Sushi

I have finally decided something about sushi: I love it!

Mybirthday and my friend David's birthday were this week, so we gottogether with some friends (Chaiwat and Jenn, Stephen and Mamie, andStan) to go for a walk/hike at Lake Chabot and then go out for dinner.Jenn asked me what I was hungry for, and I gave my usual honest answer,"Anything is fine."

"That's what I figured you would say," she replied, knowing me pretty well.

Thenit hit me: I did have a preference. I wanted something I won't get inSt. Louis. I told her as much. Then it was up to David to decide whatthat something would be. I had ruled out Mexican, Italian, andAmerican. That left Asian food of some sort. Mamie was up for somethingexotic, but David was hungry for something solidly Asian. And that'show we ended up at Ray's Sushi.

(My first introduction to sushicame during my student teaching. On my last day, my 10th graders andtheir teacher--one of my supervising teachers--threw me a good-byeparty. The main food item was, of course, sushi. A California roll, tobe exact. The teacher made the rolls right there: laid out the sheet ofdried, paper-thin seaweed; spread the sticky rice over it; laid thestrips of cucumber, avocado, and smoked salmon on top of the rice;rolled up the whole thing like a rice-and-seaweed ice cream cone; andhanded it to me to try. Somehow I knew at my first mouthful that ataste for sushi would be an acquired one. It took me a long time towork my way through that sushi "cone," but I found by the end that itwasn't that bad. Subsequent opportunities to try sushi have left memore and more in favor of that food.)

I've acquired a taste forsushi--officially. That meal was AWESOME! Everybody ordered whatsounded good to him or her, and we shared. The sushi came in long rollscut into thin, big-bite-sized pieces. Stephen was kind to me and atethe strips of raw fish that were lying across the top of the kinds heand Mamie had ordered. I tried hamachi filling for the first time, atefried eel, and tempura-battered-fried yam, and tasted many other kinds.So good!

I haven't just acquired a taste for sushi. I love it! that is, as long as someone is there to help me order =D
7/26/07