A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after many
years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have strong
dislikes even if they are completely different.


--
James V. Silverton
Potomac, Maryland, USA

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
> eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
> about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after many
> years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
> shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
> people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have strong
> dislikes even if they are completely different.

>
Raw shrimp grosses me out. So does sea urchin. Salmon Roe, too. I love
eel- I have two flash-frozen roasted ones in my freezer. Salmon skin is one
of my favorites.

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
> eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
> about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after many
> years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
> shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
> people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have strong
> dislikes even if they are completely different.
>
>
> --
> James V. Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland, USA
>
I can appreciate that everyone has likes and dislikes James, but what I find
strange
is your dislike of eel. This especially in a sushi newsgroup.
I say that because I have had broiled eel as well as eel in tomato sauce in
Italy, and of course
I have also had smoked eel in the US. And in comparison, the Japanese
kabayaki style (with the sweet sauce)
tastes the least like eel because of the strong sauce flavor.

On Thu, 6 Nov 2003 13:23:05 -0500, James Silverton
> wrote:
> A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
> eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
> about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after many
> years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
> shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
> people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have strong
> dislikes even if they are completely different.

I don't much care for clams in sushi, even though I've
tried them several times. Ditto squid and octopus, which I'll eat,
but I don't find that they have a whole lot of flavor. (I've had both
in other dishes and liked them, though.) I think everything else in
sushi is fair game.... I haven't tried natto yet, though. My husband
has, and that's the only thing he really does NOT enjoy.

I'm surprised about the eel, though. Nearly everyone I've
known of who's tried it ends up liking it, despite their initial
reluctance to eat it. In their case, it's more of a mental block than
anything else, IMO. If they can get over that and give it a fair
shot, they usually end up liking the mild, sweet taste. To me, the
texture is similar enough to fish that it wasn't that weird. Out of
curiousity, what about the texture bothers you?

Ariane

"Musashi" > wrote in message
om...
>
> "James Silverton" > wrote in message
> ...
> > A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
> > eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
> > about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after
many
> > years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
> > shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
> > people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have
strong
> > dislikes even if they are completely different.
> >
> >
> > --
> > James V. Silverton
> > Potomac, Maryland, USA
> >
> I can appreciate that everyone has likes and dislikes James, but what I
find
> strange
> is your dislike of eel. This especially in a sushi newsgroup.
> I say that because I have had broiled eel as well as eel in tomato sauce
in
> Italy, and of course
> I have also had smoked eel in the US. And in comparison, the Japanese
> kabayaki style (with the sweet sauce)
> tastes the least like eel because of the strong sauce flavor.
>

That's all right: I find your liking for eel strange, too! It's a long
established principle that you can't really *argue* about taste ("De
gustibus non est disputandum" as Thomas said) but you certainly can discuss
it!

Jim.

"Ariane Jenkins" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 6 Nov 2003 13:23:05 -0500, James Silverton
> > wrote:
> > A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
> > eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
> > about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after
many
> > years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
> > shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
> > people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have
strong
> > dislikes even if they are completely different.
>
> I don't much care for clams in sushi, even though I've
> tried them several times. Ditto squid and octopus, which I'll eat,
> but I don't find that they have a whole lot of flavor. (I've had both
> in other dishes and liked them, though.) I think everything else in
> sushi is fair game.... I haven't tried natto yet, though. My husband
> has, and that's the only thing he really does NOT enjoy.
>
> I'm surprised about the eel, though. Nearly everyone I've
> known of who's tried it ends up liking it, despite their initial
> reluctance to eat it. In their case, it's more of a mental block than
> anything else, IMO. If they can get over that and give it a fair
> shot, they usually end up liking the mild, sweet taste. To me, the
> texture is similar enough to fish that it wasn't that weird. Out of
> curiousity, what about the texture bothers you?
>
> Ariane
>

Actually, tho' there can be a majority opinion, you can't get universal
agreement with me around (g). It's probably that eel seems to have a
pronounced "fishy" taste to *me*, maybe because the skin is usually present.
You also reminded me that I don't like natto but only because, IMHO, it's
totally uninteresting and I've tried it several times. However, I like
octopus and squid, cooked, uncooked, large and small!

Jim.

Try some natto!
Let me know where that falls on the list :-)






"It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave"
The Moody Blues

In article >, Tea
> wrote:

> Raw shrimp grosses me out. So does sea urchin. Salmon Roe, too. I love
> eel- I have two flash-frozen roasted ones in my freezer. Salmon skin is one
> of my favorites.

I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
really do volume business ports don't like Uni. And many other items,
actually. We get the little uni-skids delivered directly to the shops
in the afternoons in Southern California and it can be sublime. Every
time I've had it in Dallas, Chicago or New Orleans (for instance) I
thought it ghastly. I've forced it on people from out of state that
don't like uni and they were usually surprised at how much they liked
it. Particularly when the urchin was cut open while the waited.

