re: Bonito - It’s in the same family as tuna and mackerel, the Scombridae( Thunnidae). So I suppose you can think of it as either a large mackerel or a small tuna. It’s actually a name that’s applied to fish in five different genera in the family. Personally I find the ones I’ve tried a lot closer to mackerel - oily, with a strong flavor. I’m not a fan.
re: Iron Chef USA - I saw part of it and thought it was an pretty bad, especially compared to the original. One local TV reviewer saw the whole thing and thought it was an abomination 
. Hopefully it will improve or they’ll just start distributing the original a little more widely.
- Tamerlane