Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Monday at lunch my coworkers learned that I have never tried sushi. This was followed immediately by looks of astonishment and demands that we have sushi for lunch the next day. I immediately became passive aggressive Goat and subtlely tried to change the subject, but cowing away only goaded them on more. So I caved. Surprised? I bet one reader isn't (you think you have me all figured out, don't you??) I successfully postponed it one day due to my marathon training, but today there was no excuse. It was time to face my destiny. Or something.Luckily I had a veteran take me to the local sushi shop, and he ordered some relatively mild entrees: Yellowtail, Tuna, and Spicy Tuna Rolls. Now, I wasn't entirely honest when I said I've never had sushi before. A couple summers ago I was up at Carolyn's lake "cabin" and her mom made California rolls but used cooked crab and shrimp, not raw fish. I forced down two slices dipped in soy sauce and wasabi, despite my gag reflex's vehement attempt at the opposite. Not the best experience.
So needless to say I was a little nervous about my first bite. It was a Spicy Tuna Roll. Popped one in my mouth, started chewing and, lo and behold, it was pretty good! Then I projectile vomited. Haha! No I didn't. Next up: Yellowtail. Delicious! Tuna? Scrumptuous! This stuff hardly even tastes like fish. In fact, it was like biting into a very tender (albeit uncooked) piece of beef. Not as much flavor as beef, but still fairly tasty. The waiter, who knows that this is my first time eating sushi, stops by to see how we're doing. As when all waiters stop by, my face is stuffed with a huge bite of food. I'm trying to chew up this bite and I must've made a contorted face or something because he looked at me and said, "I better get you more water," only in a Japanese accent. Awesome.
So there it is. After all these years of swearing off sushi, I actually enjoyed it. It's not like I'm going to start eating it on a regular basis, though. One step at a time, my friend. One step at a time.
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