🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <33l1km$1vp@nova.umd.edu> johng@nova.umd.edu (John Gustafson) writes:
>In <33ksae$9bq@explorer.csc.com> rlooney@csc.com (Richard Looney) writes:
>
>[Bulk of message deleted]
>
>>... can anybody explain to me why almost every
>>Japanese restaurant has been taken over by the Koreans?

>Is this what you have discovered?  Or is it possible that the large
>Korean-American population in this area makes it likely that more
>restaurants will be operated by them than by Japanese-Americans?

     I'm under the (possibly wrong) impression that selling Japanese food
could give a better profit margin. For example, someone who complains about
$2 wanton soup may not be too reluctant to pay $4 for four pieces of
California rolls. That's why quite a few Korean/Chinese restaurants also
have Japanese food in their menu? There seem to be some Korean/Chinese
owners who'd rather go with Japanese food only, too. It's quite easy in this
area to end up in a Japanese restaurant where you can order in Korean or
Chinese but not in Japanese.
 
>Should Korean-owned restaurants not offer Japanese food?

     I don't think there is anything wrong with that as long as that is
(sarcasm mode on) "Japanese" food. B-) (off)

>While I generally prefer Korean food, I appreciate the variety
>available in Korean-Japanese restaurants and it hasn't occurred to
>me to evaluate the restaurant by looking at the ethnicity of its
>ownership.  

     It is true that there are many Korean (or whatever) chefs who can cook
excellent Japanese dish just like there are numerous Japanese chefs who
are very good at French cooking. However, if I had options between a
Mexican-owned Mexican restaurant and, say, an Indian-owned Mexican restaurant,
I'd try the former first. The same goes for an Indian-owned Indian restaurant
and an Mexican-owned Indian restaurant, too. That's because I stereotypically
expect more authenticity at the place where the ethnicity of the food and
that of the owner/chefs are the same.

>I hope you'll
>feel as I do about <cliche warning on> variety being the spice
>of life!

     True enough. For some customers, Koreanized Japanese food may be
more appreciable than authentic Japanese food. I might find Italian-Greek
tastier than genuine Greek. There is no accounting for tastes. And the
variety would make no accounting necessary. 

--Michiaki