# Sushi Is Now Officially Mainstream in the US Midwest **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2019, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285 "2019-02-27T10:11:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/21 "2019-02-28T08:57:11Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Walmart in my parent’s rural midwest town carries frozen sushi. Thank you. That proves that sushi is officially over. Kind of like Cajun food when it was perverted into blackened anything or anything with a bunch of spices dumped in. Never saw frozen maki in the Bay Area. There might be a riot. On the other hand my three-year-old grandson’s favorite restaurant just north of Indianapolis does very good ramen. So move on, people. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/22 "2019-02-28T12:41:42Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > My town has easy to get goat dishes, thanks to our large Afghani population. I think I bought one in our Costco. I had some in college, but in Nuevo Laredo, so not in the US by a couple of hundred meters. Nihari [is beef](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihari). Those who try and use other meats deserve the firing squad. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/23 "2019-02-28T15:33:13Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Thank you. That proves that sushi is officially over. Kind of like Cajun food when it was perverted into blackened anything or anything with a bunch of spices dumped in. > Never saw frozen maki in the Bay Area. There might be a riot. > > On the other hand my three-year-old grandson’s favorite restaurant just north of Indianapolis does very good ramen. So move on, people. Hahahaha. That reminds me of a quote from American Dad. We get everything last here. > [@](#): > > In the words of every sitcom character in the early 90’s, and everyone in the Midwest through the rest of the 90’s, “Don’t go there.” I haven’t tried many ramen places, I don’t know if you mean Kizuki in carmel. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/24 "2019-02-28T15:54:31Z")
Lifelong midwesterner - never noticed a shortage of sushi around these parts. They just used to brand it as “bait”! 😉 No, not a fan. Howdjaguess? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/25 "2019-02-28T16:19:44Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Heck, it wasn’t that long ago that a \*taco \*was exotic in much of the US. Heck as a kid I remember _pizza_ being exotic in the Midwest! ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/26 "2019-02-28T17:14:00Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick;21511610 **DO NOT THAW IN REFRIGERATOR** (it doesn’t say WHY not, so I dunno, maybe it explodes or turns to kryptonite or something) … **Room Temperature Method:** Take desired number of pieces and place on plate. Cover and thaw for 2 hours.[/QUOTE] Curious. I thought thawing anything at room temperature was a big no-no in terms of food safety. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/27 "2019-02-28T17:23:54Z")
And a microwave is the worst tool possible for defrosting-- I have no idea how defrosting things in the microwave became so common. And yeah, you can get sushi all over the place now, but that doesn’t mean it’s _good_ sushi, and with sushi, the difference between good and bad is a lot more significant than with most foods. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/28 "2019-02-28T17:29:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And a microwave is the worst tool possible for defrosting-- I have no idea how defrosting things in the microwave became so common. It’s fast. Besides the convenience factor, it’s also good for food safety because the food spends very little time in the “danger zone” (temperature range that promotes bacterial growth). ---
**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:** [February 28, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/29 "2019-02-28T17:42:04Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Curious. I thought thawing anything at room temperature was a big no-no in terms of food safety. For two hours, it’s not a problem. The general food safety rule (which is conservative) states not to leave food in the temperature between 40 and 140 for more than two hours. If you want to be safe, you can take your time and defrost in the fridge, but even by USDA standards, the rule is not to leave food out of refrigeration for more than two hours (and one hour if it’s 90F or above.) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/30 "2019-02-28T18:16:21Z")
I’m think the “Don’t thaw in the fridge” rule is too prevent people from putting in the fridge, waiting too long, and then going “Oh it should be fine, it’s been in the fridge.” ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/31 "2019-02-28T19:00:42Z")
I would just contend that everything is mainstream now. Transient populations have essentially made all of America one big glob. Regional and ethnic specialties confined to a small geographic area have largely either spread everywhere or they aren’t particularly good. There isn’t any food that you can get in say New York that you can’t get pretty much anywhere else. The day I saw ramps being the new ‘in food’ I knew that the world had died a little. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/32 "2019-02-28T19:46:33Z")
