<p>About 25 years ago a colleague took me to lunch in a Japanese restaurant and convinced me to try sushi. No way was I going to eat raw fish, so he suggested a lunch box which included tempura, teriyaki chicken and a California sushi roll. For anyone not familiar, a California roll is usually avocado, cucumber, crab (generally imitation these days), wrapped in seaweed and covered with a sweet, vinegar seasoned rice, sometimes coated with sesame seeds. I took one bite of the California roll (real crab in this one) and thought I died and went to heaven. I had never tasted anything quite like this and the texture was amazing.</p>
<p>A few days later I took my wife to try it and she also loved it. After going back a few times, I decided to try their early bird (the state bird of Florida) inexpensive sushi sampler which included some raw fish on rice and a tuna roll. My first thought was if I dont like it, its only $9.95 and Ill order something else. My thought after eating it was why was I wasting my time and appetite eating California rolls when this other stuff is so much better?</p>
<p>After that, I became a sushi addict, eating it three or more times per week. I would sometimes go for lunch and ask the sushi chef not to tell my wife I was there earlier when we came for dinner that same night. One time when I went in for lunch, the head waitress and the owner were proud to tell me that they named a special sushi roll after me (unfortunately not on their new menu after they changed locations a few years ago).</p>
<p>Now I am down to about once a week and it seems like theres a sushi restaurant on every corner in my city (there were only two when I lost my sushi virginity). Many sushi bars are like Cheers, people make friendly conversation and get to know each other and there is no shame in dining alone. I frequent a small place owned by a Japanese chef (most of the other sushi chefs in town are Korean), mainly patronized by regulars, including several local fisherman. The chef himself is a fishing enthusiast and organizes a couple of multi day expeditions each year. These days, I always order the chalkboard specials (he likes to change it up for his regulars depending on what is fresh and available) and a few favorites (salmon, yellowtail, fresh scallops) and never, ever California roll with imitation crab.</p>
<p>TWO WORDS:
Sweet Shrimp.
preferably live, their little tails served up with lemon on vinegar rice. Their heads a few minutes later all fried up and crunchy.</p>
<p>If I could have only one meal for the rest of my life it would be sushi. If I were a condemned prisoner, it would be my final meal. If I was stranded on a desert island it might be a good thing that I love raw fish.
We frequent a little hole in the wall that has amazing sushi that I crave if we haven’t made it there in a few days. Our Fresh Market also puts out a decent spread for a quick take out lunch. DS1 shares my obsession, DH and DS2 haven’t quite seen the light.</p>
<p>One of the many ways my wife and I complement each other. She eats the sweet shrimp (the only raw shellfish I enjoy are scallops) and I eat the heads.</p>
<p>^^^
On cruise ships, wedding buffets, etc., I’ll still grab the California rolls and enjoy them. At an authentic sushi restaurant, I stick mostly to raw nigiri and maki.</p>
<p>One of the few things I miss about living in Seattle from Bellevue is that my favorite sushi restarant is on the Eastside. ( they have a branch in Seattle, but the atmosphere is different- however it was my moms favorite restaurant, so I should go for her anniv)
I just made chi soup with brown rice, but the rice didnt get cooked enough- are you supposed to polish it first?
I did just find an asian grocery fairly close to my neighborhood, I have been craving umeboshi plums & all my regular grocery had was paste.
I like spider rolls.</p>
<p>Moving from the Bay Area to the Midwest was difficult, but we didn’t realize how hard it would be to leave our local sushi place. When we go now, I tend to stick to rolls though they were never on my list before.</p>
<p>Finding fresh uni in the Midwest is my mission for 2013.</p>
<p>I dont know if one of my favorites, " sea cucumber" is on the do not eat list.
Only had it once, when chaperoning on one of the Ds field trips in elementary school.
Marine biology class, divers brought up some treats & cooked it up right there.
I dont think I have ever seen it on a menu. So good though.</p>
<p>When my older d was 20 months old, we took her to an all-you-can-eat sushi bar in Monterey, Calfiornia. The sushi came around on a little train trestle, but the cars were little sea otter plates. “More sushi”, she’d say, and the sea otters would come around, and she’d point. Needless to say, she way out-ate the both of us. </p>
<p>The owner didn’t mind. though he wished he had a video of the whole thing for advertising.</p>
<p>Mini, my D was introduced to sushi about the same age and immediately LOVED it. In kindergarten for show and tell, she took shrimp eyes in a little baggie. Other kids brought rocks, toy cars and the like and all the kids ooohed and ahhed. Daughter showed her shrimp eyes and you could hear crickets chirping. Silly kids didn’t know what they were missing!</p>
<p>Like the OP, when I started I was skeptical about raw fish. Now when I go to the local all you can eat sushi place I order almost nothing but nigiri. When ordering to go my favorite is sashimi.</p>
<p>Mini’s story reminds me of a place in London where the sushi goes round and round on a conveyor belt in front of all the patrons. You take whatever you want and they charge you by the number and color of the plates. Also, when you ordered sake it would be delivered by a robotic serving device.</p>
<p>I was once told that Aji is Horse mackerel and Sawara is Spanish mackerel. Perhaps there are pedantic sushi lovers, but this seems to support that notion:</p>
![http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N0HrtXEHnlM/SQ3nlSS9kNI/AAAAAAAACGs/5DPX5xYudFI/s320/itsu.jpg[/url]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N0HrtXEHnlM/SQ3nlSS9kNI/AAAAAAAACGs/5DPX5xYudFI/s320/itsu.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
