We just had sushi again, and as always it was excellent. And also as always, there was a sculpture on one of our plates made from carrots. It was probably six inches tall and was a dragon and a fish engaged in some kind of battle. It was quite ornate and seemed beautifully carved. I would expect to pay more than $20 or maybe $50 if this sculpture was being sold by itself. But instead it’s sitting there like a sprig of parsley, and buried somehow in the cost of a $22 entree that looked like it should have cost $22 just for the food.
When one of these things was placed on my grandson’s plate, he ate part of it. Was he supposed to? Or was that like eating the flower arrangement on the middle of the table?
I can’t speak for every state, but here in CT, any food item they bring to your table cannot be reserved even if you don’t take any. I won’t say they never reserve any of those rolls, but they’re not supposed to. If it’s food and on a plate, I don’ tthink they could reuse it so eat away.
Alot of those things are far easier to carve than you might think I know several artists who are lightning fast at their craft. Doing these as part of prep you might be able to bang out 20-30 an hour. If they average an extra dollar or two in tips per order for such craftsmanship, not a bad idea.
Pretty much anything put on your plate at a restaurant is intended to be eaten. Exception: if they hold something together with a toothpick. If it looks good enough to eat, then eat it.
Eeh, well, for the record, I would be thinking “I don’t know anything about buying sculpture”. And if I had drachillix with me, I’d probably counteroffer $1 or $2.
I dunno - I’ve lived in the States all my life, been eating sushi for decades, and I’ve never seen a “carrot sculpture” on a sushi plate. Those green leaf/frond things, sure, but a carrot sculpture?
May be a local or regional thing. I’d be OK with it, though. And would almost certainly eat it.
I talked with a sushi chef about just this topic. At least at this particular restaurant, decorative carved vegetable stuff was done by apprentice sushi chefs.
I don’t know about the whole US, but I’ve eaten a lot of sushi in LA and seen a carrot carving maybe once. No opinion on what it means as to quality, as the craft and time necessary would seem to indicate a place that cares about its food and presentation. Would I eat it? Probably not, I can eat raw carrot anywhere, I came for the raw fish.
There used to be 3-4 Chinese restaurants owned by the same family and their entrees came with vegetable carvings. Not just carrot but daikon and regular radishes and other vegetables too. My favorite were palm trees with carrot trunks and the tops made out of green bell peppers.
Off-topic, I used to carve letters out of carrots so I could spell out messages on the plates for my children. They always ate them, which pleased me. On topic, when I worked in a kitchen long ago, I was told that any food or garnish you put on a plate had to be, if not palatable, at least edible. That may have reflected not the law, but the moderate level of sophistication among our customers.
Yeah, I’ve been eating sushi in L.A. for decades, and I’m there for the sushi. I go to places where I know the sushi is good, not that it looks fancy. I’ve never seen a carrot sculpture.