These days, Kanazawa curry -- known for a sweet brown sauce made with caramel among other unique ingredients -- has been making a name for itself in Akihabara, Tokyo's electronics/otaku district, where three different restaurants are now open within about 100 meters of each other serving different takes on K-curry.

One of them is Go Go Curry, naturally.

I wrote about this development for Wired.com on a recent trip to Japan. Check it out!

Tokyo Curry Mania: Kanazawa Curry Takes Over Akihabara [Wired.com]

Japanese language version: 日本滞在レポート:「金沢カレー」の探究　[Wired Vision]

New Yorkers rejoice!  Forum user Copperchef informed us that Americurry's fave Go Go Curry is holding the first annual Curry Rice Eating Championship in America!

Oh, I know what you're thinking, "I get to eat massive amounts of the most delicious Japanese Curry Rice in America? How hard could that be?"

Well, hard.

Thanks to Nathan's famed Hot Dog Eating Contest and its spawns of championship eaters like Sonya Thomas and Takeru Kobayashi, New York City has become the arena and the training ground for this serious sport.  That said, I expect no less from Go Go Curry, and from the looks of it, the rules seem pretty hardcore.  One in particular caught me eye:

• If water is put into your plate, you will be disqualified.

I am thoroughly impressed that Go Go Curry actually thought of this.  Before I even read the rules, I came up with the strategy of mixing curry rice with water and chugging the whole darn thing (similar to dunking hot dog buns into water to eliminate chewing time.)  Well, there goes my idea.  I'm excited to see what kind of eating tactics people will come up with.

For those who are thinking of participating, Go Go Curry is holding the preliminaries on certain dates between 4/15 and 5/20.  Registration fee is $20.  Very detailed registration details and contest rules are on their website.

For those of you who want to witness the potential awesomeness/horror of this momentous event, email ggc@notionsunited.com or call Go Go Curry (212) 730-5555 to reserve your audience seats for the Finals.

Gambatte!

What makes a trip to Go Go so worthwhile isn't just the food itself, the amazing deep brown sauce and perfect katsu. It's that stepping into the place is like being transported from Manhattan to Tokyo. Inside, it looks just like Go Go Curry's many Tokyo branches -- handwritten signs and newspaper clippings on the walls, pictures of ballplayer Hideki Matsui (his number, 55, is read go-go), and all kinds of other colorful decorations.

The menu itself, just like a Tokyo curry joint, allows you to select how large a plate of curry and rice you want, and lists all the standard toppings. It's cheap -- just $5 for the standard plate, and $7.50 for katsu curry. There are also some batshit crazy menu items: the Grand Slam Curry ($12.50) has a tonkatsu, sausage, shrimp, and hard-boiled eggs, and the absurd World Champion Curry ($25) has all that times two.

Thus, Go Go Curry is a cut above the usual places that serve Japanese curry in the U.S. Some of them do have fine food, but they don't perfectly replicate the curry experience. They don't love curry like Go Go loves curry.

But just loving curry isn't enough; you have to serve a good plate of it. And in every way, Go Go Curry does just that. The katsu, rice, and sauce are perfectly proportioned and artfully laid out in the oblong metal bowl. The sauce is rich, creamy, perfect. I recently was told exactly why it tastes so familiar to me -- Go Go Curry, it turns out, is based in Kanazawa, where I ate curry for a year at school, and the sauce is in the same style as the deep brown amazing stuff they served in the Kanazawa University cafeteria.

You don't need to have eaten in Kanazawa, however, to appreciate Go Go Curry's masterful take on the dish. Just go.