Ozu Restaurant and Market: Japanese Home Cooking in Santa Fe
I ve been following Jeffrey Ozawa s adventures in the food industry ever since my friend and his older sister Melissa... Photography by Jaimie Lewis. ...showed me photos of the sumptuous traditional Japanese dishes he would prepare for their family gatherings at their childhood New Jersey home When he and his girlfriend, Jaimie Lewis, moved to LA and started a catering company that specialized in artfully presented bento meals, I followed along on Instagram. Moving to the desert Southwest to open a traditional Japanese eatery may seem a fool’s errand, but Jeffrey understands that food has the power to transport. “The purpose of Ozu and Tenzo now is to create a bridge between my community in the United States and my community in Japan,” says Jeffrey. Jaimie and Jeffrey in their light-filled restaurant on Lena Street. It is my great honor that they are all Ozu regulars,” says Jaimie. The Japanese character on the sign means small. Within his films there is a nostalgic feeling that I’ve tried to capture at the restaurant,” says Jeffrey. “The blue and white checkered noren is from a historic villa in Kyoto. The motif has become popular recently,” says Jaimie. Hard-to-find Japanese pantry items greet visitors. Research has always been my passion and is the root of why I started Tenzo. The picture by the door is a reproduction of a gyotaku print made by artist Dwight Hwang. An Ozu summer special: somen, Japanese cold noodles. The counter was treated with five coats of AFM Safecoat Polyureseal BP a low VOC finish that beautifully preserves the grain... ...and tone of the wood without yellowing and provides a strong barrier to the abuse that restaurant counters inevitably take says Jaimie Ozu’s menu is inspired by some of Jeffrey’s favorite childhood dishes. Onigiri, ochazuke, and bento are all things I would eat when I was a kid. Jeffrey, forming rice balls for onigiri.