The only things I don't like are natto (thought I may not be completely
through trying to find a place for it in my palette). Also I really
don't like the viscous quality of grated yama imo, though I like it
julienned well enough.

Disliking anything is fine for anybody. I could care less. But I
really don't like eating with people who have to tippy-toe through
every blessed thing on the menu or get a complete schematic for
something they haven't tried. Nancy and I invariable select almost any
fish or item we've not tried before. And it's a very rare day we've
been dissapointed by something novel.

On the other hand in some Korean and Chinese owned/operated places (not
a nationalist attack, just a personal experience) I've had very basic
fish that was inedible; even hamachi and maguro. I took a bite of saba
in one such place and reflexively spit it into my tea cup to avoid
unloading it on the table. THAT was a first, I can assure you! When I
mentioned it was WAY off they just shrugged and didn't credit my tab.

Then I look around the sushi-bar and wonder how restricted the tastes
are of the "regulars" that eat there.

--
///--- Vote for the richest Republican. He understand the common man.

"Gerry" > wrote in message
d...
> In article >, Tea
> > wrote:
>
> > Raw shrimp grosses me out. So does sea urchin. Salmon Roe, too. I love
> > eel- I have two flash-frozen roasted ones in my freezer. Salmon skin is
one
> > of my favorites.
>
> I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
> really do volume business ports don't like Uni. And many other items,
> actually. We get the little uni-skids delivered directly to the shops
> in the afternoons in Southern California and it can be sublime. Every
> time I've had it in Dallas, Chicago or New Orleans (for instance) I
> thought it ghastly. I've forced it on people from out of state that
> don't like uni and they were usually surprised at how much they liked
> it. Particularly when the urchin was cut open while the waited.


Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat seafood in
a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would be
out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few hours
too many on the plane.

Natto and okra are both not to my taste.

oroll (JEdmo123) wrote in message >...
> Try some natto!
> Let me know where that falls on the list :-)
>
> "It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave"
> The Moody Blues

natto! ugh! when my shoes smell like that i throw them out!

barry

In article >, Tea
> wrote:

> > I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
> > really do volume business ports don't like Uni. And many other items,
> > actually. We get the little uni-skids delivered directly to the shops
> > in the afternoons in Southern California and it can be sublime. Every
> > time I've had it in Dallas, Chicago or New Orleans (for instance) I
> > thought it ghastly. I've forced it on people from out of state that
> > don't like uni and they were usually surprised at how much they liked
> > it. Particularly when the urchin was cut open while the waited.
>
>
> Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat seafood in
> a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would be
> out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few hours
> too many on the plane.

You think they pull the uni in at the seafront on the New England
coast? In any case many of the seafood items we get, on both coasts
are simply gotten here quickly.

> Natto and okra are both not to my taste.

Actually I like okra okay if it's deep-fried. Hmm. I wonder if I'd
like yama imo better that-a-way.

--
///--- Vote for the richest Republican. He understand the common man.

On Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:51:21 GMT, "Tea" > wrote:

>Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat seafood in
>a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would be
>out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few hours
>too many on the plane

With air shipping the fish flown to Chicago is just as fresh as that
bought at Sushi wholesalers then stored by the sushi restaurant. Did
you think each sushi restaurant went to the Fulton markets each day?
Maybe a very few do, but most buy from sushi-specialist wholesalers.

As for fresh in NYC. I don't think ANY of what you are eating was
pulled from the Hudson. Maybe bluefish or striper??

I am on Cape Cod. Someday try scallop sushi freshly bought from a
scallop trawler as it's unloading the catch. It takes a lot of
pleading, but it's worth it -- fresh scallop roe is wonderful. As is
striped bass within three hours after it was reeled from the surf and
iced. Or winter flounder or fluke fileted within 10 minutes of being
caught.

On Thu, 6 Nov 2003 16:31:28 -0500,
James Silverton > wrote:
>
> Actually, tho' there can be a majority opinion, you can't get universal
> agreement with me around (g). It's probably that eel seems to have a
> pronounced "fishy" taste to *me*, maybe because the skin is usually present.
> You also reminded me that I don't like natto but only because, IMHO, it's
> totally uninteresting and I've tried it several times. However, I like
> octopus and squid, cooked, uncooked, large and small!

Ahh, maybe that's it. The sushi bars here seem to remove
the eel skin for nigiri. When we buy eel prepackaged, I also tend to
remove it because it has a rather slippery texture my husband doesn't
care for. I didn't think the taste was too strong, but it doesn't add
anything good, either. Our experience has been with sushi newbies who
balk at the idea of eel, but are willing to try it because it's
COOKED. ;D The taste/texture seems more familiar to them than say,
raw hamachi.

I do love squid grilled or breaded and fried, and baby
octopus is very good in curries, as long as neither of them are
overcooked. But when rubbery...ugh!

Ariane

I was wary on my first go at sweet shrimps. I had always considered them
(and still do) best served cooked, but was pleasantly suprised with the
experience and now order it when I go out.


