In the world of L.A. punk, it's common to pay the bills with a kitchen job. For most, the two passions exist side-by-side but never touch. By day, they cook in the heat of L.A.'s kitchens; by night, they burn it down in the city's thriving underground punk scene.
But as of this week, that separation is officially over for Japanese fine dining and punk veteran Tsubasa Muratani, whose worlds are colliding in the form of his long-awaited punk rock Japanese Izakaya in Little Tokyo, FUNHOUSE.
“Somewhere, along the last 20 years of me playing guitar, I discovered that cooking is as fun as playing punk rock music,” Muratani tells L.A. TACO on the day before his soft opening. He moved to Los Angeles from Fukuoka, Japan, in 2005 to pursue punk rock and worked as the general manager and (and sometimes sushi chef, or whatever else needed to get done) at Sushi Enya for the last ten years.
“One day I just thought: One day it would be cool to have a punk rock concept with flyers and posters all over the walls, stuff like that,” says Muratani. “That sounds like a dream to me!”
But it wasn’t until a restaurant space on the northwest corner of Little Tokyo became available and his friend, Far Bar owner Don Tahara, told him that the former tenant was interested in renting it out to Muratani that he realized his dream concept was within reach.
He pulled the trigger, quit his job at Enya, started to invest his savings, and even subsequently got into debt, betting on this dream concept, renovating the small restaurant, which seats about 20 on the inside dining room and another 25 on the outside patio.
And for those punks who have chosen the nihilistic way of life, slowly self-destructing, and not participating in a capitalistic society, Muratani affirms he will always offer a “punk discount” if you don’t have enough funds for a meal.
The space takes the classic, chrome-plated blueprint of a 1950s diner—think Johnny Rockets—and subverts it with a punk rock soul, with black and red vinyl bar seats. There is an exposed red brick wall on one side, adored with vintage punk rock show flyers from bands like The Nerves, Weirdos, Go-Gos, Germs, The Damned, and so many more, where vintage advertisements might typically be. It's probably as close as we're going to get to reviving Atomic Cafe, which was also a Japanese-owned L.A. punk epicenter nearby in the 70s and 80s.
And there is even more punk rock memorabilia on the other wall of the restaurant, complete with a British flag as an ode to punk rock’s other birthplace across the pond. The name of the restaurant is a tribute to one of The Stooge's most iconic albums that changed Muratani's life and turned him to the punk lifestyle when he was a teenager in Fukuoka.
He spent about six months collecting all the memorabilia, 60% of which came from donations by his friends in L.A.'s punk rock scene. Muratani plays guitar and sometimes sings in three bands: Rough Kids, Psycho Active, and The Sacred.
Though he picks up shifts playing with other legendary bands, like he did two weeks ago sitting in on bass for The Zeros at The Redwood Bar, including singing the band’s hit, “Beat Your Heart Out,” and kicking ass while doing it.
After being a server his whole life, Muratani got into cooking when the owner of Sushi Enya offered him a sushi chef position. He hasn’t looked back since. The inspiration for his menu is Japanese-style drinking food but 4 the punx, so accessible and not too douchey in other words.
At night, Muratani’s inspiration is to honor the ritual of the pre-game, offering simple menu items like his version of “french fries,” but made with Japanese mountain yams (nagaimo), torched sashimi sprinkled with freshly grated yuzu zest, with less-fatty, more affordable cuts like red snapper (both belly and loin served on a plate to appreciate both textures and flavors),and a Japanese-style ceviche he makes to order, served with tempura “nori tostadas,” still warm.
To keep with the punk ethos and waste no part of the fish, he will also always feature a fish soup on the menu, like his dobinmushi (Japanese tea pot soup), which is traditionally served with a more expensive mushroom, matsutake, but Muratani takes the liberty of swapping out with more affordable shiitake.
“Because we are punks,” he jokes.
He salts the bones, washes them, and grills them before simmering.
“A lot of people don’t realize, but broth is the most important part of cooking Japanese food, for soups and everything else. If you have good broths, you will have a lot of other good dishes.”
Since veganism is a big part of the punk movement, Muratani is making sure to offer enticing plant-based dishes, like his “vegan unagi eel,” dish where he braises Chinese eggplant until it is insanely velvety and has eerily flesh-like texture.
For lunch, he is offering homestyle Japanese comfort dishes, like curry, udon noodles, and karaage fried chicken. But the menu will always change. Muratani also plans to slowly incorporate nigiri and a punk omakase option he is calling “Search and Destroy” to the menu.
During a preview of the FUNHOUSE menu, he served a handful of nigiri like red snapper, served with the skin still on, suzuki (Japanese seabass), and kurodai (black snapper).
Muratani’s grandfather was a rice farmer, so rice is extremely important to him. He uses koshihikari only because that is what he grew up with. Japanese beer and junmai sake will be available at the cheapest he can offer the libations so punks can always feel welcomed to come in for a pint.
During the first week of FUNHOUSE soft-opening, Muratani hired his friends from the scene to handle the front of the house. FUNHOUSE really is a representation of L.A.’s thriving underground punk scene.
And for those punks who have chosen the nihilistic way of life, slowly self-destructing, and not participating in a capitalistic society, Muratani affirms he will always offer a “punk discount” if you don’t have enough funds for a meal.
Even though FUNHOUSE hasn’t officially opened yet, Muratani has already thrown two punk shows there, where most of L.A.’s underground punk and some local legends, like Shawn Stern of Youth Brigade, showed up to support their fellow punk in his new endeavor.
If you ever had a punk phase or are a punk lifer, and love Japanese food, FUNHOUSE feels like a one-man-army restaurant version of The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas. One that makes you wonder: How did L.A. not have a restaurant like FUNHOUSE before?
“Cooking is like writing punk rock songs. I can do traditional dishes, but for FUNHOUSE, I want to do more interesting dishes because where is the fun in staying traditional?” Muratani says.
116 Judge John Aiso Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
