6 Questions with Katsuji Tanabe

  1. OK, so what exactly is Mexikosher?

    So MexiKosher was a really interesting concept. It was a Mexican restaurant with all kosher ingredients, under kosher supervision. We did amazing. We opened one in Beverly Hills, and we opened one on the Upper West Side of New York, in Queens. That concept was what really put me out there, that was the first restaurant I ever owned. It was like my baby for a little bit. But then I outgrew the business. And I outgrew the kosher cooking, I wanted to expand into non-kosher as well, but I am very proud of that chapter.

  2. What’s your comfort food?

    You know, there's my Japanese side and my Mexican side. My Mexican side [of cooking] is very strong because brings a lot of spice and chilies, which makes me happy. But then my Japanese side, you know, it's like, I love ramen and sashimi. So you know, if I have to pick between one of those two, I think my Mexican side is way stronger— green enchiladas or tacos, that’s my comfort food.

  3. Where do you find inspiration for your menus?

    I always say that I'm a very selfish chef. And the reason why I'm selfish is because if I crave something, I usually go and do research, and then I put it on my menu. But the inspiration, it's like, what am I craving? What have I haven't had in a long time? Or how can I take something that it's very common and make it better? So I'm always trying to not reinvent the wheel, but just add some flavor and flair to the dishes people expect to see in Mexican cooking or Japanese cooking.

  4. Do you ever get tired of cooking?

    I actually like cooking, like even last night when it was my day off, I ended up making tacos for everybody. My career is not my job. My career is my hobby. I spend most of my time like, you know, perfecting Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese food at home..

  5. What do people not realize about the Yucatán?

    It's one of the most underappreciated areas of Mexico. People know Cancun and Tulum. But when you get to experience the true Yucatán, you realize how Europe heavily influenced the area: the architecture, the food, the flavor, the cheeses, the fashion. It's very interesting because back in the day, it was easier for people from the Yucatán to go to Paris, or Holland, or Portugal, then it was to go to Mexico City. Mexico City was about a three-month trip from Yucatán, whereas they could get to Europe in like 15 or 20 days.

  6. Any ingredients unique to the Yucatán that you can’t wait to use?

    Absolutely. I think the number one ingredient will be the key limes from the region. And then the sour oranges. These are two citrus that we just can't get in the United States. It's very difficult. It's an orange that’s extremely sour, with almost no juice for it. It brings a lot of flavor. And then there's this lime that is kind of sweet, but very, very sour. People actually make soups out of that lime.