I knew it was a matter of time before we'd start hearing about
an Atkins Diet Lo-Carb sushi.

Let's be thankfull that the " let's all let Dr. Atkins decide what we
eat" bunch hasn't managed to get tekka maki frozen. I'd imagine they
could slap a " low carb or diet " label on it and charge double what
it's worth.

Back on topic here. I think that there is nothing wrong with making
your own sushi at home. Thing is though, it is NEVER instant, or even
close to it with all the prep work. In that respect, a sushi bar can't
be beat. Even for takeout. As far as what kind to make, that all
depends on how ambitious I am and what kind of time is available for
prep. If I am by myself, I try not to make a normal batch of shari.
For me that is about 2 dry cups of rice; any leftovers get made into
fried rice. If I'm kinda short on time I'll make a bowl of chirashi. I
have even been known to bring an assortment of seafood into work
,order a small white rice from the chinese take out and make chirashi
on the spot. The rice isn't the same, but it works.

About the closest thing to instant sushi that I ever saw was in
Yokosuka Japan. This was 20 years ago. I went into a department store
and they had a lunch counter set up. Big store, I suppose most of the
employees ate there quite often. Anyway, they had about 5 guys there
just making sushi, a few more doing prep, and another half dozen
filling out orders from the counter. It was almost like a McDonalds.
Made in masse and put together to order. Give your order to the
waiter, he'd run back to the shelf, grab what he needed off the
shelves, and bring it back to you. I bought 3 maki rolls and 4 pcs of
nigiri. It took all of 3 minutes to get to me. A couple packets each
of shoyu and wasabi and I was off to the cashier.

Jim