Thursday Cookbook Giveaway: Takashi’s Noodles

The man knows his noodles. I know, because not only did I see him analyze a few bowls of udon and ramen in Japan a few months ago, but I’ve also seen the great care and exacting eye he sets upon his noodle maker, in the basement noodle-making room beneath one of his restaurants, The Slurping Turtle. Granted, they use a special machine imported from Japan to do the deed, but Takashi Yagihashi doesn’t let that mechanized time-saver compromise the quality of his noodles. The local chef has a kiosk on Macy’s 7th floor food court in the Loop; maintains his namesake in Bucktown, where there’s as much French influence as dashi and tofu, plus, runs a busy Slurping Turtle in River North and is about to open a second one in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A native of Mito, Japan, the ageless Yagihashi also happens to be one of the city’s nicest guys. His seminal noodle book is yours today; all you need to do is tell me, in a poem, a short story or haiku, why you think you deserve it. Please enter in the COMMENTS section below. Entries due by 5 p.m. tomorrow, Friday. I’ll announce a winner here over the weekend. Arigato, and good luck.