"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
> eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
> about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after many
> years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
> shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
> people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have strong
> dislikes even if they are completely different.
>
>
> --
> James V. Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland, USA
>

"Cape Cod Bob" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:51:21 GMT, "Tea" > wrote:
>
> >Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat seafood
in
> >a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would
be
> >out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few
hours
> >too many on the plane
>
> With air shipping the fish flown to Chicago is just as fresh as that
> bought at Sushi wholesalers then stored by the sushi restaurant. Did
> you think each sushi restaurant went to the Fulton markets each day?
> Maybe a very few do, but most buy from sushi-specialist wholesalers.
>
> As for fresh in NYC. I don't think ANY of what you are eating was
> pulled from the Hudson. Maybe bluefish or striper??
>

NY State laws prevent just about anything caught in the Hudson to be
sold commercially. Of course Stripers do go up the hudson and come down
so they can be caught outside of the Hudson and no one would know.


> I am on Cape Cod. Someday try scallop sushi freshly bought from a
> scallop trawler as it's unloading the catch. It takes a lot of
> pleading, but it's worth it -- fresh scallop roe is wonderful. As is
> striped bass within three hours after it was reeled from the surf and
> iced. Or winter flounder or fluke fileted within 10 minutes of being
> caught.

Only a person who is into ocean fishing or is in close proximity to the sea
and
fishing vessels can do this. That is a dream come true.

In article >, James Silverton
> wrote:

> Actually, tho' there can be a majority opinion, you can't get universal
> agreement with me around (g). It's probably that eel seems to have a
> pronounced "fishy" taste to *me*, maybe because the skin is usually present.
> You also reminded me that I don't like natto but only because, IMHO, it's
> totally uninteresting and I've tried it several times. However, I like
> octopus and squid, cooked, uncooked, large and small!

That's interesting. I rarely find people that are that crazy about the
tako and ika--in any configuration. They call them "hard" and "chewy",
and these are, apparently, qualities they don't like.

Do you like mirugai (giant clam I think), as well?

--
///--- Vote for the richest Republican. He understand the common man.

In article >, Cape Cod Bob
> wrote:

> On Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:51:21 GMT, "Tea" > wrote:
>
> >Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat seafood in
> >a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would be
> >out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few hours
> >too many on the plane
>
> With air shipping the fish flown to Chicago is just as fresh as that
> bought at Sushi wholesalers then stored by the sushi restaurant. Did
> you think each sushi restaurant went to the Fulton markets each day?
> Maybe a very few do, but most buy from sushi-specialist wholesalers.

That's surely so. I remember in Dallas (1982-ish), though, where my
early sushi-mentors pointed out to me that the the sushi-plane came in
on Thursday mornings. The cautioned me away from uni and a few other
items on a Wednesday night.

My assumption is that, due to the geographical aspects, uni and other
items around here (Southern California) is simply fresher. It doesn't
layabout in transit for an addtional 12 hours or 2 days getting to
wherever-the hell. And yes, much of it is pulled out of local waters.
"Local" being a relatively large are.

It may also be due to other factors. A lot of the places we go around
here, we're the only non-Japanese in the place. I assume there is a
attendance to freshness (and decorum) that I know is not as necessary
in those in anglo-only joints. That's my experience.

--
///--- Vote for the richest Republican. He understand the common man.

Tea wrote:

> "Gerry" > wrote in message
> d...
>
>>In article >, Tea
> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Raw shrimp grosses me out. So does sea urchin. Salmon Roe, too. I love
>>>eel- I have two flash-frozen roasted ones in my freezer. Salmon skin is
>>>
> one
>
>>>of my favorites.
>>>
>>I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
>>really do volume business ports don't like Uni. And many other items,
>>actually. We get the little uni-skids delivered directly to the shops
>>in the afternoons in Southern California and it can be sublime. Every
>>time I've had it in Dallas, Chicago or New Orleans (for instance) I
>>thought it ghastly. I've forced it on people from out of state that
>>don't like uni and they were usually surprised at how much they liked
>>it. Particularly when the urchin was cut open while the waited.
>>
>
>
> Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat seafood in
> a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would be
> out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few hours
> too many on the plane.

I had the best sushi ever at Hatsuhana in Chicago. Your argument is flawed
bacause many items are flown from Japan. How many hours is too many?

--
Dan

Gerry wrote:

> In article >, James Silverton
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Actually, tho' there can be a majority opinion, you can't get universal
>>agreement with me around (g). It's probably that eel seems to have a
>>pronounced "fishy" taste to *me*, maybe because the skin is usually present.
>>You also reminded me that I don't like natto but only because, IMHO, it's
>>totally uninteresting and I've tried it several times. However, I like
>>octopus and squid, cooked, uncooked, large and small!
>>
>
> That's interesting. I rarely find people that are that crazy about the
> tako and ika--in any configuration. They call them "hard" and "chewy",
> and these are, apparently, qualities they don't like.


I love ika, especially when it has the creamy flavor. I'm not into tako
since it has very little flavor.


