# Sushi is not a fucking lifestyle, you idiots. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 2, 2007, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459 "2007-06-02T05:36:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/101 "2007-06-03T20:00:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **CairoCarol** : > Indeed. And “sashimi” just means "cut into bite-size pieces > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **Heffalump and Roo** : > Could I get a cite for that? Um…apparently I may be guilty of spreading the very ignorance this site is dedicated to fighting. :eek: Honest, I am absolutely certain that “sashimi” technically refers to the cut, NOT to fish in a raw state, though it is popularly used to refer to raw fish, of course. However, I cannot readily find any support for this, whereas I concede that a number of sources claim that sashimi does mean “raw fish.” Now, the “chicken sashimi” in Chuuk years ago WAS cooked, just cut into small pieces. However…if you Google “chicken sashimi” now, guess what comes up? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/102 "2007-06-03T20:48:53Z")
I used to be one of those people who didn’t want to even try sushi. The first time I ate some, it was quite relunctantly. And I was majorly unimpressed. Then my sister took me out to dinner once. I was still “eh” (I bought some pizza afterwards), but something happened to me. I suddenly started having cravings. Now I’m a sushi fiend! I hate sashimi though, and I prefer crunchy rolls with cooked ingredients. I will eat me some Publix sushi in a hot minute. And I’m totally unsophisticated about it too, replacing the wasabi with curry mustard sauce (which I now make from scratch, but I used to steal from Pollo Tropical). The only people who get on my nerves are those who insist that there are “proper” ways to eat sushi. There are ways that increase tastiness, sure, but if I want to dribble the soy sauce on my rolls rather than dunk them in, that’s how I’m going to do it! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/103 "2007-06-03T21:11:34Z")
[QUOTE=Licentious Ectomorph] If the fish (or beef or poultry or whatever) isn’t cooked, I doubt there’s a whole lot the supermarket can do about the possible presence of undesirable elements in your food. While I admit that the risk of getting sick from raw fish isn’t huge – I know people, including my SO, who eat it regularly and have done so for years without a problem – it only takes one bad batch to make you wish you were never born. The nurse in me just instinctively recoils from uncooked food. [/QUOTE] If you’re putting your nurse hat on, then where’s your evidence based medicine??? Oh, it’s instinctive, that’s persuasive. I’m a nurse who loves raw fish, proves nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/104 "2007-06-03T21:26:16Z")
[QUOTE=Queen Bruin] One Friday some ass broke into the couple’s car and took the mom’s purse (she had left it sitting on the seat, unfortunately). The head chef was out back having a cigarette and saw it. He took off running after the perp and got his license plate # and a description, scribbled down his arm in ink. If there’s such a thing as a “sushi lifestyle”, I hope this is it. [/QUOTE] Sounds like it could have been a scene right out of [Tampopo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/) (_“The first Japanese noodle Western!”_), with sushi instead of ramen. Add me to the list of those craving sushi right now. I may have to stop by [this place](http://www.yelp.com/biz/g4E7BypHCnp1Ze_bBahjwQ?utm_campaign=local&utm_medium=organic&hrid=GEpKS9aNovjtnZsT_3tlVA&utm_source=google) tomorrow; the nigiri sushi takeout there is prepared fresh throughout the day by in-store chefs, and amazing value for money. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/105 "2007-06-03T21:42:56Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] Feeling cocky now, huh? [/QUOTE] How did you know? I had the shades drawn. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/106 "2007-06-03T23:44:51Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I hate sashimi though, and I prefer crunchy rolls with cooked ingredients. [/QUOTE] That’s about the extent of my wife’s conversion to eating sushi too, and even that represents a major milestone. The thing she liked best was a sushi roll we found (in only one restaurant so far) that’s actually lightly battered and fried like tempura. I’m sure the very concept turns sushi purists’ blood to icewater in their veins, but I had to admit it wasn’t bad. I wasn’t especially fond of my one experience with uni (sea urchin), which looked like scrambled yellow brains and felt thoroughly revolting in my mouth, and I can do without the raw quail egg— but other than that, I’m game for pretty much anything. ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/107 "2007-06-04T01:06:00Z")
