(no subject)

[randomness]

I've been off the net for a few days, so I missed posting this NYTimes Op-Ed piece by Trevor Corson, author of The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, From Samurai to Supermarket. (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/opinion/15corson.html)

So Americans are stuck between chef-driven omakase meals at elite restaurants that cost a fortune and the cheap, predictable fare at our neighborhood places. Both extremes have deepened our dependence on tuna — at the high end, on super-fatty cuts of rare bluefin; and at the low end, on tasteless red flesh that has often been frozen for months and treated with chemicals to preserve its color.

What we need isn’t more tuna, but a renaissance in American sushi; to discover for ourselves — and perhaps to remind the Japanese — what sushi is all about. A trip to the neighborhood sushi bar should be a social exchange that celebrates, with a sense of balance and moderation, the wondrous variety of the sea.

I suggest that customers refuse to sit at a table or look at a menu. We should sit at the bar and ask the chef questions about everything — what he wants to make us and how we should eat it. We should agree to turn our backs on our American addictions to tuna (for starters, try mackerel), globs of fake wasabi (let the chef add the appropriate amount), gallons of soy sauce (let the chef season the sushi if it needs seasoning) and chopsticks (use your fingers so the chef can pack the sushi loosely, as he would in Japan). Diners will be amazed at how following these simple rules can make a sushi chef your friend, and take you on new adventures in taste.

In return, the chefs, be they Japanese or not, must honor the sushi tradition and make the effort to educate us — no more stoicism. They must also be willing to have a candid conversation about the budget before the meal; it’s the only way American diners will be willing to surrender to the chef’s suggestions. Sushi should never be cheap, but it also should never be exorbitant, because that makes it impossible to create a clientele of regulars.

Fraternizing with the chef may be a tough habit for Americans to take up. But we’ve had sushi here now for four decades, and it’s time for a change — both for our sake, and for the sake of the embattled tuna. Let the conversation across the sushi bar begin.

Comments

[bloodstones.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that I am not very adventurous food-wise, and that's probably not going to change, though I do try. Also, I do like using enough wasabi to make me cry, and that's probably not going to change either.

But. BUT. It's okay to eat sushi with my fingers? It's socially acceptable, normal even, in Japan? I much prefer eating sushi with my fingers, but I only do it at home because I was under the impression it was impolite. Woohoo! I am never eating sushi with chopsticks again!

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that the normal way to eat sushi is with the fingers. Of course, you can find confirmation of nearly any assertion on the web, but if it's helpful to you, see:

http://www.sushifaq.com/sushiotaku/2007/03/12/is-sushi-finger-food/

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2408.html

(Note that sashimi should always be eaten with chopsticks.)

Context

[stolen-tea.livejournal.com]

Near the end, I misinterpreted the last word of "both for our sake". :)

And I quite agree with a lot of what he's saying, too.

[merlinofchaos]

Dude, I always like to sit at the sushi bar and ask the chef what's what. But I'm only willing to do it at places where I trust the sushi chef. That makes it a little bit difficult.

Also, I don't sit at teh bar with > 3 people. It's difficult to be social that way.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

*applauds*

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

But I'm only willing to do it at places where I trust the sushi chef.

Yeah, I'm definitely with you there.

Re: Context

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

:)

[jtdiii.livejournal.com]

Having eaten mackerel, I will happily stick with just about anything else on the menu...

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

I'm with you there. I remember when fizzygeek started enjoying sushi,
but hadn't yet gotten the hang of chopsticks. She apologised for using her fingers,
but I reassured her that she had thousands of years of tradition on her side, and not
to worry about it. Oddly, the chef at Jade Garden (King of Prussia, PA) is a really
friendly sort, and fed us and mangosteen a variety of cool freebies over
the course of some hours of pleasant conversation. We were also friends with the
chefs at Edoya before it closed, and now the ones at Orient Kitchen. It's great to know
what the chefs think the best fish of the day is. It was also fun (and yummy) when one of them
created a "Christmas Eve Roll" for us.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

So, I will caveat this by saying that I'm fond of mackerel.

I'm given to understand that mackerel is traditionally pickled locally, by each restaurant, so there's supposed to be a lot of variation in taste between restaurants. It's pretty clear that nowadays this doesn't really hold true in the States. I suspect that a goodly amount of sushi mackerel sold here is bought packaged in bulk.

Which is a shame, really, because a good pickled mackerel is both healthy and tasty. You do have to like oily fish, though, which I do.

[agrimony.livejournal.com]

*sniff* I miss my sushi place in Mountain View.

Though, really. I almost never eat tuna when I go for sushi. I often sit at the bar (because I'm often by myself, so it's easier that way), but it's touch and go how much I'll chat up the chef. I tend to order a la cart rather than set plates, because I'm too picky about what I will and will not enjoy. And I avoid wasabi completely. :)

Hirame is my favorite for nigiri.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I think sushi chefs, by and large, would like to have some kind of interaction with their customers, and are pleased when they get customers who want to talk.

Some don't, of course, and that's a sad thing.

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I miss my sushi place in Mountain View.

Did we eat there together? I'm trying to remember which one it was.

[agrimony.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine that I didn't take you there. It's called Satsuma and it was located across from the apartment that I shared with Louie and Bill Stivers. They have an all you can eat sushi rolls special on Sundays.

[jtdiii.livejournal.com]

Ah, but you have hit upon the major problem, as far as I am concerned, oily fish is bait or cat food.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

Sushi is traditionally eaten with ones fingers, yes. It's a technical faux pas to eat it with chopsticks. This doesn't stop me from doing so because I started eating sushi takeout while at home and working on the computer at the same time. Oily fingers and keyboards do not mix. But I comfort myself with the knowledge that I know I'm doing it wrong.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

Sake/salmon = oily, both fresh and smoked
Maguro/tuna = not oily, red, fresh
Toro/fatty tuna = oily, whiteish, fresh
Shiro Maguro/white tuna = not oily, whiteish
Hirame/halibut = slightly oily, whiteish
Hamachi/yellowtail = slightly oily, whiteish
Anago/saltwater eel = Not oily, saltyish, usually cooked
Unagi/freshwater eel = not oily, not salty, usually cooked
Bonito/sea bass = not oily, usually seared, dark

Those are some common sushi fish, and my opinions of them.

[puffydrake.livejournal.com]

So, I read the article and treated myself to a Japanese dinner. Not at THAT place at the Crown Prince whose name I can't remember, but another squishimi bar just down the road from my place (it opened couple of months ago).

The snapper was tasty.

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

[tfarrell.livejournal.com]

It's also the prettiest thing at the sushi bar...