> Do you like mirugai (giant clam I think), as well?


It's ok, but not on my order list. If it's served to me, I'll eat it.

--
Dan

In article >, Dan Logcher
> wrote:

> I had the best sushi ever at Hatsuhana in Chicago. Your argument is flawed
> bacause many items are flown from Japan. How many hours is too many

Hatsuhana rocks. Unfortunately the table service is about as screwed
as a KMart. I wrote a 3-page blistering review if you recall, some 5-6
years ago in this forum. But jeez the food was good.

The point is that not every sushi joint in Chicago has fish like that.
I noted many items of the day as being from Japan. That won't be true
of any of the other 3 or 4 sushi joints on that same street.

--
///--- Vote for the richest Republican. He understand the common man.

Gerry wrote:

> In article >, Dan Logcher
> > wrote:
>
>
>>I had the best sushi ever at Hatsuhana in Chicago. Your argument is flawed
>>bacause many items are flown from Japan. How many hours is too many
>>
>
> Hatsuhana rocks. Unfortunately the table service is about as screwed
> as a KMart. I wrote a 3-page blistering review if you recall, some 5-6
> years ago in this forum. But jeez the food was good.


I sat at the bar for the real sushi experience and had a great meal
with this radiologist I met in the 15 minute line to get a seat.


> The point is that not every sushi joint in Chicago has fish like that.
> I noted many items of the day as being from Japan. That won't be true
> of any of the other 3 or 4 sushi joints on that same street.


But my point is that since they did, that means that flight times from
an ocean don't really matter. Most sushi items can be frozen for such
flights and still come out pretty well for sushi.

--
Dan

On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 16:28:54 -0800, Gerry
> wrote:

>I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
>really do volume business ports don't like Uni.

I've had excellent uni in at least 3 establishments in and around the
Greater Boston area. In an odd twist of fate, the first time I ever
had uni and it was off was in La Jolla (I honestly forget the name of
the restaurant now though - however PB Sushi Club in San Diego was
quite good as I recall...really, really good ankimo. All this was
back in '98 though).

Scoop

"Musashi" > wrote in message
. com...
>
> "Cape Cod Bob" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:51:21 GMT, "Tea" > wrote:
> >
> > >Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat
seafood
> in
> > >a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would
> be
> > >out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few
> hours
> > >too many on the plane
> >
> > With air shipping the fish flown to Chicago is just as fresh as that
> > bought at Sushi wholesalers then stored by the sushi restaurant. Did
> > you think each sushi restaurant went to the Fulton markets each day?
> > Maybe a very few do, but most buy from sushi-specialist wholesalers.
> >
> > As for fresh in NYC. I don't think ANY of what you are eating was
> > pulled from the Hudson. Maybe bluefish or striper??

I grew up in Queens, and my father used to go to Sheepshead Bay on a regular
basis and buy fresh blues, flounder, fluke, and so on. I live right near a
Greenmarket where we get fresh (caught that morning) fish four days a week.
New York isn't just on the hudson. We're part of Long Island Sound. I get
fresh clams, oysters, mussels and sometimes scallops just by walking out my
door. Fulton Fish Market isn't the only game in this town. Still I
understand what you mean. However, when I go over to NJ to Mitsuwa, I
suspect the fish is a bit fresher. To a great extent, this is a
psychological thing, and I know it.
> >
>
> NY State laws prevent just about anything caught in the Hudson to be
> sold commercially. Of course Stripers do go up the hudson and come down
> so they can be caught outside of the Hudson and no one would know.

Actually, one can eat fish from the Hudson, if one catches it. I wouldn't,
though.
>
>
> > I am on Cape Cod. Someday try scallop sushi freshly bought from a
> > scallop trawler as it's unloading the catch. It takes a lot of
> > pleading, but it's worth it -- fresh scallop roe is wonderful. As is
> > striped bass within three hours after it was reeled from the surf and
> > iced. Or winter flounder or fluke fileted within 10 minutes of being
> > caught.

I have had flounder and fluke within ten minutes of being caught. My
parents had a boat, and my father used to fish while we were out. I've had
striped bass within three hours, too- but I have to get to the Greenmarket
early for that. It makes for a good breakfast.
>
> Only a person who is into ocean fishing or is in close proximity to the
sea
> and
> fishing vessels can do this. That is a dream come true.


No offense, but have you ever looked at a map of lower New York State? We
don't live in Kansas. Our port is why we have a city here- the warm water
portage was better here than Boston, since it's rare for NYC to freeze over.
That's also why the British took us from the Dutch. Our rivers also act as a
gateway to the west, and the Erie Canal improved our gateway.

