Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Honmura An: Part Deux


In my very first entry on this blog, I found there to be a lot of uncertainty around the reason for the closing of Honmura An. My initial reaction was to blame the greedy Soho landlords, but it has come to my attention that they are not responsible for the closure. According to Page One, Kobari-san (i.e. Koichi Kobari) closed Honmura An in order to head home to take over the family restaurant back in Japan. Like any dutiful Asian son, he has returned home to fulfill family obligations. As noble as that may be, I can't help but wonder, what about his obligations to us loyal New York patrons?

Well now we have reason for hope. In that same entry, I was outraged that Jean-Georges, a loyal patron of Honmura An, did nothing in his power to stop the soba temple from closing. Well I recently learned from a friend that Jean-Georges is transforming his Chinese restaurant 66 into an upscale Japanese soba joint. I have to say that I am always a little skeptical when an Asian restaurant is run by a non-Asian chef. So to quote the favourite phrase of my company's CEO, I remain "cautiously optimistic."

1 comment:

Ilan said...

i'm not as diplomatic as you are which is why i am saying - i have a hard time believing jean george's soba place will be nearly as yummy as our beloved honmura an...

but good to finally know why they left!