Restaurant Muramoto
by Lisa Lathrop on 06/22/10 at 12:45 pm
As featured in the November 2008 issue of Madison Originals Magazine
Shinji Muramoto was working in a Tokyo restaurant in 1992 when he decided to apply to colleges in the United States. Fortunately for Madison diners, he was accepted at Edgewood College. “I hopped on the next plane,” says Shinji, who has since carved a sizeable niche in Madison’s culinary realm.
“Back then I wasn’t planning to own a restaurant,” Shinji recalls. But, his first part-time job while a student opened the door to a career as a Madison restaurateur. “The summer after my first year at Edgewood, a friend working at Wasabi asked me to help because many of the employees were students and had left during the summer. I had already learned cooking skills from my father. When I was growing up, he cooked for the family and I was his assistant. Today, he still thinks he’s better than I am,” jokes Shinji.
Shinji was still working part-time at Wasabi when the restaurant changed ownership. “The new owner, Ken Katsuma, was a very good cook, and the restaurant got busier and busier. In 1994, he asked me to work full time,” says Shinji. Although he had intended to graduate from college, Shinji instead decided to leave school to work at Wasabi.
Cooking consumed Shinji’s life during the following years. “I worked at Wasabi for eight years, Restaurant Magnus for five, and was executive chef at Opus Lounge in 2000.” For more than two years, Shinji worked seven days a week, learning from some of Madison’s finest chefs while becoming an experienced chef in his own right.
“I started thinking about doing something new, and at the time, Asian cooking was becoming a trend in the U.S.,” Shinji says. “Because I’m Japanese, my cooking reflects a Japanese influence, but I bring in different types of Asian cooking as well as Tai, Indian, Korean, and Chinese, along with some French and Italian.”
When culinary worlds collide, the result is fusion cuisine. European/Asian cuisine represents a popular fused pairing. While merging ingredients and techniques from dissimilar cuisine styles takes creativity and talent, artfully fused cuisine requires culinary dexterity. Shinji possesses a good measure of all three ingredients.
During the following months, Shinji’s vision for his new restaurant simmered. “While I was working at Wasabi, customer Nick Schiavo, owner of Café Continental, was hoping to buy another building. He asked Ken if he’d like to open a second Wasabi restaurant there. I’d been listening in on their conversation, and when Ken said he wasn’t interested in expanding, I told Nick that I was. But, the building purchase fell through,” recalls Shinji.
Having no luck finding a location where he could open a restaurant, Shinji quit his cooking jobs and returned to Japan for four months. “I wanted to re-learn Japanese cooking. Cooking Japanese food with real authenticity was my weakness, and I wanted to learn everything I could,” he says. “Tokyo has many great, famous cooks and celebrity chefs. In fact, Tokyo has more Michelin star restaurants than anywhere in the world.”
In 2004, two-and-a-half months after returning to Madison, Shinji opened Restaurant Muramoto in the space next door to Café Continental. The new upscale restaurant was an immediate success. Serving Asian fusion cuisine, the restaurant seated 40 guests and, after four years, outgrew the space. Late last July, Shinji moved Restaurant Muramoto one block down King Street to Cocoliquot’s former location. The cozy, dimly lit space vacated by Restaurant Muramoto is now occupied by Shinji’s new Kushi Bar Muramoto, which features skewers. “The skewer concept focuses on grilled or deep- fried skewers. It’s a new concept that is growing in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago,” he explains.
His other restaurant, Sushi Muramoto, opened at Hilldale Shopping Center in 2007. “I’m going according to my plan, and am planning even more restaurants. I’m looking for different ideas, different themes, to fit Madison’s demand,” Shinji says.
Shinji praises his staff for his continuing success. “I only hire people I can trust. I’m very lucky to find the skillful, talented, trustworthy people who work for me, including Patrick Schroeder, who came with me from Opus. He’s been with me from the beginning.”
Restaurant Muramoto’s new location fits the high-end Asian fusion tapas-style restaurant perfectly. Cocoliquot’s owner had already accomplished a spectacular renovation of the space. Shinji retained the streamlined, stark, contemporary ambience, but the bar/food viewing and cooking area underwent a major update. Located opposite a traditional bar on one side is a massive, highly polished Brazilian cherry wood cuisine bar that wraps around and faces the cooking area where guests can dine and watch food preparation as well. The walls, painted a rich gold color, blend with amber pendant lights and the black metal grid-work in the ceiling to create a simple tranquility. Shinji’s wife, Kimiko, worked on design, andalso added creative artistic touches throughout the restaurant.
The new location accommodates 80 and features a new expanded menu. Standouts on the menu include a Duck, Mango, and Avocado Roll (there are six different sushi rolls), and Asian Slaw made with red and green cabbage, daikon radishes, mizuna, red and yellow peppers, and fried wonton croutons, served with sesame dressing. Spicy coconut tofu is a popular vegan option. “I personally believe our spicy coconut tofu is the best vegan choice in town,” says Shinji.
When Restaurant Muramoto opened in its new location, its updated menu featured many new selections along with some previously popular items. Shinji; Bee Khang, former chef at now-closed Firefly; and Justin Carlisle, former chef at Harvest, combined their culinary expertise to create the new menu. While Grilled Miso Black Cod and Pan Seared Scallops are still available, new choices include Fried Pork Belly with Watermelon Salad and Sweet Soy Glazed Duck Breast with a Homemade Steamed Bun. The dessert menu includes two tempting desserts created by pastry chef Dan Almquist: Green Tea Opera Cake and the signature bestselling dessert, Strawberry Spring Roll. Restaurant Muramoto’s full bar also stocks a good selection of sake. “We offer an impressive selection along with Asian-influenced cocktails,” he says.
If Shinji could find time, he’d play golf. But overseeing Restaurant Muramoto, Sushi Muramoto, and Kushi Bar Muramoto consumes his days and nights. “I spend as much time as I can with my wife and two-year-old son,” says Shinji, once an avid golfer. “I used to play golf in Hawaii every year,” he reminisces. For now, golf takes a back seat to family and business. And with his ambitious plans for the future, it will likely continue to wait.
