# Inconsiderate or acceptable? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397 "2014-03-11T01:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/81 "2014-03-11T22:46:15Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This thread reminds me of the story of [The Fox and the Stork](http://www.taleswithmorals.com/aesop-fable-the-fox-and-the-stork.htm), from Aesop’s Fables. Random side-note: I actually have this old German book of fairy tales from my great aunt’s house (technically she’s more of a family friend than actual great aunt, but . . . well, it’s a long story) that has all of the old classics replaced with horrifying endings. At the end of this one, the Stork hands the Fox the tall glass with the food, the Fox looks at it, then eats the Stork. The moral is “don’t make people who can eat you angry.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/82 "2014-03-11T23:45:26Z")
I have seen one “sushi” restaurant, in the sense of sushi only. > [@Octarine](#): > > Random side-note: I actually have this old German book of fairy tales from my great aunt’s house (technically she’s more of a family friend than actual great aunt, but . . . well, it’s a long story) that has all of the old classics replaced with horrifying endings. At the end of this one, the Stork hands the Fox the tall glass with the food, the Fox looks at it, then eats the Stork. The moral is “don’t make people who can eat you angry.” 😃 Are you sure these aren’t the original pre-Disneyfied versions of the Grimm’s folk tales? They are pretty gruesome. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/83 "2014-03-11T23:55:15Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Well, I’m taking the OP at his/her word that the restaurant “doesn’t really have any non-sushi selections.” Those of you who are suggesting otherwise may well be right–but that’s not what the OP is telling us. If there are indeed non-sushi selections then that’s a different story. I don’t understand why people have trouble believing this. My coworkers love [this chain](http://boloco.com/food/menu/) and all they sell is burritos and shakes/smoothies. Oh, and 4 types of salad. You can’t get a taco or nachos! I’d skip it, OP. If I’m paying, either I at least enjoy the company a lot, or I get to eat something I like. Paying for something I don’t want to eat and to sit around with a bunch of people looking at their phones? Please. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/84 "2014-03-11T23:57:06Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > A sushi restaurant strikes me as being as specialized as a Dim sum restaurant, to keep it in the same ethnicity. Japanese and Chinese are the “same ethnicity”? ---
**Author:** ![OurLordPeace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e8c25b/32.png) [@OurLordPeace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OurLordPeace)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/85 "2014-03-12T00:12:29Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Whoa, whoa, whoa, pull over. ‘Outlierrn-san, you’re usual?’, is how it goes. You are usual? I’m missing something here. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/86 "2014-03-12T00:25:43Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > If you copy and paste their menu into a reply, we can tell you what is on it that doesn’t contain raw fish. Because sushi restaurants who don’t sell anything but raw fish simply do not exist. Unless I’ve missed it, the OP hasn’t actually ever said what’s the complaint against sushi. Maybe it’s the vinegar, not the fish (raw or otherwise). I myself was prevailed upon to try sushi once (hey, I was willing to try it!), and I didn’t care for it. What I really didn’t care for was the vinegar. And, looking up the exact definition of sushi (to make sure I understand correctly how it differs from sashimi), I find that the vinegared rice is the essential component that makes sushi sushi. So I must conclude that whatever kind of sushi I tried, I wouldn’t care for any other kind either. But hey, I tried it! We still don’t know what the OP’s issue is, really. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/87 "2014-03-12T01:12:52Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Unless I’ve missed it, the OP hasn’t actually ever said what’s the complaint against sushi. Maybe it’s the vinegar, not the fish (raw or otherwise). > > I myself was prevailed upon to try sushi once (hey, I was willing to try it!), and I didn’t care for it. What I really didn’t care for was the vinegar. And, looking up the exact definition of sushi (to make sure I understand correctly how it differs from sashimi), I find that the vinegared rice is the essential component that makes sushi sushi. So I must conclude that whatever kind of sushi I tried, I wouldn’t care for any other kind either. > > But hey, I tried it! > > We still don’t know what the OP’s issue is, really. There are rice based foods sold as sushi that is technically not sushi such as musubi, which basically a rice ball with or without other stuff. Here is Hawaii, the spam musubi (a square riceball with a fried slice of spam)came be found everwhere. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/88 "2014-03-12T01:14:26Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Unless I’ve missed it, the OP hasn’t actually ever said what’s the complaint against sushi. Maybe it’s the vinegar, not the fish (raw or otherwise). > > I myself was prevailed upon to try sushi once (hey, I was willing to try it!), and I didn’t care for it. What I really didn’t care for was the vinegar. And, looking up the exact definition of sushi (to make sure I understand correctly how it differs from sashimi), I find that the vinegared rice is the essential component that makes sushi sushi. So I must conclude that whatever kind of sushi I tried, I wouldn’t care for any other kind either. > > But hey, I tried it! > > We still don’t know what the OP’s issue is, really. This is true. The OP may actually dislike the idea of vinegared rice, but it doesn’t really matter. If it’s a “good friend,” as the OP states, you just go with the flow. Give 'em one freaking day where you can hang out with them in a place _they_ like. Isn’t that part of friendship? Sometimes you go to places or do things that don’t particularly interest you because it interests the other person? And, if they’re good friends, they’ll indulge you similarly. And, who knows? Maybe you’ll find out you don’t dislike some activity/food/place/etc as much as you thought? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/89 "2014-03-12T01:37:01Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > But a restaurant that serves nothing but sushi is still very specialized. Most oriental places that serve sushi serve it as one item in a broad menu. A sushi restaurant strikes me as being as specialized as a Dim sum restaurant, to keep it in the same ethnicity. It really really isn’t, though. I don’t know any sushi restaurant that has sushi in its name. The local joints to me have cool names (Sticky Rice or Level) or Japanese names (Akida). Well, I take that back. There’s a “Carytown Sushi” place right around the corner from me. But the majority of places you see aren’t going to be named shit like “SUSHI R US”. So if you’re not looking for sushi, you’d probably not going to notice them. And I have no idea what you mean by “one item on a broad menu.” If I was in a restaurant that just had a generic “sushi” on the menu, I’d be very concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/90 "2014-03-12T02:11:48Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > By God!, I think you may have just come up with the next great fusion cuisine restaurant idea!! That’s gold Jerry, gold!! You could call them sushages. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/91 "2014-03-12T02:30:03Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > One more point. I don’t know where the posters on this thread live but I am 50 years old. I have lived in Michigan and the North East. I have traveled in the inter-mountain west and up and down the east coast. I don’t believe I have ever even set eyes on a sushi restaurant. This may be a big thing in the big cities on the coast but not so much elsewhere. Wow, I never realized Lexington, KY was such a major coastal metropolis. I can name three restaurants there where the menu’s at least 70% sushi, just off the top of my head. There are probably more, but those are the ones I can rattle off right now. There’s at least a dozen Japanese steakhouses in town, too, but the sushi at the actual bars tends to be better. For the record, people should also take note that just because something is “non-specialized” that doesn’t mean everyone in the group likes it. Chili and Mexican are both considered broad-appeal foods, often suggested as an option where everybody can find something they like. I hate them both. HATE. I mean “don’t even like being within smelling distance of that shit” HATE. And sometimes my friends want to have a party with a chili bar or go to a Mexican restaurant because they like it. And because I like _them_, I eat before or after, nibble on some dry chips, have a drink, and contrive to have a pretty great time. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/92 "2014-03-12T02:34:05Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > Japanese and Chinese are the “same ethnicity”? i’m beginning to wonder if “sushi” means “(all) japanese food” for some people. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/93 "2014-03-12T03:13:56Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > Japanese and Chinese are the “same ethnicity”? Yes, it’s “oriental.” ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/94 "2014-03-12T13:38:35Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > And I have no idea what you mean by “one item on a broad menu.” If I was in a restaurant that just had a generic “sushi” on the menu, I’d be very concerned. Just what I said. That sushi is just one, very specific, kind of food. I have never seen a restaurant that serves nothing else. I have seen oriental restaurants that serve all kinds of oriental food, including sushi. But I have never seen a restaurant that serves only sushi. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/95 "2014-03-12T13:45:16Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Yeah, that’s not actually the same ethnicity. > > And the only thing specialized about Dim Sum is that it’s little pieces. I meant oriental as opposed to western. I was thinking of the sausage example used earlier in the thread. And I think dim sum is a good analogy here. The only thing “specialized” about sushi is that it is served on flavored rice. I still wouldn’t want to be forced to make a meal out of either. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/96 "2014-03-12T13:47:41Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I’m sure this is hyperbole. Hell, we even have Japanese restaurants that serve sushi out here in South Dakota. Again, I have seen Japanese restaurants. What I have not ever seen, in my entire 50 years on this earth, is a sushi place, which according to other posters in this thread, appear to be on every other street corner in every american town. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/97 "2014-03-12T13:51:25Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > :dubious: Yeah, no. I live in metro Detroit - which, last time I checked, is in Michigan and quite far from “the coasts” - and sushi is _everywhere_. Yes Detroit is in Michigan. But Michigan is not Detroit. It has been about 10 years since I left the state but probably 20 since I set foot in Detroit. My argument was against the earlier posters who were claiming the sushi joints are ubiquitous. They may be in a few select places but this is not true for 90% of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/98 "2014-03-12T13:53:29Z")
Sorry for the multi-posts. I just kept reading and seeing what I said completely distorted and, as different folks made different points I replied to each. In retrospect I probably should have read the whole thread and submitted one reply. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/99 "2014-03-12T13:53:51Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > Again, I have seen Japanese restaurants. What I have not ever seen, in my entire 50 years on this earth, is a sushi place, which according to other posters in this thread, appear to be on every other street corner in every american town. There are Japanese steak houses, sushi restaurants, and udon noodle shops. There are many specialized restaurants in Japanese cuisine. I’m not sure why this is confusing to you. I suspect all of them have some other options on the menu, but they are mainly for the type of food they specialize in. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397/100 "2014-03-12T14:05:05Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > You’ve never had sushi but you know you won’t like it. And you’re bummed that someone who wants to celebrate her special day isn’t considering your feelings. > > Hmm. > > If you are really a good friend, you’ll go to the party with the intention of trying something on the menu. I’ve never been to a sushi restaurant that didn’t have something non-sushi. There are non-sushi appetizers, non-sushi soups, non-sushi salads, non-sushi deserts, and non-sushi drinks. If you unable/unwilling to try even these options, then I don’t know what to tell you. > > Is it that you hate seafood? Or you hate the idea of eating raw fish? Because you can be a fan of sushi without ever having to have a piece of raw anything touch your mouth. If you’ve never had it before, you might do well to see what it’s all about. You might–gasp!–really like it. > > And no, the birthday girl isn’t out of line for wanting to go to her favorite place. That is the whole point of a birthday–to do whatever it is one wants to do. People compromise because of friends and family’s various issues and preferences all the time. A birthday should be the one day when this doesn’t happen. I couldn’t have said it better. I find that most people who don’t like sushi; have never in fact tried sushi. What they don’t like is the IDEA of sushi. I used to be the same way. Count me in as saying; it’s not your party, you don’t get a say in the venue. You shouldn’t feel insulted though. It’s not personal. I recently experienced this at a going away party for a former colleague. He wanted his goodbye luncheon to be at an Indian restaurant. That’s not my cup of tea; so I chose not to go. He understood and wasn’t insulted. What shocked me most was that I heard he paid for everyone’s meal! He was notoriously uhh… tightfisted. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inconsiderate-or-acceptable/683397.md?page=6)