This thread is making me very hungry. Bad sushi is disgusting. Good sushi is nice. Awesome sushi is an orgasm in your mouth. Stay away from supermarket sushi (unless it’s a Japanese mart). ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/108 "2007-06-04T01:25:34Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] How did you know? I had the shades drawn. [/QUOTE] :eek: of all names to give it. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/109 "2007-06-04T01:26:48Z")
[QUOTE=kimera] Awesome sushi is an orgasm in your mouth. [/QUOTE] We have a great new term for this, thanks to this thread. A tonguegasm. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/110 "2007-06-04T01:38:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] We have a great new term for this, thanks to this thread. A tonguegasm. [/QUOTE] Best achieved (IMHO) with [salmon roe sushi](http://hishinaka.jp/images/nama-ikura4.jpg), where one daintily picks each individual tiny glistening red egg from the small pile of roe, places it on the center of one’s tongue, and gently presses it against one’s palate. The sudden _pop_ of intense flavor as the egg bursts is just… Oh, my, it’s… Um, excuse me, I need to go find some salmon roe… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intravenus_De_Milo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/111 "2007-06-04T03:24:06Z")
[QUOTE=auntie em] You don’t think so? All I have to do is wait 10 minutes, because once that rice starts to expand in mah belly, I find myself regretting having ordered a second round. [/QUOTE] Well, let me put it this way: sushi (the good stuff, that is) is usually expensive enough so that I typically don’t get a whole lot in one sitting…unless someone else is paying for it 😃 If I’ve got only $5 to spend on lunch, and I’m _really_ hungry, it usually comes down to, “Hmmmm…sushi? Or Chik-fil-A? Well, Chik-fil-A, I guess. Damn.” > [@](#): > > You know what really pisses me off. Gnocchi, God that stuff is bland and it sits in your stomach like library paste. It makes me seethe every time I see that annoying red headed guy on the food network going on and on about how good it is. You see those people in restaurants. I’ll have the gnocchi please. God what a bunch of assholes. Hey, it’s not the gnocchi’s fault that it seems to attract pretentious assholes. It’s such a tasty, versatile food, it can’t help it 😉 Really, I think one can point to EVERY uppity food trend and see a familiar pattern: a food that is unusual to a certain market is largely ignored by the populace, save a few die-hard fans who think it’s the best kept culinary secret in the world. They spread the word about it, their friends start eating it, their friends’ friends start eating it, and eventually, some culinary bigwig figures out, “hey…this can be the hip new food for the up-and-comers! Imagine the POTENTIAL!” So, then, it is marketed to hip young urbanites, some of whom DO indeed come to appreciate it for what it is, but many also go on and on about it as if simply eating it - or, hell, even just ordering it - makes them look totally cool and trendy. And soon enough, some of the people who never comprehended the trend in the first place come to loathe the food just because of the annoying posers. The mojito is currently going through such a transition. When I visited Puerto Rico a few years ago, my brother (who lives there) told us to try this drink that was really popular in local bars. I’m not a fan of rum, but my family seemed to like it. When we came back home to the States, they found that there were few bars in our area sufficiently equipped to make a mojito in the traditional way (which is sort of complex for a mixed drink), and it seemed as though only the bartenders had heard of them. Fast forward about three years, and now mojitos are EVERYWHERE: some places have weird, fruity variations on the traditional lime version, there are mojito-scented candles, mojito-flavored gum, and Bacardi is even practically selling it as a dance now. It’s tempting to blame the mojito itself for being the center of an annoyingly trendy culture wave, but I think all the mojito really wants is to go back to Puerto Rico. If I were it I’d be pretty embarrassed right now. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/112 "2007-06-04T03:26:47Z")
[QUOTE=Mosier] You got suckered. Face it. Sushi is like the worm in the tequilla, and you’re the dumb fucking gringo that fell for it. No, but seriously, it doesn’t taste very good. How do you eat that stuff? And why do sushi eaters seem so high and mighty about it? [/QUOTE] Um…because it DOES taste good R-tard. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/113 "2007-06-04T03:27:59Z")
