On 2010-02-07 04:50:38 -0800, MichaelDamianJeter said:

First time poster.

Welcome!

I have enjoyed sushi for at least 20 years now.

For Lundi Gras - The Monday before Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday - I will do
my second omikase at a joint my girlfrend Rolanda and I discovered in
January called Tokyo Hibachi Sushi in Kenner, LA. My first omikase,
though I did not
know the name at the time, occurred at Mr. Pi´s in Metuchen, NJ.

I prefer sashimi over sushi, but still eat some sushi. I also have a
blast going in to restaurants and making a meal off their appetizers,
as I still have not tried many dishes. Rolanda´s favorite, and still
rated very highly by me, is Ninja Sushi.

Sushi chefs are creative in coming up with fun names for their food.
What's ninja sushi?

As I am a bit of an environmentalist, I also enjoy trying less
expensive, lower fish - mackerel, sardines, anchovies. I like tuna and
salmon - don´ t get me wrong, but as someone said a few days ago, the
last tuna will be very expensive.

Because the wife and I like the taste of more oily fish, we too like
the ones you mention. These are called hikarimono; "shiny things" and
also include herring (nishin), kohada (gizzard shad), and half-beak
(sayori). The last two use to be rarities. Curiously there is one place
that always seems to have them these days and another that has them
regularly. We like to get a sashimi selection of hikarimono which
seems to make sushi chefs think we are "experts".

I've never found in tuna what the world finds, it seems. Though
certainly a pleasant item, It is my least favorite common found sushi.
I'm not including chu-toro or toro in that category. Just regular tuna.

I still consider myself a novice, but look to learn more.

If you see a book called "A Dictionary of Japanese Food, Ingredients &
Culture" by Richard Hosking, get it. It will help you learn more much
faster.
--
Dogmatism kills jazz. Iconoclasm kills rock. Rock dulls scissors.