Robin Garr wrote:I think Enso is still Japanese, by the way. Zen, specifically.
You are correct. Some details from Business First (story is behind paywall):
A new restaurant blending cuisine from Japan and the Southern United States is coming to the Clifton neighborhood this fall.
Ensō is a new concept from the team behind North of Bourbon, which opened in Germantown in 2021. It will be located at 1756 Frankfort Ave., across from the Silver Dollar.
North of Bourbon was founded by the husband-and-wife team of Stacy and Daniel Holyfield along with brothers Eric and Brad Jennings. Chef Lawrence Weeks, a fellow with the Southern Foodways Alliance, has served as an executive chef since the restaurant opened.
Weeks told Business First in a recent interview that he will be a partner in Ensō, which will focus on Southern cuisine with Japanese influences in ingredients and techniques. But he added that customers should not expect to find sushi and miso soup at the new restaurant.
"We're trying to make it clear that it's not a traditional Japanese restaurant," Weeks explained. "We're taking elements of Japanese and Southern foods. So, you might get an okra and tomato dish that looks like a Japanese dish. But it tastes like something my mom used to make." ...
Weeks' parents spent time in Japan, and he said Ensō was inspired by his love of the country's art and cuisine. He plans to draw parallels between Japanese and African American dishes, weaving together the similarities and bringing them to life on the plate.
"I also saw a lot of cultural parallels with Japanese and African American or African food — like rice is big in both of cultures," Weeks said. "It just felt right for me to kind of play off of the Southern aspects North of Bourbon and my love Japanese food. It is not fusion or anything. It's just a parallel tradition."