# Was it the sushi, or was it me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754 "2009-04-02T20:09:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/41 "2009-04-03T03:13:18Z")
**chappachula** , my pet, seaweed is the _food of the gods_. Find yourself an Asian market and scare up the kind with little flat sheets of the stuff in a foil wrapper seasoned with salt and (this is important) sesame oil. Causes potato chips to run away crying and hide themselves in shame. My sushi story: back in college I took my clueless Chinese roommate out for sushi, which she’d never had before. I went over the basics (maki vs roll vs sushi vs sashimi, types of fish, stuff that is not fish, etc.), and she decided to ordered a sampler plate. A selection of fish bits was duly prepared and placed before her. She looks at it, frowns, and says: “It’s all _raw_!” ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/42 "2009-04-03T03:21:41Z")
> [@JR\_Brown](#): > > My sushi story: back in college I took my clueless Chinese roommate out for sushi, which she’d never had before. I went over the basics (maki vs roll vs sushi vs sashimi, types of fish, stuff that is not fish, etc.), and she decided to ordered a sampler plate. A selection of fish bits was duly prepared and placed before her. She looks at it, frowns, and says: “It’s all _raw_!” That reminds me…we got into making our own at home quite frequently for awhile. Being a southern boy, I eventually proclaimed “this is good, but heck, everything is better fried”. I was accused of heresy and insanity. Damn if a few months later when we went to an upscale tapia? bar what did I spy on the menu? Fried sushi rolls 🙂 And it was good too! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/43 "2009-04-03T03:39:28Z")
I’ve just come home from a new sushi place. I eat sushi often. There is a big difference between really good top rate sushi and good sushi. And then there is lousy sushi. Ask around and find the best sushi place in your local. Only get the best. Second rate sushi isn’t worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/44 "2009-04-03T04:23:53Z")
[Good sushi](http://www.sushiwhore.com/Seattle_sushi_bar_menu.html). [Better sushi](http://www.nishinorestaurant.com/food/index.html). [More-better sushi](http://www.tojos.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/45 "2009-04-03T04:56:03Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Honestly, is anyone still putting on airs over eating sushi? It’s been almost twenty years since the '80s. Eating sushi is about as exotic as eating a burrito. … > [@pulykamell](#): > > That’s what I was going to say: no one fakes loving sushi anymore. I have sushi once a month at most, but when I have it, I LOVELOVELOVE it. If I had unlimited means, I’d have it at least once a week. It’s such a perfect, pure food, satisfying, and leaves you feeling light on your feet. I wouldn’t call it bland so much as subtle, and that’s what I find so great about it. I tend to go for stronger flavored foods, but every once in awhile I need to satisfy the desire for pure, unadulterated flavors. It took me about six or seven goes to “get” sushi (I remember, the first few times a girlfriend dragged me to get sushi I ended up at McDonald’s afterwards, so I could feel like I actually ate something), but once I grew accustomed to it, I just developed a craving for it. I just always feel so satisfied and “clean” after a nice lunch of sushi or sashimi. It really makes me happy. You tell me. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/46 "2009-04-03T10:28:16Z")
> [@Hunter\_Hawk](#): > > [Good sushi](http://www.sushiwhore.com/Seattle_sushi_bar_menu.html). > > [Better sushi](http://www.nishinorestaurant.com/food/index.html). > > [More-better sushi](http://www.tojos.com/). Best sushi I’ve ever had was at a little restaurant in the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. Came from [these auctions](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eZHPJXF1zA). The chef put uni in front of me, and it was fucking delicious. Like other posters have said, if you don’t like the rolls (maki), try nigiri (cuts of sashimi on rice) or just straight sashimi. Not all sushi/sashimi is raw. It’s sometimes eaten with your hands (apparently, you’re supposed to pick it up and turn it over, dipping the fish in the wasabi/soy sauce mixture, not the bottom of the rice, but I dip my rice anyway 🙂 ). As other posters have also suggested, it could be the restaurant. The best restaurant in Boston (obviously well-known for its seafood) I’d been to was very good, but on par with the sushi I get at the small market around the corner from where I live in Hicksville, Japan. Or, also as other people have said, maybe you just don’t like it. Which is fine. I find many similarities between the taste of cooked and raw fish, but if it doesn’t do it for you then who cares? You’re not trying to impress anyone (I hope!). ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/47 "2009-04-03T13:01:16Z")
