This month's issue.

• Shibusashirazu is a band
• Hajjar Wins Basketball Pool
• Coffee Anyone?
• Le Cordon Bleu
• Five Star Ramen

From the Editors:

Hello and thanks again to everyone who submitted (and are planning to submit) to the FIA Monthly. Without our subscribers, our newsletter would be nothing!

You may have noticed that we are sporting a fancy new look this month. Have any suggestions, opinions or praise?-don't be shy: write and let us know what you think..

If you have an article or review to submit, please get it to the PP Committee by May 12. Any submissions should be between 150 to 350 words.

Have a Great and Safe Golden Week!

You will have noticed that that we are missing a piece by the Japanese staff this month. We apologise for any disappointment this has caused, and we look forward to next month' Nihongo contribution.

SHIBUSASHIRAZU - BY PHIL SNIDER

Shibusashirazu is a band.
Shibusashirazu means…well, I don't know what it means. Ask a student, and they usually giggle then furrow their brow and say they don't know. I said band, but collective might be more accurate, since they may include anywhere from 7 to 35 musicians on a given night. I suppose they are a jazz group, but they can play almost anything: big band compositions, klezmer (Jewish jazz), funk, perhaps a blues piece, strange anthems, ballads, all in a Ringling Brothers houseband sort of way.
They can be quite noisy at times. I quote noted critic Karen Longwell: "I thought they were warming up".
Perhaps they were. Tunes may change drastically from night to night depending on the line-up and their mood. The bass player conducts them with a series of nods and gestures from his seat at the back. A mix of men and women, they are all great players. And they really do play in every sense of the word - there's always lots of joking and chatting on the bandstand. They can be very tight or very loose, but they are always very good.
And if a crazed big band isn't enough, please add the delightful moves of go-go dancers Pero and Sayaka who, in their red (or green or blue or white or pink) wigs and matching mini's, spin and shimmy at stage front. And if that isn't enough, please add a half dozen or so Butoh dancers. Butoh is a profoundly alien, post-WWII Japanese dance form, where the dancers shave their heads, wear next to no clothing, paint their bodies grey, and generally wander around in slow motion grimacing and contorting. The Butohs add a surreal element to the show and are an interesting contrast to the more colorful go-gos. They may wear masks or flashing Christmas lights. They may go through the audience making faces and feeding popcorn to people. They may join Pero and Sayaka in a cancan during the finale. They may not show up at all.
Lastly, Shibusashirazu is, in a modest way, quite popular, so the live house is usually packed to the rafters. It is a bit like being on the Yamanote during rush hour, with a band, crazy dancers, and everyone yelling and singing. All that's missing is having your nose flattened against a window. The only predictable element is that you never really know what's going to happen. I suppose after seeing them a half dozen times or so, I may be considered a Shibuhead.
I managed to convince Andrew, Karen, Tony, and Lorna to see them at the Shinjuku Pitt Inn on February 1st. They tell me they enjoyed themselves. Andrew, a little jaded perhaps from too many Code shows, remained noncommittal in the club. But afterwards even he was humming the tune from the final anthem all the way to Le Alladin. And he has consented to see them again in Ueno during Golden Week. Entranced by the Butohs, Karen soon separated herself from the group to squeeze her way to a better vantage point at the front. Mercifully for Stewart's blood pressure, her plan to implement Butoh teaching techniques was cut short by early retirement. Lorna spent the evening staring at the backs of the band's tallest fans, who would intuitively shift into her line of vision no matter where she moved. We were denied the obvious solution: to hoist her on our shoulders. Her unyielding sense of dignity made her unhoistable. Meanwhile Tony, as befits a budding DoS, remained calm and in control and documented the spectacle with his camera. The surrounding natives seemed unduly interested in this and would yell "OOOOWAH FURASHU" each time he snapped a pic. Perhaps they didn't appreciate being temporarily blinded in the name of art. Myself, well, it all seems so easily avoidable in retrospect. I had only to remember: right hand, beer, left hand, communal beer-can ashtray. In the heat of the moment, I took a significant gulp from the ashtray. Better tasting than shiokara, but definitely not recommended. Anyway, it was fun. They are fun. If anyone wants to hear or see them, let me know.

HAJJAR WINS BASKETBALL POOL BY STEVE DURST

Sell all your investments and use the money to buy a sports car.
Call your parents and tell them how much you love them.
The Apocalypse is upon us.
Tony Hajjar has won the FIA March Madness Basketball Pool!
In a strange twist on the adage "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing", Tony has proven that "No knowledge can be a profitable thing".
In its 5th year of existence, this year's basketball pool lived up to the term 'March Madness', the nickname for the NCAA tournament on which it is based. The National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament brings together the top 64 college teams in the US. It's a single elimination tournament which means "You lose, you're out." The Tournament is divided into 4 regions and eventually the teams are whittled down to 2, which play for the National Title. Syracuse beat Kansas to become National Champions for the first time. (Although that was nowhere near as surprising as Tony's victory).
Hamaker started out quickly, predicting 29 out of 32 1st round games correctly. But, as anyone who has ever drunk with Brett knows, he's got the stamina of a sumo wrestler in the off-season. As expected, he faded like a New Kids on the Block poster. Tony and Larry Wiebe crept into contention, with Tony eventually coming out on top. Bruce Chau and Steve Durst threatened at various points throughout, but Tony scoffed at these pretenders-to-the-throne .
Tony's windfall? A cool 14,000 yen!
Doesn't really matter though, seeing as the world is about to end and all!

