on eating sushi
Bobby and I went out for sushi on Saturday. I'd been reading up on Japanese culture and food and all that, so we thought we would try out the suggestions from the online gurus.
We went in and sat at the bar. We decided that we wanted a vegetable roll and an order of fish sushi. So, we told the sushi chef that we wanted one veggie and one fish, but that we wanted his recommendation. He suggested two dishes and we told them that they sounded great- a crunchy veggie roll and a five fish nigiri plate.
He brought us our food (after painstakingly preparing it- took him about 15 mins for our order as nobody else was in the restaurant). We paid attention to when he told us what fish was on each piece, asking him later to remind us if we forgot. We did not dip the veggie one in soy (it already had sauce) nor did we put wasabi in the soy or ginger on the sushi. We dipped the fish sushi lightly in the soy, fish part down. Every time he checked back, we told him what we liked about the sushi and how amazing it was (it was REALLY good, especially the veggie roll).
The sushi chef loved this. Apparently, they like to have their patrons trust their decisions. Americans don't tend to do this, so he was pretty pumped that we did. When we had finished, he brought us a surprise. He made us two pieces of fatty tuna nigiri- fatty tuna runs at "market" price in the menu and had been advertised as $16 that day for two pieces- and a fancy orange dessert for free. The tuna was incredible- he had slightly seared it and it melted in our mouths.
So, the lesson is that the next time you go for sushi, sit at the bar and let the sushi chef make you whatever he wants. It pays off.
We went in and sat at the bar. We decided that we wanted a vegetable roll and an order of fish sushi. So, we told the sushi chef that we wanted one veggie and one fish, but that we wanted his recommendation. He suggested two dishes and we told them that they sounded great- a crunchy veggie roll and a five fish nigiri plate.
He brought us our food (after painstakingly preparing it- took him about 15 mins for our order as nobody else was in the restaurant). We paid attention to when he told us what fish was on each piece, asking him later to remind us if we forgot. We did not dip the veggie one in soy (it already had sauce) nor did we put wasabi in the soy or ginger on the sushi. We dipped the fish sushi lightly in the soy, fish part down. Every time he checked back, we told him what we liked about the sushi and how amazing it was (it was REALLY good, especially the veggie roll).
The sushi chef loved this. Apparently, they like to have their patrons trust their decisions. Americans don't tend to do this, so he was pretty pumped that we did. When we had finished, he brought us a surprise. He made us two pieces of fatty tuna nigiri- fatty tuna runs at "market" price in the menu and had been advertised as $16 that day for two pieces- and a fancy orange dessert for free. The tuna was incredible- he had slightly seared it and it melted in our mouths.
So, the lesson is that the next time you go for sushi, sit at the bar and let the sushi chef make you whatever he wants. It pays off.