[quote=“luv2draw, post:31, topic:491754”] This is really weird. I’m reading this thread and have the TV on in the other room–can only hear it not see the picture. Jeopardy is on and they just went through one entire category. You guessed it–it was all about SHUSHI!!!QUOTE] I was actually sitting in the sushi bar eating a Bam Bam roll while watching that sequence. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/48 "2009-04-03T13:59:02Z")
> [@JR\_Brown](#): > > My sushi story: back in college I took my clueless Chinese roommate out for sushi, which she’d never had before. I went over the basics (maki vs roll vs sushi vs sashimi, types of fish, stuff that is not fish, etc.), and she decided to ordered a sampler plate. A selection of fish bits was duly prepared and placed before her. She looks at it, frowns, and says: “It’s all _raw_!” I mentioned upthread about a friend who thought that all Japanese food was live fish. Eventually I educated her a bit more about it, and she developed a fondness for it. She never became crazy about the raw fish, but she came to love fishless sushi, tempura, and miso. Anyway, we decided to throw a party, and were planning the menu. Some of our guests were a wee bit parochial in their culinary experiences, so we had to be careful to push the envelope of exoticness but not tip over into the positively offputting. My friend’s mother was a special case. She thought that chow mein from a can was the height of worldly sophistication. So we ordered some sushi, but kept the raw fish to a minimum. We figured that the mom would avoid it altogether and we had plenty of mildler alternatives for her. To our surprise, she asked to try the sushi. We were atonished at the braveness she displayed, and were eager to make the experience pleasant for her. She popped one in her mouth and started chewing. She thought it was quite delicious, and as she chewed, she started asking questions about it. One question she asked was what the green stuff on the outside was. Without really putting my thinking cap on, I just blurted out that it was seaweed. Her face turned bright red, she stuck her tongue out, and let the food fall into a napkin. She almost puked. She didn’t eat a bite the rest of the night. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/49 "2009-04-03T14:19:43Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > And then there was the night when the fish was bad or I had too much wine or who the heck knows…anyway, once I’d spent a night puking up sushi there was no way I could eat it again. Really… not even if you washed it off first? I suppose I like sushi okay, although for pure flavor if it’s between that and a KFC extra crispy wing then the Colonel gets a point for the full blown takedown. Perhaps my favorite thing about sushi is that it seems like it’s got to be incredibly healthy. I never feel guilty after eating it no matter how much we might indulge. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/50 "2009-04-03T14:46:17Z")
I agree with other people here. I am so tired of hearing: 1. That all sushi is RAW FISH, STILL WRIGGLING ON YOUR PLATE. 2. That only poseurs and snobs eat sushi because there’s no way that one could, you know, actually like that stuff. 3. That eating with chopsticks is somehow snooty. I love eating with chopsticks. I also like drinking with a straw. I like crab legs. What is common here? I like food that provides interaction, I guess, and I like the fun of chopsticks. Plus I’m going to be married into a Chinese household anyway so it behooves me to use them. But really they’re just fun. I love sushi and I rarely eat raw fish. Just don’t love it. I like the neat little packages. I did go to Minado in Queens a few years back and sampled their sushi buffet, whichwas delicious, and tried all kinds of weird things. And as others have said, I get sushi in my grocery store now. For the OP: It is you. But that’s OK - it’s Ok not to like the stuff. Why do you have to criticize people who do like it? You go to your Bob’s Country Fish Fry or whatever. I don’t bitch about that. Denny’s is for when I want to have a meal out for under $20 for two people. It’s not even in the same ballpark. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/51 "2009-04-03T15:22:14Z")
_oops_ ---