I grew up near ocean water. My mother is from Maryland- she grew up with
the Chesapeake. My father wasn't quite as lucky, but he loved ocean water
enough to get into boating.
In Brooklyn, there are party boats that leave every morning all year round
to go into ocean water for fish, along with regular fishing boats. Even
more boats leave from Montauk Point and other areas along the Sound. I grew
up knowing how to scale, clean, and filet- I could filet a fish in my sleep.
While this may not be Cape Cod, not all of us down here grew up thinking
that stuff in the supermarket was fresh or even edible. In fact, I ate
scallops today- I cooked that a few days ago, but when I bought them, they
had been out of the water for maybe 5 or 6 hours (I didn't get to the
Greenmarket early enough).

"Gerry" > wrote in message
d...
> In article >, Cape Cod Bob
> > wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:51:21 GMT, "Tea" > wrote:
> >
> > >Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat
seafood in
> > >a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would
be
> > >out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few
hours
> > >too many on the plane
> >
> > With air shipping the fish flown to Chicago is just as fresh as that
> > bought at Sushi wholesalers then stored by the sushi restaurant. Did
> > you think each sushi restaurant went to the Fulton markets each day?
> > Maybe a very few do, but most buy from sushi-specialist wholesalers.
>
> That's surely so. I remember in Dallas (1982-ish), though, where my
> early sushi-mentors pointed out to me that the the sushi-plane came in
> on Thursday mornings. The cautioned me away from uni and a few other
> items on a Wednesday night.
>
> My assumption is that, due to the geographical aspects, uni and other
> items around here (Southern California) is simply fresher. It doesn't
> layabout in transit for an addtional 12 hours or 2 days getting to
> wherever-the hell. And yes, much of it is pulled out of local waters.
> "Local" being a relatively large are.
>
> It may also be due to other factors. A lot of the places we go around
> here, we're the only non-Japanese in the place. I assume there is a
> attendance to freshness (and decorum) that I know is not as necessary
> in those in anglo-only joints. That's my experience.
>
I would agree with you wholeheartedly. I live near the East Village, which
has a growing Japanese population. I ONLY eat sushi in places where the
majority of diners are Japanese, because I now have that as a viable option.
How fresh the fish might be in other parts of the city I can only guess, but
I'm no longer willing to find out when I don't have to.

"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
...
> Tea wrote:
>
> > "Gerry" > wrote in message
> > d...
> >
> >>In article >, Tea
> > wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Raw shrimp grosses me out. So does sea urchin. Salmon Roe, too. I
love
> >>>eel- I have two flash-frozen roasted ones in my freezer. Salmon skin
is
> >>>
> > one
> >
> >>>of my favorites.
> >>>
> >>I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
> >>really do volume business ports don't like Uni. And many other items,
> >>actually. We get the little uni-skids delivered directly to the shops
> >>in the afternoons in Southern California and it can be sublime. Every
> >>time I've had it in Dallas, Chicago or New Orleans (for instance) I
> >>thought it ghastly. I've forced it on people from out of state that
> >>don't like uni and they were usually surprised at how much they liked
> >>it. Particularly when the urchin was cut open while the waited.
> >>
> >
> >
> > Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat
seafood in
> > a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would
be
> > out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few
hours
> > too many on the plane.
>
> I had the best sushi ever at Hatsuhana in Chicago. Your argument is
flawed
> bacause many items are flown from Japan. How many hours is too many?
>
Dan, you would certainly know better than I. I admitted it was a prejudice
more than anything else- otherwise I would have tried to back it up with
facts.

But this does lead to a question- if the seafood in California is much
fresher than anywhere else (which I don't have a problem believing) why was
the sucshi so much better in Chicago?

Scoop wrote:

> On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 16:28:54 -0800, Gerry
> > wrote:
>
>
>>I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
>>really do volume business ports don't like Uni.
>>
>
> I've had excellent uni in at least 3 establishments in and around the
> Greater Boston area. In an odd twist of fate, the first time I ever
> had uni and it was off was in La Jolla (I honestly forget the name of
> the restaurant now though - however PB Sushi Club in San Diego was
> quite good as I recall...really, really good ankimo. All this was
> back in '98 though).

Scoop! Where in Boston?

--
Dan

Tea wrote:

