THE HOST OF THE TRAVEL CHANNEL series, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, once observed that if you take a tour through New York’s top Italian and French kitchens, the best chefs all seemed to come from Mexico. You likely won’t get any argument about that from Izanami restaurant (at Ten Thousand Waves) owners Deborah Fleig and Duke Klauck, who hired Veracruz native, Jose “Kiko” Rodriguez. At that time, Kiko was completely inexperienced in Japanese cuisine, which happened to be the specialty of the restaurant. A mere five years later, he has transformed it into a renowned gastropub in the izakaya style, characterized in part by an emphasis on small plates.
After starting as a dishwasher at The Anasazi Restaurant, Bar & Lounge, he graduated to grill work, and spent eight years creating tapas at La Boca and Taberna—building ingredients for what has become Izanami’s unique mingling of Japanese and Mexican cuisines.
Veracruz is where I’m from. Growing up, I didn’t even know how to cook an egg, but always watched my mom and grandma. Cooking was an important part of our heritage, although I didn’t really get interested in it until I moved to Santa Fe. Here, it was so completely different from Mexico; there were much better opportunities. You didn’t have to go to school for years to be a chef…you just had to have a love and passion for food. Of course, when I started cooking here, I still had to call my mom to ask how she did this and that. [Laughs]
So, I visited my sister in Santa Fe, and as soon as I came felt connected to the city. It was so calm, so beautiful. I thought maybe I should stay, and never left.
A dishwasher at The Anasazi: that was my first job. But the chef, Martin Rios, came to me and said, “I think you should be cooking, not doing dishes.” I agreed! I started prepping, grilling, and sautéing, and completely fell in love. From that time, my dream was to be a chef.
When I came to Izanami, the food was traditional Japanese. The owners, Deborah and Duke, liked my tapas at La Boca and Taverna and believed that I could do something unique. I asked, “Are you aware that I have absolutely no experience in Japanese cuisine?” But they said they believed in me. A month later, Duke came to me and said, “We have to meet.” I thought, “It’s over,” but he said they loved what I was doing and wanted me to be permanent chef.
This is not a fancy restaurant. It’s where you go to have small plates and a beer or a nice sake with friends. Our small plates are called izakaya, but that word actually means a type of bar. We’re casual, like a bar.
To me, the best thing on the menu is the chirashizushi. It’s a Japanese rice bowl with three to four kinds of sashimi, house-made smoked soy, fish eggs, vegetables, wakame, and wasabi root from Japan…real wasabi.
When I started, there was no fish on the menu. We’re in the middle of the desert, so there’s no fish, but I’m from Veracruz! There’s a lot of fish happening there. It took a couple of years, but I proved I could get it. Now we get regular shipments from Japan. We started with fish as specials only, but now have it everywhere.
Wagyu short ribs with ancho in the braising liquid. That’s the secret.
When I cook at home, I don’t make Japanese food. After all, I eat at the restaurant five days a week. I have three kids, so I make a lot of traditional, family-style meals like pastas, pizzas, and soups.
I like to eat out. When it’s my day off and I don’t feel like cooking, I ask my kids where they want to go. “As long as it’s not izanami,” I’ll say, but every time they ask for izanami! [Laughs]
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Photo Andy Johnson