**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:** [April 3, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/52 "2009-04-03T15:23:38Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > … > You tell me. Nobody is. Or do you not believe people actually really like sushi? I’m having difficulty figuring out your point. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/53 "2009-04-03T15:32:14Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I like Sushi…but the OP has some points and is funny if not somewhat exagerated for comic effect. > Chopsticks…hmmmm two rigid rods, which when brought together on opposite sides of an object with applied pressure can be used to manuever said object. > Wait I already have 5, no wait 10, no wait 15, no wait 20, oh here we go, 21 of them already. That’s exactly why using chopsticks is so useful–it’s like picking things up with your fingers. But it’s even better, your fingers stay clean! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/54 "2009-04-03T15:39:17Z")
Last weekend I was playing a video game and I wanted a snack. I have these great things called Snapeas, they’re dried peapods, salted and seasoned. Delicious, but they leave a residue on your fingers. You can’t eat them with a fork, they shatter. You can’t eat them with a spoon, since they are too big. I didn’t want to eat them with my fingers because I didn’t want to get gunk all over the controller. Solution? Chopsticks! Perfect to pick up one at a time and eat it without making a mess. What I don’t understand is people who shoot stuff down _simply because they can’t see an immediate use for it_. There are more things in this world than you know! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/55 "2009-04-03T16:06:54Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > ..and the dig on chopsticks is a bit inane. A fork is not a “technological innovation” over chopsticks; they are parallel tools. Sushi was developed in the context of chopsticks as common utensil – a fork is the wrong tool for the job and makes no more sense for it than chopsticks would for chicken _cordon bleu_. I really don’t get this. I’ve eaten a bit of sushi, and I have enjoyed it, but I have yet to run across a piece a food that I couldn’t tackle with a knife and fork (or a spoon, on occasion). I have always felt that chopsticks were less about _function_ and more about _experience_. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/56 "2009-04-03T16:12:47Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I really don’t get this. I’ve eaten a bit of sushi, and I have enjoyed it, but I have yet to run across a piece a food that I couldn’t tackle with a knife and fork (or a spoon, on occasion). I have always felt that chopsticks were less about _function_ and more about _experience_. But…a knife and fork takes two hands. Chopsticks only take one.. How could they not have different uses? My favorite thing about chopsticks is not having to go through the rigamarole of cutting & switching hands you are supposed to do with a knife & fork. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/57 "2009-04-03T16:37:37Z")
On a serious suggestion note, my personal favorite sushi is the grilled eel, either rolled with avocado or just on the little blorp of rice. That’s good eatin’ right there. If the rice is truly tasteless you’re going to a bad sushi place. A good one, you’ll be able to get a hint of the rice wine vinegar they’re in theory stirring in there–but only a hint, sushi’s about subtle flavors most of the time. And hey, if it doesn’t float your boat, nothing wrong with that. I won’t say no to it, but I also won’t say no to a chicken-fried steak either. It’s kinda weird that in my (college) town in central PA, there are three-four places to get sushi (one of which is exceptional) but not one good place to get a chicken-fried steak with gravy. Sigh. – Z, country boy with a sushi craving. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/58 "2009-04-03T17:31:59Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > If the rice is truly tasteless you’re going to a bad sushi place. A good one, you’ll be able to get a hint of the rice wine vinegar they’re in theory stirring in there–but only a hint, sushi’s about subtle flavors most of the time. A common misconception about sushi is that it’s raw fish. It’s not. It’s rice prepared in a certain way, that is with rice wine vinegar and (I think) a little sugar. It needs nothing else. To say that you don’t like sushi because it’s nothing but raw fish is like saying you don’t like bread because it’s nothing but peanut butter. Having said that, chopsticks have many practical uses. When I had a broken wrist and had a cast on my arm for 8 weeks and the dead skin inside was DRIVING ME NUTS, a chopstick became my best friend. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/59 "2009-04-03T17:59:25Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > … > > You tell me. Okay. The answer is, “No.” ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754/60 "2009-04-03T18:06:20Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > A common misconception about sushi is that it’s raw fish. It’s not. It’s rice prepared in a certain way, that is with rice wine vinegar and (I think) a little sugar. It needs nothing else. To say that you don’t like sushi because it’s nothing but raw fish is like saying you don’t like bread because it’s nothing but peanut butter. That’s a damn good point and one I completely forgot to mention. Frankly my favorite sushi is all cooked (grilled eel, tempura shrimp/crab) although I have a thing for salmon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-it-the-sushi-or-was-it-me/491754.md?page=4)