I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
doesn't really impress me.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
> few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
> would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
> tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
> Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
> doesn't really impress me.

When I first tried sushi, I was very young, so I was pretty picky. Easiest
one for me to try I'd have to say tuna roll(tekka maki?), and some cooked
stuff like the cooked shrimp sushi, tako, etc.

Starting him off with california roll and slowly move him into raw fish
stuff might not be a bad idea either.

wrote:
> I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
> few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
> would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
> tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
> Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
> doesn't really impress me.

Be careful. I tried this once and my friend did not receive it well.
She now eats sushi, but that that first time was quite difficult.

I would suggest non-raw items to start and go slowly. California roll,
though not traditional, is a safe item. Ebi, tamago, and maybe a tekka
maki would be safe as well.

--
Dan

"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
>> I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
>> few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
>> would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
>> tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
>> Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
>> doesn't really impress me.
>
> Be careful. I tried this once and my friend did not receive it well.
> She now eats sushi, but that that first time was quite difficult.
>
> I would suggest non-raw items to start and go slowly. California roll,
> though not traditional, is a safe item. Ebi, tamago, and maybe a tekka
> maki would be safe as well.

Yeah I agree with that list. I even had hard time with salmon when I first
tried. What items you think would be absolute no-no for beginners? I can
think of a couple extreme ones.... like uni, ikura

In ,
Alai > typed:

> What items you think would be absolute no-no for
> beginners? I can think of a couple extreme ones.... like uni,
> ikura


I agree with you regarding uni, but not ikura. Many people who
have never tasted sushi have eaten and loved caviar. And as fish
roe go, ikura is fairly bland in taste.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Alai wrote:
> "Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
> ...
>
wrote:
>>
>>>I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
>>>few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
>>>would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
>>>tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
>>>Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
>>>doesn't really impress me.
>>
>>Be careful. I tried this once and my friend did not receive it well.
>>She now eats sushi, but that that first time was quite difficult.
>>
>>I would suggest non-raw items to start and go slowly. California roll,
>>though not traditional, is a safe item. Ebi, tamago, and maybe a tekka
>>maki would be safe as well.
>
>
> Yeah I agree with that list. I even had hard time with salmon when I first
> tried. What items you think would be absolute no-no for beginners? I can
> think of a couple extreme ones.... like uni, ikura

I had another friend who had an issue with texture for a short while
during the beginning of his sushi eating. He soon became a fanatic.

I would say avoid sake, uni, ikura, ika for starters. For a first time who
wants to try raw items I would recommend maguro, hamachi, and hirame. They
are meaty items with less of a slimey or chewy texture that may cause issues
for the uninitiated.

--
Dan

If the restaurant's saba is good (not sour and not dry) then I would
add that to the list to try.

If the first round of sushi is good, might be a good idea to try a
temaki (handroll). Many friendly ingredients work great in a handroll,
like shrimp tempura with avocado, or unagi and cucumber or unagi
avocado (with or without tobiko on top). Ikura might be a little strong
for a first time....tobiko is smaller and easier on the tongue (less
messy and spurty). If the restaurant is willing, have them grill a
piece or two of saba, add some green onion and make that into a
handroll (apparently it is a big hit at this place in SF with the
regulars).

If raw salmon is too hard to stomach, then smoked salmon is the way to
go, at least develop a taste for the shape, form (in nigiri) before
moving on to the raw thing. If raw red tuna goes down well, try moving
to a seared albacore tuna or seared katsuo (if the restaurant has it)
with some garlic, diced green onion and minced ginger with ponzu sauce.

wrote:
> If the restaurant's saba is good (not sour and not dry) then I would
> add that to the list to try.
>
> If the first round of sushi is good, might be a good idea to try a
> temaki (handroll). Many friendly ingredients work great in a handroll,
> like shrimp tempura with avocado, or unagi and cucumber or unagi
> avocado (with or without tobiko on top). Ikura might be a little strong
> for a first time....tobiko is smaller and easier on the tongue (less
> messy and spurty). If the restaurant is willing, have them grill a
> piece or two of saba, add some green onion and make that into a
> handroll (apparently it is a big hit at this place in SF with the
> regulars).

Tobiko also has a sweet flavor, whereas ikura is salty. Kind of depends
on whether the first-timer has had cavier before.