> "Musashi" > wrote in message
> . com...
>
>>"Cape Cod Bob" > wrote in message
. ..
>>
>>>On Fri, 07 Nov 2003 00:51:21 GMT, "Tea" > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Thing is, we do get fresh seafood in New York. I would never eat
>>>>
> seafood
>
>>in
>>
>>>>a place that isn't near the ocean anyway- eating sushi in Chicago would
>>>>
>>be
>>
>>>>out of the question for me, simply because I think that's just a few
>>>>
>>hours
>>
>>>>too many on the plane
>>>>
>>>With air shipping the fish flown to Chicago is just as fresh as that
>>>bought at Sushi wholesalers then stored by the sushi restaurant. Did
>>>you think each sushi restaurant went to the Fulton markets each day?
>>>Maybe a very few do, but most buy from sushi-specialist wholesalers.
>>>
>>>As for fresh in NYC. I don't think ANY of what you are eating was
>>>pulled from the Hudson. Maybe bluefish or striper??
>>>
>
> I grew up in Queens, and my father used to go to Sheepshead Bay on a regular
> basis and buy fresh blues, flounder, fluke, and so on. I live right near a
> Greenmarket where we get fresh (caught that morning) fish four days a week.
> New York isn't just on the hudson. We're part of Long Island Sound. I get
> fresh clams, oysters, mussels and sometimes scallops just by walking out my
> door. Fulton Fish Market isn't the only game in this town. Still I
> understand what you mean. However, when I go over to NJ to Mitsuwa, I
> suspect the fish is a bit fresher. To a great extent, this is a
> psychological thing, and I know it.
>
>>NY State laws prevent just about anything caught in the Hudson to be
>>sold commercially. Of course Stripers do go up the hudson and come down
>>so they can be caught outside of the Hudson and no one would know.
>>
>
> Actually, one can eat fish from the Hudson, if one catches it. I wouldn't,
> though.
>
>>
>>>I am on Cape Cod. Someday try scallop sushi freshly bought from a
>>>scallop trawler as it's unloading the catch. It takes a lot of
>>>pleading, but it's worth it -- fresh scallop roe is wonderful. As is
>>>striped bass within three hours after it was reeled from the surf and
>>>iced. Or winter flounder or fluke fileted within 10 minutes of being
>>>caught.
>>>
>
> I have had flounder and fluke within ten minutes of being caught. My
> parents had a boat, and my father used to fish while we were out. I've had
> striped bass within three hours, too- but I have to get to the Greenmarket
> early for that. It makes for a good breakfast.
>
>>Only a person who is into ocean fishing or is in close proximity to the
>>
> sea
>
>>and
>>fishing vessels can do this. That is a dream come true.
>>
>
>
> No offense, but have you ever looked at a map of lower New York State? We
> don't live in Kansas. Our port is why we have a city here- the warm water
> portage was better here than Boston, since it's rare for NYC to freeze over.
> That's also why the British took us from the Dutch. Our rivers also act as a
> gateway to the west, and the Erie Canal improved our gateway.


Damn those British! We could have been a kick-ass Dutch colony with
hookers and drugs!!! And RAW herring!!!

--
Dan

Tea wrote:

> Dan, you would certainly know better than I. I admitted it was a prejudice
> more than anything else- otherwise I would have tried to back it up with
> facts.
>
> But this does lead to a question- if the seafood in California is much
> fresher than anywhere else (which I don't have a problem believing) why was
> the sucshi so much better in Chicago?

I've also had excellent sushi in San Francisco. The sushi at Hatsuhana
was extremely fresh. The ikura was bouncing out of the gunkan maki and
rolling around. The uni was sweet and creamy. The albacore tender and
tasty. They also had excellent kohada and saba. It was a fabulous
selection of quality sushi, some of which was flown in from Japan.

--
Dan

"James Silverton" > wrote in message
...
> A current thread mentioned that newcomers might be nervous and dislike
> eating raw fish and it occurred to me that, tho' I am very enthusiastic
> about most forms of sushi, there some things that I still avoid after many
> years. The major things that come to mind are salmon skin, raw (sweet)
> shrimp and eel in all forms and it's not texture but taste! I know many
> people will disagree vehemently with me but I wonder if others have strong
> dislikes even if they are completely different.
>
>
> --
> James V. Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland, USA
>

I don't care for rolls with mayonaise and cream cheese, I'd rather spend my
money on anything else. Smoked salmon belongs on bagles, not in sushi.

My favorites, in no particular order.. unagi,ikura, ama ebi(with the heads
fried), uni, toro, scallop, saba...

> >
> > No offense, but have you ever looked at a map of lower New York State?
We
> > don't live in Kansas. Our port is why we have a city here- the warm
water
> > portage was better here than Boston, since it's rare for NYC to freeze
over.
> > That's also why the British took us from the Dutch. Our rivers also act
as a
> > gateway to the west, and the Erie Canal improved our gateway.
>
>
> Damn those British! We could have been a kick-ass Dutch colony with
> hookers and drugs!!! And RAW herring!!!

Alas- the hookers and drugs are gone (we've turned into Disneyland), and we
don't even have good herring (unless you count the pickled herring at Russ
and Daughters)!

LOL

"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
...
> Tea wrote:
>
> > Dan, you would certainly know better than I. I admitted it was a
prejudice
> > more than anything else- otherwise I would have tried to back it up with
> > facts.
> >
> > But this does lead to a question- if the seafood in California is much
> > fresher than anywhere else (which I don't have a problem believing) why
was
> > the sucshi so much better in Chicago?
>
> I've also had excellent sushi in San Francisco. The sushi at Hatsuhana
> was extremely fresh. The ikura was bouncing out of the gunkan maki and
> rolling around. The uni was sweet and creamy. The albacore tender and
> tasty. They also had excellent kohada and saba. It was a fabulous
> selection of quality sushi, some of which was flown in from Japan.
>
> --
> Dan
>

Maybe that's it. The thing is, I would trust a quality sushi restaurant
anywhere- I'm not foolish to think they only exist in coastal cities (and my
bad for implying it). However, fromthe little I've seen of the Midwest,
most people there don't know from fresh fish. I have more trust (probably
unwisely) in my little local (Japanese owned and patronized) places than I
do in the fast food sushi joints here or the ones I've seen around the
country, or even in restaurants that are in areas where there are pretty
much no Japanese. I once made the mistake of eating sushi at a tacky
restaurant in suburban Maryland- it was the most awful stuff I'd ever
tasted. I think I may have been the first person to order raw sushi there
in years.

