noodles is the main event. Ramen is meant to be eaten fast and hot. The texture of the noodles is compromised if they sit in the broth too long. That’s why we won’t be selling ramen bowls to go. It’s not that we’re trying to be pretentious — we’re just trying to preserve the integrity of the food.”

Complementing the menu is a small and well-curated selection of beverages: Japanese beer and whiskeys, several sakes, a couple of local wines, sodas from house-made syrups, and of course, tea service.

Joseph said he had a feeling that there was a niche in this market for a real, traditional ramen shop. He emphasizes, however, that Gaijin was not solely his creation. “Sometimes people ask me how I did this, and I tell them, ‘I didn’t. It’s all the people around me. I couldn’t do this alone — no one can do it alone.’” In addition to his design team, he gives particular credit to his longtime head chef at Harvest, Mark Garneau (whose daughter was an exchange student in Japan and was able to provide some insight to the culture there), and his new head chef for Gaijin, Ryan Meade, who recently relocated to the area from Portland and brought valuable experience and knowledge to the table. “We have created a place that really is all about the food. It’s not about coming in and spending a lot of money and a lot of time. It’s about coming in and having a great, affordable meal that’s a bit different from what you can get elsewhere in this area, and being able to enjoy it in a cool space. And from the response we’ve had since opening, even I may have underestimated the demand here for a good bowl of noodles! I think it’s the right time for it.”

Gaijin is located at 136 East Front St. in Traverse City. Open Tuesday–Saturday, 11am to 10pm. For more information, visit gaijintc. com, check out Gaijin’s Facebook page, or call 231-421-5466. $