Destination Delicious: Experiencing Austin with an Appetite for Adventure | National Geographic

Foreign photography leads you to magic places that you wouldn't go without the camera. [Music] Curiosity is sort of like the fundamental thing that, as a documentary photographer, you have to have. That's why I became a photographer. I work a lot in the Arctic, but I'm headed to Austin to explore what Texas is about. This one state by itself is a gigantic place that's bigger than many countries in the world. Different human cultures, there's different environments. It's just kind of buzzing with a certain kind of energy. Food and culture are so deeply tied to each other. It hints at something greater, which is that food is our relationship to the environment around us.

A big part of my process as a photographer is to meet people who are local and to get to understand how they see their worlds. [Applause]

"How you doing?"

"Hey, I'm doing good! Yeah, good to see you!"

"This is amazing! The concept is Izakaya, which is Japanese Gastropub. Essentially Izakaya in the middle of Texas. These are Ray fans. I like to think of this as Japanese beef jerky."

"How about it?"

"All right, it's good, right?"

"Very good! Tell me a little bit about the Texas Japan Fusion in terms of the food."

"Sure, so the core and the actual base of Japanese flavoring and cooking, it has some smoky on it to it. Yeah, so right now we have some brisket going. I want to make something with that for you later."

"Oh wow! I think it's really cool that zetsu is taking Japanese food and Texas barbecue and putting those two things together. Anytime you bring things that are really different together, you have the possibility of creating some serious magic."

"We do this thing called barbecue crawl; usually, you just try different barbecue joints. The funny thing is, I would bring a tub of rice and some Nori and Japanese pickles. That's how we do the barbecue crawl, and this is essentially reminiscent of that."

"That's beautiful! The tuna collar, how nice! Let's see, man. All right, cheers!"

"Cheers! Tatsu's food is his art, and the restaurant is his art, and all of it speaks."

"What are you doing later?"

"I have a feeling you're about to tell me what I'm doing later."

"Yeah, yeah! Come grab some cocktails at Tiki Tatsu."

"Yeah, I think there's one last thing I've learned as the photographer that's traveled around the world this year: never say no to a chef." [Music]

"The camera is this incredible passport, not because of where it grants you access, but what it forces you to do. The camera beckons you." [Music]

"I can't wait to see what's next!" [Applause] [Music]

"Thank you."

Foreign [Music]