the INFLUENCERS Close connections paint personal portraits of nine instrumental community figures P HOTO G RA P H Y B Y JO H N M I C H A E L S I MP SO N
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appreciate the way Mike operates. If you give respect to the people around you, the people who work for you, the people who you do business with, you get respect back. I really believe that’s how he operates, and that’s a very important thing to note about him. There are a lot of things I really like about Mike. He certainly sources out and is not scared to pay for the best ingredients that he could possibly get. If any of my so-called people who are in the business come into town and say, “Hey, man, let’s go to your favorite restaurant,” the first thing I ask is, “Do you like sushi?” If they say yes, I know where we’re going, because he’s as good a sushi chef as I’ve seen, and I eat a lot of sushi. I go to New York quite often and will have sushi at least once while I’m there, and it’s never a cheap endeavor for me – those chefs are built around a similar concept in that it’s about the quality of the fish, the quality of the product. Don’t screw with it too much, you know? And then Mike’s got a couple of things that he does technique-wise that are, I imagine, old-school concepts that he brings to sushi. I think the shortcuts in this profession are pretty easy to tell these days, but Mike doesn’t bypass important techniques. The food that doesn’t finish [in terms of flavor] – it might look like something, but it doesn’t taste like anything. His quality and execution are sound. He’s also approachable, and I appreciate that about him. I am really excited, now that I’m not doing it anymore, that I’ve got a guy who I can count on to go to for a good meal.
by Scott Howell
retired chef and former owner of Nana’s and NanaSteak
chef/owner, M Restaurant Group
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durhammag.com
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Michael Lee
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