I’ve had the Aldi frozen sushi a few times. It’s OK, but a step down from grocery store sushi. I think the Philly Roll was my least favorite. I’ve also had a spicy crab roll and some kind of tempura roll, maybe shrimp. They are handy for a day when I don’t want to prep a lunch for work. Just take one out of the freezer and it’s thawed by lunch time. It seems to me that they get the sushi a couple times a year, and I’ve been getting it there at least a couple years now. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/33 "2019-02-28T23:28:48Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I haven’t tried many ramen places, I don’t know if you mean Kizuki in carmel. That’s the place. I’ve been there with them, pretty good. Especially for Indiana. BTW, speaking of Cajun food, if you are near Carmel drop in to Mudbugs on Main Street. I go every time I visit my daughter. The owner is from Lafayette Louisiana, and the place is authentic. It is possible his wife was one of my students the one term I taught there. Maybe the best Cajun restaurant I’ve been to outside of Louisiana. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/34 "2019-03-01T19:25:25Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > That’s the place. I’ve been there with them, pretty good. Especially for Indiana. > > BTW, speaking of Cajun food, if you are near Carmel drop in to Mudbugs on Main Street. I go every time I visit my daughter. The owner is from Lafayette Louisiana, and the place is authentic. It is possible his wife was one of my students the one term I taught there. Maybe the best Cajun restaurant I’ve been to outside of Louisiana. I haven’t tried mudbugs, but I’ve heard people recommend it. I tried Papa Roux but they closed down. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/35 "2019-03-01T22:21:32Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I haven’t tried mudbugs, but I’ve heard people recommend it. I tried Papa Roux but they closed down. If you go tell him the guy who went to USL (University of Southwestern Louisiana) sent you. I suspect I’m his only customer who ever lived in Lafayette. The Louisiana one, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/36 "2019-03-02T22:17:15Z")
Well, there’s sushi and there is sushi. I’ve seen lots of 80s cookbooks and interviews with Japanese chefs who founded Canadian sushi restaurants. The fear of raw fish was real and widespread. Most sushi restaurants here offer a wide variety of Japanese food, but the only decent sushi or sashimi is made with salmon. The worst tuna that I had in Japan was far better than what people eat here. The fatty tunas I had in Tokyo were the tastiest food I have had. If you could buy it here it, most people wouldn’t pay the high prices. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2019, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/37 "2019-03-02T23:46:53Z")
The “sad but true” fact is that most fish used for raw preparations of sushi are previously frozen before being thawed and used…and yes, even at high end restaurants. But whole frozen rolls? Meh. I would think freezing would ruin the accoutrements flavors or textures, like the rice, any veggies, the seaweed sheets, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2019, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/38 "2019-03-03T00:35:39Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > The “sad but true” fact is that most fish used for raw preparations of sushi are previously frozen before being thawed and used…and yes, even at high end restaurants. Freezing fish that is to be served raw is an FDA recommendation in order to ensure any parasites are sufficiently destroyed. I, for one, am glad as [anisakiasis](https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/anisakiasis/faqs.html) doesn’t sound fun. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/39 "2019-03-03T01:30:54Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > It wont be truly mainstream until it appears at Golden Corral. It is there, in Fayetteville Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2019, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285/40 "2019-03-03T09:32:07Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > The “sad but true” fact is that most fish used for raw preparations of sushi are previously frozen before being thawed and used…and yes, even at high end restaurants. That is actually a _legal_ requirement in some areas to prevent the spread of parasites in raw fish. Federal regulations, in fact, stipulate that raw fish served in the United States _must_ undergo freezing. If that impairs the sushi experience, well, purists can just fly themselves to Japan. Or find someplace that ignores the law (but then you have to wonder about what else they might be ignoring…) To my mind it’s rather like people who claim pasteurization “ruins” milk - maybe, but getting a nasty disease from raw milk, which used to happen far too often, can ruin your entire life. Does there exist safe raw milk? Yes - but you have to do a lot picking and choosing and there’s still a non-zero risk (well, that’s true of food in general). Does there exist safe raw never-frozen fish? Yes - but the same rules apply. Professional, commercial grade freezing techniques are as far removed from your kitchen freezer as modern racing car is from your 10 year old sedan you use to put-put around your neighborhood. Even in Japan sashimi might have undergone freezing at some point. > [@](#): > > But whole frozen rolls? Meh. I would think freezing would ruin the accoutrements flavors or textures, like the rice, any veggies, the seaweed sheets, etc. Were they as wonderful as freshly made Philly rolls in a good restaurant? No. But neither was the frozen steak merlot I had last night as wonderful as a freshly prepared version of the dish, either. That doesn’t make either terrible. I wouldn’t say they were “ruined”, but they weren’t spectacular, either. Then again, they were a lot cheaper than what you’d get freshly prepared in a restaurant, too. Whether or not Aldi’s frozen sushi is worthy your time/money is up to you, as always YMMV. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sushi-is-now-officially-mainstream-in-the-us-midwest/830285.md?page=3)