Sushi is still widely regarded as an exotic delicacy in Milwaukee, but in 1990, when Fujiko Yamauchi began managing Koto, Milwaukee’s first Japanese restaurant, it was relatively unheard of.
In 1993, Yamauchi moved on from Koto and took over Izumi’s (2150 N Prospect Ave), currently Milwaukee’s longest running Japanese restaurant, and has seen the city’s perception of sushi and Japanese food evolve first hand.
“From 1993 until I moved to our current location (in 2003) I mainly worked behind the sushi bar,” Yamauchi remembers. “I would have some customers that would wait for 45 minutes to one and a half hours to sit at the sushi bar, even if there were tables available, because they wanted to watch me make it.”
In recent years, as sushi has become more mainstream, there isn’t the same level of mystique. Foodies are accustomed to California rolls and shrimp tempura. Yamauchi sees this as an opportunity to push herself in new directions, and she does this by creating new rolls and tweaking old recipes. Still, authenticity is the most important thing to Yamauchi, and every recipe is based off of traditional Japanese cooking.
“As a Japanese person, when I make sushi I make it with my spirit,” Yamauchi says. “I still work in the kitchen and behind the sushi bar. I enjoy that a lot. I love adding little touches, and thinking about what the customer would like. I think that’s the thing that’s kept me going for the last 23 years.”
|
|
Yamauchi is now moving into new areas of Japanese cuisine. Two years ago Izumi’s began experimenting with ramen, a food that conjures images of college dorm rooms and salty flavor packets for many, but Yamauchi’s ramen is far from that. Originally from Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan, which is considered the birthplace of Tonkotsu ramen, Yamauchi has perfected her recipe over the years. She admittedly did not know how to make ramen broth at first, which she says is the most important part, but worked on her recipe until she felt that it was ready to be tasted by the public. She now has three flavors of ramen she serves every Thursday, with a group of regulars loyal to the soup.
After years of being in the restaurant industry, and becoming arguably the foremost expert on sushi in the city, you could expect Yamauchi to be content with her legacy, and let someone else take the reigns at Izumi’s someday, but she has no intention of doing that any time soon. Her passion for making and serving gourmet Japanese food to Milwaukee has far from waned.
“When I see our customers “ahhh” and “muuum” moment, that is my happiest time,” she says. “Running Izumi’s was my passion 23 years ago, and it is still my passion.”
