Pretty soon there is going to be a backlash against the Japanese for their habit of heading overseas and outshining the locals in some of their proudest vocations.
In recent years they have beaten the French at baguette baking, upstaged the Italian pizzaiolos, won a marathon in Greece and repeatedly outguzzled the world in gluttonous overeating competitions in America. Now there is Keisuke Goto, the new TGI Friday's World Champion Bartender.
Though its famous striped canopies hang in more than 50 countries, Friday's is unmistakably American. Born in Manhattan's Upper East Side in 1965, the chain became the template for casual American dining — wacky wall decor, singalong birthdays and the Long Island Iced Tea.