Namu’s gamja fries = New Fusion
Photo: Jen Siska/SF Weekly
Jonathan Kauffman took a moment on Friday to respond to Michael Bauer’s blog post about the disappearance of Asian fusion as we knew it in the 90s. Kauffman writes, “Unlike Bauer, I think that the Bay Area is seeing a new, and glorious, wave of fusion cuisine. We’re just not calling it ‘fusion’ because most of the chefs who cook it aren’t white.”
He cites the food at Ame, Dennis Lee’s work at Namu, and Sarah Kirnon’s California-Caribbean dishes at Hibiscus as examples of where “more organic, more creative, more personal, more skillful cooking” has supplanted the ginger Caesar salads of yore. And yes, thank god they have.
Reports on the Death of Fusion Are Greatly Exaggerated: A Response to Michael Bauer [SFoodie]