[QUOTE=kimera] Awesome sushi is an orgasm in your mouth. [/QUOTE] …well…maybe not THAT good. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/114 "2007-06-04T03:35:44Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] …well…maybe not THAT good. [/QUOTE] Then let’s say it’s as if a fish had an orgasm in your mouth. 🙂 BTW, I love shushi. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/115 "2007-06-04T03:43:57Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] Then let’s say it’s as if a fish had an orgasm in your mouth. [/QUOTE] Ah, you’ve tried the [shirako!](http://shizuokasushi.wordpress.com/2007/03/15/acquired-tastes-1-shirako/) ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/116 "2007-06-04T03:54:59Z")
[QUOTE=CairoCarol] Now, the “chicken sashimi” in Chuuk years ago WAS cooked, just cut into small pieces. However…if you Google “chicken sashimi” now, guess what comes up? [/QUOTE] I couldn’t guess, so I googled it. This is one of the articles I got: [YAKITORI TOTTO](http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/02/27/060227gota_GOAT_tables) > [@](#): > > With bird flu inching toward us and more than a million Americans falling victim to salmonella each year, this might not seem like the smartest time to eat raw chicken. Still, unless this bustling little yakitori joint is playing a dangerous practical joke, chicken sashimi is a delicacy in Japan. But this part was even more interesting. > [@](#): > > Yet the strangest thing on the menu is not chicken at all, but seaweed. Forget crispy fried nori or pliant hijiki: mekabu comes in a coating of—there’s no other word for it—goo. As one chews, it starts to expand, until suffocation starts to seem like a real possibility. Being suffocated by your food doesn’t sound that appetizing. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/117 "2007-06-04T10:06:33Z")
The first time I tried sushi, I thought it was horrible. Then when I tried it a second time for the heck of it, I realized that the first one I had was just shitty sushi. Also, OP, there’s so many different varieties out there, many of which are nothing alike. I don’t really like fish myself, so my favorites that I usually go for are a veggie California roll, which is just rice rolled in seaweed (nori) with cucumber, avocado, and carrot in the middle. Pretty healthy, tasty, and filling. I also like tamago, which is a sort of sweet egg patty or omelette with rice and just a thin band of nori around it. And then I sometimes enjoy inari, which is rice surrounded with a fried bean curd. Pretty tasty stuff altogether. But yes, you will occasionally find people out there who act like eating sushi is somehow avant-garde and cool and they’ll eat it with a group of like-minded people, and they’ll all engage in deep conversation while holding their chopsticks aloft in a very self-assured way. Most people just eat it because they’re hungry and it’s tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/118 "2007-06-04T11:16:15Z")
Ok, ok, I’ve looked at that thread title floating out there for several days without reading the thread. Ain’t going to do that now. I apologize if it’s already been done, probably somewhere on page one, but I gotta do it anyway or I’ll explode. “Sushi is not a fucking lifestyle, you idiots” At least not for the fish. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/119 "2007-06-04T17:10:30Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Ah, you’ve tried the [shirako!](http://shizuokasushi.wordpress.com/2007/03/15/acquired-tastes-1-shirako/) [/QUOTE] God, I know I am going to regret clicking that link. I better save it for later. ETA: Couldn’t wait. Let’s just say that “sperm” and “tsunami” should not go together in a sentence. Least one about food. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459/120 "2007-06-04T17:49:37Z")
[QUOTE=Amazon Floozy Goddess] But yes, you will occasionally find people out there who act like eating sushi is somehow avant-garde and cool and they’ll eat it with a group of like-minded people, and they’ll all engage in deep conversation while holding their chopsticks aloft in a very self-assured way. Most people just eat it because they’re hungry and it’s tasty. [/QUOTE] Just curious, but do these people also wear pastel suits, polo shirts with the collar turned up, and sneakers with no socks? Because I have a lot of trouble imaging anyone who still thinks eating sushi is “avant-garde” who hasn’t been frozen in a block of ice for the last twenty years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-not-a-fucking-lifestyle-you-idiots/406459.md?page=7)