COFFEE, ANYONE?- BY VAN HUTCHINSON

I don't know about you guys, but there are times when I've just got to eat food from home. Fortunately, you'll find quite a few foreign food stores around the prefecture that have a good selection. The best one I know is KALDI COFFEE FARM in Shimizu's S-Pulse Dream Plaza. I love that place but it can be a bit of a pain to get to. Well, good news! Now they've opened another, more conveniently located, store in Shizuoka's City's Shin-Shizuoka Center. It's downstairs in the food basement (of course) and it carries a very nice selection of items from various countries. What's more, it's THE place to get everything you need for good Mexican food, like jalapeno peppers (the real thing, not just a sauce) and corn or flour tortillas! KALDI COFFEE FARM is also a fun place to browse as you enjoy a cup of their free coffee, but, "Warning, Will Robinson," the aisles are narrow with lots of stock on the shelves and stacked on cartons so be careful if you have a backpack, which you'll probably need. On a scale of 0 (awful) to 5 (fabulous), this place rates a four (shopping bags, that is).

LE CORDON BLEU BY BARBARA A. JONES (PART 1)

Having come from the land of jumbo-sized meals, I must admit that I have become an unapologetic convert to smaller portions served here in Japan. I believe there are a number of benefits in eating more modestly. This may be seen as culinary treason in some parts of my country, but I shall face the winds of controversy should they come. And so, I confess that the dishes Michelle Metz and I saw prepared by French master chef Bernard Guilhaudin at Le Cordon Bleu Cooking Academy on March 22nd, indeed were beautiful, but abridged.
But, imagine having the chance to watch Master Chefs at work, being encouraged to ask as many questions as you want---the more the better and then, getting a chance to eat the meal they have prepared. This is an opportunity that most 'foodies' couldn't pass up.
You will find the Tokyo branch of the famous Le Cordon Bleu of Paris one stop from Shibuya station on the Tokyu-Tohoku subway line, and about a 10-minute walk from the Daikanyama station. Nestled amongst the upscale boutiques and restaurants of Daikanyama, Le Cordon Bleu has a small demonstration kitchen on the first floor, a large kitchen in the back and one downstairs. Students wishing to complete one or all of the three professional certificates in Basic, Intermediate or Advanced French cuisine or Patisserie (and bread baking), and amateur cooks can take demonstration-only classes, or demo classes which are followed by a regular class or a meal. The Yokohama site offers the Patisserie coursework only in day, or evening/weekend programs.
The two-hour class and meal cost Y6,300. If you'd like more information about future short classes and the free, upcoming 'Open Houses' at both academies in May, please contact the Tokyo Le Cordon Bleu at
03-5489-0141 or the Yokohama Academy at 045-440-4720.
How did Barbara and Michelle fare in the cooking class? Find out next month in The FIA Monthly!!

FIVE STAR - BY TONY HAJJAR

Some say that a truly fine dining experience requires going to a five star restaurant. Some say that you have to spend a lot of money to have truly good food. Some say that the meal must be prepared by a Cordon Bleu chef in order for it to be truly good. Some say that there's no way you can find a great place to eat near Ooka Station in Numazu. To all of this I say, "Nonsense!" You can enjoy truly fine dining at Five Star Ramen. Not quite a five star restaurant, but the name says it all. You certainly don't have to spend half your salary on a meal there. In fact, a bowl of ramen at Five Star Ramen goes for about 500 or 600 yen. I really don't have any idea if the chef at Five Star Ramen is a Cordon Bleu chef, but he serves the greatest ramen in Shizuoka Prefecture. And guess what? Five Star Ramen is located just around the corner from Ooka Station.
Now don't get me wrong. I appreciate a special meal prepared by a Cordon Bleu chef. And I don't mind paying an arm and leg for eating a great meal at a fancy restaurant. Not for an arm, but perhaps for a leg…a leg of lamb, chicken legs or maybe frog legs. There are many exquisite leg dishes, but not many arm dishes that I'm aware of. In any event, I'm certainly willing to spend the money in order to enjoy the atmosphere and special dining experience of a really good restaurant. Having said that, I've enjoyed the experience of eating really delicious ramen at Five Star Ramen, which is not a fancy restaurant and not expensive at all. In fact, the place couldn't be more casual and it's downright cheap.
The first time I went to Five Star Ramen, I thought I'd simply enjoy the noodles as I had enjoyed so many bowls of ramen before. Alistair Bain took me there when I was team teaching with him at Numazu Factory. It was quite decent of him. But of course, Al is quite a decent fellow. We enjoyed the ramen, the atmosphere and each other's company. It was then that I realized that all ramen is not created equally. Up until that time I thought that exceptional ramen was only to be found in Kyushu, Osaka and Hokkaido. Well, I was wrong. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had been wrong all this time, and that there are four places, and not merely three, where you can get exceptional ramen.
Ever since my first experience at Five Star Ramen, I look forward to going to Al's location to substitute. One, because I like Al's OJT members and I enjoy teaching them, and two, because I know that I will get to have ramen for lunch. I know that some of you think that "ramen is ramen." I used to think that before I had the opportunity to compare. Now that I have though, I firmly believe that there's good ramen and there's great ramen. I've never actually had bad ramen, but I've had mediocre ramen at a couple of restaurants that don't specialize in it. You really need to go to a ramen shop to have good, great or exceptional ramen. This is just such a shop. So if you want an exceptional noodle experience, go to Five Star and check it out. On the other hand, if you don't like ramen, then pay no attention to any of this.