If there was a Hatsuhana on the moon, I would trust it- but would I go to
Chicago and look for a sushi palace on my own without advice first? No. I'd
be more likely to do that in San fran, Boston, or Portland, though. Rightly
or wrongly, I think those cities have a better turnover of fish regardless
of how long it takes for the shiments to arrive. And again- this is an
uninformed prejudice.

Tea wrote:

>>>No offense, but have you ever looked at a map of lower New York State?
>>>
> We
>
>>>don't live in Kansas. Our port is why we have a city here- the warm
>>>
> water
>
>>>portage was better here than Boston, since it's rare for NYC to freeze
>>>
> over.
>
>>>That's also why the British took us from the Dutch. Our rivers also act
>>>
> as a
>
>>>gateway to the west, and the Erie Canal improved our gateway.
>>>
>>
>>Damn those British! We could have been a kick-ass Dutch colony with
>>hookers and drugs!!! And RAW herring!!!
>>
>
> Alas- the hookers and drugs are gone (we've turned into Disneyland), and we
> don't even have good herring (unless you count the pickled herring at Russ
> and Daughters)!

Ugh! Pickled Herring does not count. Oh the horror!!!

--
Dan

Tea wrote:

>
> Maybe that's it. The thing is, I would trust a quality sushi restaurant
> anywhere- I'm not foolish to think they only exist in coastal cities (and my
> bad for implying it). However, fromthe little I've seen of the Midwest,
> most people there don't know from fresh fish. I have more trust (probably
> unwisely) in my little local (Japanese owned and patronized) places than I
> do in the fast food sushi joints here or the ones I've seen around the
> country, or even in restaurants that are in areas where there are pretty
> much no Japanese. I once made the mistake of eating sushi at a tacky
> restaurant in suburban Maryland- it was the most awful stuff I'd ever
> tasted. I think I may have been the first person to order raw sushi there
> in years.


That's typically how I look for quality sushi bars, that and talking
with the sushi chef about his work.


> If there was a Hatsuhana on the moon, I would trust it- but would I go to
> Chicago and look for a sushi palace on my own without advice first? No. I'd
> be more likely to do that in San fran, Boston, or Portland, though. Rightly
> or wrongly, I think those cities have a better turnover of fish regardless
> of how long it takes for the shiments to arrive. And again- this is an
> uninformed prejudice.


That's what I did. I asked here about a really good sushi bar in
Chicago before my trip. I was able to get some pretty good input
from people here and made my decision easier.

Best to ask from people in the mid-West. There are a good number of
sushi eaters from Arizona that read here.. maybe they can help with
this.

--
Dan

On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 06:33:14 GMT, Dan Logcher
> wrote:

>Damn those British! We could have been a kick-ass Dutch colony with
>hookers and drugs!!! And RAW herring!!!

Dan,
There are herring runs all around me! In the spring, it's easy to get
the limit of 6/day. I have never heard of, never mind tried, raw
herring! 99.99% of the thousands netted are used for striper bait.
I reserved .01% only because I'd guess there are a few people -
handsful - either smoking or pickling the herring.

Is there any particular species of herring the Dutch use? How do they
prepare and serve it? Condiments? Tell me more.

Cape Cod Bob wrote:

> On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 06:33:14 GMT, Dan Logcher
> > wrote:
>
>
>>Damn those British! We could have been a kick-ass Dutch colony with
>>hookers and drugs!!! And RAW herring!!!
>>
>
> Dan,
> There are herring runs all around me! In the spring, it's easy to get
> the limit of 6/day. I have never heard of, never mind tried, raw
> herring! 99.99% of the thousands netted are used for striper bait.
> I reserved .01% only because I'd guess there are a few people -
> handsful - either smoking or pickling the herring.


I hate using herring for striper fishing. It falls off after two
casts. I much prefer chunk mackerel.


> Is there any particular species of herring the Dutch use? How do they
> prepare and serve it? Condiments? Tell me more.


I'm pretty sure it's raw herring that I had in Holland. Not sure the
species, maybe green herring. Typically it is eaten straight up or
rolled in chopped onions and down the hatch. My cousin showed me this
during my trip. We stopped at Delft, where he went to a small deli
like place. There was a bin of herring and a smaller bin of chopped
onions. He's grab one by the tail, roll in onions, and eat. He ate
about 8, and paid and we left.

Later on when I was in Amsterdam, I tried herring on hotdog bun.