> If raw salmon is too hard to stomach, then smoked salmon is the way to
> go, at least develop a taste for the shape, form (in nigiri) before
> moving on to the raw thing. If raw red tuna goes down well, try moving
> to a seared albacore tuna or seared katsuo (if the restaurant has it)
> with some garlic, diced green onion and minced ginger with ponzu sauce.

Katsuo has a bit of a fishy flavor from time to time, so I would not
recommend that one. I brought my sister and brother in law to a place
that served it and they were a bit turned off by it.. and they ate most
other sushi already.

If they like spicy items, order a spicy tuna maki. That always goes over
well. That's sort of how my wife started me on raw seafood. She took me
to an oyster bar and we had oysters and cherrystones. I dowsed them in
Tobasco sauce and down the hatch. She saw how quickly I took to that and
decided to take me for sushi. BAM! Instant fanatic.

--
Dan

"Alai" > wrote:
> [ . . . ]What items you think would be absolute no-no for beginners?
> I can think of a couple extreme ones.... like uni, ikura

Ah. But I propose that YOU order 'ikura uzura', so your friend can see the
state of euphoria that it puts you in!

Damn. Now ya got me Jonesin' raw fish!

--
Nick. To support severely wounded and disabled War on Terror Veterans and
their families go to: http://saluteheroes.org/

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !

On 28 Jun 2005 10:01:03 -0700, > wrote:
> I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
> few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
> would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
> tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
> Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
> doesn't really impress me.
>

I agee with the others, not sure I'd start a newbie off on raw fish
right away. It's too easy for people to get all squeamish about the very
_idea_ of it, nevermind how it actually tastes. Most people have to get over
the mental block first.

Starting off with some tamer stuff just to get used to the idea
might be good-- California roll, maybe tuna, salmon or yellowtail roll. I
like kampyo, and the fact that it's a vegetable might be less scary to someone
just starting out. I do agre on the unagi. The idea is difficult to get
used to for some, but just about everyone I've convined to try it has loved
it. You can always mix in some more newbie-friendly cooked dishes, too.

Then again, you know better than we do how adventurous your friend is in
other areas, so maybe he'd be fine with raw fish from the beginning. If not,
there's always the "Oh, you're not going to eat that? Well, pass it on over
here..." route.

Ariane

P.S. Taking a friend out to sushi for his birthday? You're a good pal.

wrote:
> I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
> few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
> would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
> tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
> Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
> doesn't really impress me.

If you know the itamae fairly well, be sure to tell him it's your friend's
first experience with sushi, then tell itamae-san, "Omakase" (I trust your
decision). Otherwise, your choices are good. If he's still hungry, try
ordering him saba and, if you've had it there and found it extraordinary
every time, uni.

--
Nick. To support severely wounded and disabled War on Terror Veterans and
their families go to: http://saluteheroes.org/

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !

wrote:

> wrote:
>
>>I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
>>few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
>>would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
>>tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
>>Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
>>doesn't really impress me.
>
>
> If you know the itamae fairly well, be sure to tell him it's your friend's
> first experience with sushi, then tell itamae-san, "Omakase" (I trust your
> decision). Otherwise, your choices are good. If he's still hungry, try
> ordering him saba and, if you've had it there and found it extraordinary
> every time, uni.

No way I'd do Omakase with someone who hasn't tried sushi yet. If he doesn't
like it, the itamae is wasting his time. I would probe gently with the suggested
items first.. see how that's received. Then on another occasion try omakase.

--
Dan

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 20:05:33 -0400, Dan Logcher
> wrote:

wrote:
>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
>>>few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
>>>would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
>>>tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
>>>Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
>>>doesn't really impress me.
>>
>>
>> If you know the itamae fairly well, be sure to tell him it's your friend's
>> first experience with sushi, then tell itamae-san, "Omakase" (I trust your
>> decision). Otherwise, your choices are good. If he's still hungry, try
>> ordering him saba and, if you've had it there and found it extraordinary
>> every time, uni.
>
>No way I'd do Omakase with someone who hasn't tried sushi yet. If he doesn't
>like it, the itamae is wasting his time. I would probe gently with the suggested
>items first.. see how that's received. Then on another occasion try omakase.

i think you should give the itamae more credit.

barry wrote:

> On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 20:05:33 -0400, Dan Logcher
> > wrote:
>
>
wrote:
>>
>>
wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
>>>>few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
>>>>would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
>>>>tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
>>>>Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
>>>>doesn't really impress me.
>>>
>>>
>>>If you know the itamae fairly well, be sure to tell him it's your friend's
>>>first experience with sushi, then tell itamae-san, "Omakase" (I trust your
>>>decision). Otherwise, your choices are good. If he's still hungry, try
>>>ordering him saba and, if you've had it there and found it extraordinary
>>>every time, uni.
>>
>>No way I'd do Omakase with someone who hasn't tried sushi yet. If he doesn't
>>like it, the itamae is wasting his time. I would probe gently with the suggested
>>items first.. see how that's received. Then on another occasion try omakase.
>
>
> i think you should give the itamae more credit.

