Redefining The Roll: A Conversation On Culinary Authenticity And The Sushisamba Experience
Dynamic restaurant group SUSHISAMBA is continuing to celebrate the ten month countdown to their 10 Year Anniversary by hosting a one-of-a-kind culinary experience. Wednesday, March 4th from 6 pm to 8:30 pm, SUSHISAMBA 7 (87 Seventh Avenue South, 212.691.7885) invites guests to their rooftop to meet Executive Chefs from all SUSHISAMBA locations (New York, Chicago, Miami and Las Vegas) for a unique Chef's Panel hosted by renowned author and food critic, Bob Lape. The special night of food, drink and conversation includes a discussion of culinary authenticity and how it applies to the successful SUSHISAMBA concept. In addition, guests will be served select SUSHISAMBA dishes as well as signature cocktails. Tickets are available at the SUSHISAMBA 7 restaurant for $45.
For the past five years, the concept of 'culinary authenticity' has been a topic of intrigue for gastronomes, chefs and scholars alike. In cities where international flavors are on every corner and a delivery call away - how have cultures been able to maintain the 'tradition' of their cuisine? Is Chinese food eaten in Chinatown as authentic as Chinese food eaten in Beijing? Is 'authenticity' specified in the quality of ingredients and the execution of a precise recipe - or by a restaurant's geographic location and the ethnicity of the chef preparing the cuisine? What does it mean for a dish to be 'Americanized' when America has long been the melting pot of all cultures and cuisines?
Today, every 'international' restaurant contends with philosophies on authenticity, the judgment of well-traveled (or not so well-traveled) patrons and culinary stereotypes. As they approach their 10 Year Anniversary, SUSHISAMBA reflects on the evolution of their Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian concept. Is a fusion restaurant void of authenticity because it blends the tastes and traditions of multiple cultures, essentially creating an entirely new cuisine? Or, is the creative fusion of these cuisines actually more 'authentic' in today's age, given the current and historic merging of the Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cultures? SUSHISAMBA hopes to answer these questions and many more at their first ever Chef's Panel.
Bob Lape is an Emmy Award-winning member of Who's Who in America and has had a powerful impact on the way Americans eat at home and away. He has sampled more than 13,000 restaurants around the world. His publications, programs and pronouncements span the past 39 years. As the pioneering restaurant reviewer for Crain's New York Business, a post he occupies 24 years later, and as a similar ground-breaker for the New York Law Journal, he brought careful assessments of dining possibilities to the most discriminating audiences. His daily "Dining Diary" feature on the CBS Flagship radio station in New York, aired 21 times a week, is in its 25th year. He is married to the cookbook author, food and travel writer/consultant Joanna Pruess and lives in the Bronx, NY. Both make frequent television appearances, often about their book, Seduced by Bacon, now in its fifth printing.
SUSHISAMBA offers inventive fare that unites bold Brazilian flavors, precise Japanese technique and traditional Peruvian culinary traditions on one plate. The growing restaurant group has recently opened its newest outpost in Las Vegas at The Palazzo Hotel and Casino Resort. Please see www.sushisamba.com for more information about this dynamic restaurant group.
Melanie Weitzner
Rubenstein PR
212.843.8071
mweitzner@rubensteinpr.com