--
Dan

On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 06:31:02 GMT, Dan Logcher
> wrote:

>Scoop wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 16:28:54 -0800, Gerry
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places that
>>>really do volume business ports don't like Uni.
>>>
>>
>> I've had excellent uni in at least 3 establishments in and around the
>> Greater Boston area. In an odd twist of fate, the first time I ever
>> had uni and it was off was in La Jolla (I honestly forget the name of
>> the restaurant now though - however PB Sushi Club in San Diego was
>> quite good as I recall...really, really good ankimo. All this was
>> back in '98 though).
>
>Scoop! Where in Boston?


I've been a big fan of Blue Fin over in the Porter Exchange Building.
Both the Ginza locations (I've really come to enjoy of their mirugai
with hot mustard appetizer). When I'm visiting my mom in Worcester I
like Osaka over in Shrewsbury. They had the big spotted prawns
available as ama-ebi and also served the tempura fried heads on the
side.

I've also had pretty good sushi out of the Baan Thai restaraunt up the
street from me (they like to take care of their regulars) and at Sato
(the tako-su particularly). However, I have not ordered uni at either
of these restaraunts.

Has anyone here tried the sashimi bar at Clio yet?


Scoop

"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
...
> >
> I'm pretty sure it's raw herring that I had in Holland. Not sure the
> species, maybe green herring. Typically it is eaten straight up or
> rolled in chopped onions and down the hatch. My cousin showed me this
> during my trip. We stopped at Delft, where he went to a small deli
> like place. There was a bin of herring and a smaller bin of chopped
> onions. He's grab one by the tail, roll in onions, and eat. He ate
> about 8, and paid and we left.
>
> Later on when I was in Amsterdam, I tried herring on hotdog bun.

They aren't sushi but I have very pleasant memories of eating them in
Amsterdam and thereabouts! It's a pity we can't get them here; I even like
them on the hot dog type buns.

Jim.

Scoop > wrote:
> On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 06:31:02 GMT, Dan Logcher
> > wrote:
> >Scoop wrote:
> >> On Thu, 06 Nov 2003 16:28:54 -0800, Gerry
> >> > wrote:
> >>>I've found that a lot of people that don't live in SoCal or places
> >>>that really do volume business ports don't like Uni.
> >> I've had excellent uni in at least 3 establishments in and around the
> >> Greater Boston area. In an odd twist of fate, the first time I ever
> >> had uni and it was off was in La Jolla[]
> I have not ordered uni at either of these restaraunts.
>
I hated uni, 'til I had it at Asanebo in Studio City, CA.First visit I
ordered sashimi muriowase omakase. Itamae said, "What do you like?" I said,
"Anything but uni!" Of course, that was the first thing he brought me! Now,
every time I go in, I'm assured of getting uni, 'cause I damn near kissed
him after I tasted it. Good uni is GREAT. Less than good is UNKO!

--
Nick, Retired in the San Fernando Valley www.boonchoo.com
"Giving violent criminals a government guarantee that their intended
victims are defenseless is bad public policy."
- John Ross, "Unintended Consequences"

Scoop wrote:

> On Sat, 08 Nov 2003 06:31:02 GMT, Dan Logcher
> > wrote:
>

>>Scoop! Where in Boston?
>
> I've been a big fan of Blue Fin over in the Porter Exchange Building.
> Both the Ginza locations (I've really come to enjoy of their mirugai
> with hot mustard appetizer). When I'm visiting my mom in Worcester I
> like Osaka over in Shrewsbury. They had the big spotted prawns
> available as ama-ebi and also served the tempura fried heads on the
> side.


I go to Blue Fin from time to time. It's good and cheap, but the piece
size can be a little small, especially for uni. I haven't been to
either of the two Ginza's in a while.


> I've also had pretty good sushi out of the Baan Thai restaraunt up the
> street from me (they like to take care of their regulars) and at Sato
> (the tako-su particularly). However, I have not ordered uni at either
> of these restaraunts.


Where is Baan Thai? I looked around on Yellow Pages and didn't
find it.


> Has anyone here tried the sashimi bar at Clio yet?

Not at those prices, unless someone else is paying

--
Dan

James Silverton wrote:

> "Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I'm pretty sure it's raw herring that I had in Holland. Not sure the
>>species, maybe green herring. Typically it is eaten straight up or
>>rolled in chopped onions and down the hatch. My cousin showed me this
>>during my trip. We stopped at Delft, where he went to a small deli
>>like place. There was a bin of herring and a smaller bin of chopped
>>onions. He's grab one by the tail, roll in onions, and eat. He ate
>>about 8, and paid and we left.
>>
>>Later on when I was in Amsterdam, I tried herring on hotdog bun.
>>
>
> They aren't sushi but I have very pleasant memories of eating them in
> Amsterdam and thereabouts! It's a pity we can't get them here; I even like
> them on the hot dog type buns.

Ok, sashimi I think you can order them online from Holland.. but
nothing local comes close.

--
Dan