Its not the itamae I would be concerned with, its the friend.
I recall a story not long ago how bad an experience went with
someone trying sushi. I would suggest getting some cooked food
and a few items of sushi. Work into it slowly unless the person
loves it from the start, as I did.

--
Dan

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 08:05:30 -0400, Dan Logcher
> wrote:

>barry wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 20:05:33 -0400, Dan Logcher
>> > wrote:
>>
>>
wrote:
>>>
>>>
wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
>>>>>few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
>>>>>would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
>>>>>tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
>>>>>Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
>>>>>doesn't really impress me.

going with assumption that western palates can find the differences in
texture off-putting, you might consider rolls to start instead of
nigiri, such as salmon skin hand roll, along with kappa maki & tekka
maki (cucumber, tuna) and maybe unagi. the advantage with cut rolls is
that if he doesn't like it, you can have the rest so it doesn't go to
waste. (i purposely stayed away from caifornia rolls & spicy tuna,
etc.)

and to go fairly safe starting with nigiri, ebi & kani (cooked shrimp
& crab) would also be good choices, followed by maguro (tuna) and
something tataki style like albacore & bonito. and split each order,
if he likes it you can order a second order. if he likes liver,
consider ankimo. if he likes pickles, an assortment of those as an
order might be good.

this is already 6-8 orders. you can evaluate at this point whether to
forge on ahead or move into cooked orders/appetizers, california &
spicy tuna rolls, etc. if you must.

>>>>If you know the itamae fairly well, be sure to tell him it's your friend's
>>>>first experience with sushi, then tell itamae-san, "Omakase" (I trust your
>>>>decision). Otherwise, your choices are good. If he's still hungry, try
>>>>ordering him saba and, if you've had it there and found it extraordinary
>>>>every time, uni.
>>>
>>>No way I'd do Omakase with someone who hasn't tried sushi yet. If he doesn't
>>>like it, the itamae is wasting his time. I would probe gently with the suggested
>>>items first.. see how that's received. Then on another occasion try omakase.
>>
>>
>> i think you should give the itamae more credit.
>
>Its not the itamae I would be concerned with, its the friend.
>I recall a story not long ago how bad an experience went with
>someone trying sushi. I would suggest getting some cooked food
>and a few items of sushi. Work into it slowly unless the person
>loves it from the start, as I did.

i remember the story - the friend preordered and they ate at a table.
secondly the "friend" turned out to be a pretty bad mannered guy. you
can't do much about the friend, but if you sit at the bar & order one
at a time, you can start slow and let the itamae gauge by the friend's
response - and might even suggest stuff

(p.s. you should insert some sort of "spam" into your email - as it
is, a spambot is going to pick up your email address & start flooding
you with spam email)

wouldn't think to consider. for example, if it turns out the friend
really doesn't like nori, there are alternative wrappings - at the
discretion of the chef - given what's on hand plus how busy the bar
is.

On 28 Jun 2005 22:15:33 GMT, wrote:

wrote:
>> I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
>> few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
>> would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
>> tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
>> Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
>> doesn't really impress me.
>
>If you know the itamae fairly well, be sure to tell him it's your friend's
>first experience with sushi, then tell itamae-san, "Omakase" (I trust your
>decision).

<SNIP>

this is proably the best way to go, assuming you're going to be seated
at the bar. you can then go order by order.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm taking my friend to my favorite sushi place for his birthday in a
> few days. He hasn't really tried sushi before, what kinds of things
> would you suggest? I was thinking hamachi, sake, unagi, tamago, and
> tobiko. Any other "easy" sushi you guys think a beginner would like?
> Suzuki is pretty easy for a beginner to eat I'd think, but the flavor
> doesn't really impress me.
>

I think the key is whether your friend likes seafood to start with.
If your friend doesn't like shrimp cocktail, calamari rings or grilled fish,
I think you will have a difficult, but not impossible, task of ordering the
right things.
M