2019 Gumbo final - Book - Page 108
Traditional &
Experimental
A New Restaraunt Opens to Give a New
Spin On Poke and Sushi.
uzu, the recently-opened addition to Government
Street’s White Star Market, aims to please poke and
sushi lovers through a blend of traditional and
experimental style.
The restaurant opened its doors in December as one of White Star
Market’s vendors taking the spot formerly occupied by Jolie Pearl
Oyster Bar to give consumers an opportunity to experience diverse
poke bowls around the Mid-City area.
“We had got the opportunity just a couple months ago,” said
Jordan Ramirez, the co-owner of Yuzu, said regarding the opening
in White Star’s collection of outlets. “We thought this would be a
good concept, it wasn’t in the market yet. You don’t really have
many options in Mid-City so we thought it would be a natural fit.”
Ramirez is one half of Yuzu’s ownership, with his associate Vu Le
also serving as co-owner. In addition to Yuzu, they also own White
Star’s other Oriental-based restaurant Chow Yum Phat – which
resides only steps away. Once the window was open to install
another booth in the market, Ramirez and Le couldn’t help but say
yes.
And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Since its opening last year,
Yuzu is rolling out a menu that will change to offer even more
compelling reasons to dine.
“We opened back in the beginning of December but we kind of
had a few weeks to turn around with moving Chow Yum Phat there
and Yuzu here, so we opened with a very simple menu. “Ramirez
said. “Now we are about to release our menu with poke burritos,
cerviches… and then we will release our signature bowls.
Even though there is no clear demographic that Yuzu caters to in
addition to White Star’s inviting unity, there is plenty to offer to the
college community.
“Throughout the fall students found out about White Star Market
and we started seeing more and more,” Ramirez said. “I think
it’s become more of a place for people to actually come out on
weekends.”
To close, he remained adamant on the possibility of choice that
Yuzu, and White Star as a whole, advocate:
“It’s good to bring friends and bring a group of people where you
don’t have to settle on one type of food,” Ramirez said. “Everybody
can try something they want or try something different.”
“We always thought it’d be a good idea to do something like this
in the market, but the opportunity never came up,” Ramirez said.
“Once it came up they offered, asked if they wanted us to do it and
we said, ‘sure.’.”
In the middle of Baton Rouge’s poke restaurant boom – with
establishments opening frequently all over the area– what
separates Yuzu from the rest? The answer, according to Ramirez,
is exciting and innovative twists to a conventional poke menu that
consumers will be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.
Story // Richard Haydel
Photo // Reveille Photographer
Design // Catherine Carpenter
“What we do at Yuzu is kind of like what we do with Chow Yum
Phat,” Ramirez said. “It’s not so much traditional… Our sauces are
things that we’ve played around with,”
The sauces aren’t the only thing that the Yuzu staff finds creativity
in. The restaurant offers the promise of in-house cooking with
deviant twists, like pickled foods. “We offer pickled pork, pickled
squash, different than your traditional poke,” Ramirez said.
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