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.” 
I have seen one “sushi” restaurant, in the sense of sushi only.
Are you sure these aren’t the original pre-Disneyfied versions of the Grimm’s folk tales? They are pretty gruesome.
I don’t understand why people have trouble believing this. My coworkers love this chain 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.
Japanese and Chinese are the “same ethnicity”?
You are usual? I’m missing something here.
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.
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?
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.
You could call them sushages.
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.
i’m beginning to wonder if “sushi” means “(all) japanese food” for some people.
Yes, it’s “oriental.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.