Jeremy and my anniversary is tomorrow. I had this whole sappy post written out about how amazing Jeremy is, but after I totally embarassed him on facebook, I decided not to open it up for public viewing. Suffice it to say I have an amazing husband. I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have him. It's been a wonderful 9 years of marriage!
So instead I'm going to write about sushi.
I. Love. Sushi. So. Much! I can barely write this post because I'm craving it horribly right now!
My first experience with sushi was years and years ago when I was working for Keane, Inc. My coworkers and I went to luch at Kyoto, on 10th east and 13th South, downtown. I was nervous - I won't lie. I have plenty of food phobias, but put on a brave face and let a coworker order for me. He ordered mostly nigiri sushi, which looks like this:
(nigiri sushi is hand-formed sushi where the fish is draped over an oval of sushi rice. You get a lot of fish this way).
It was good, but not great. I was happy to have braved the whole eating-sushi-for-the-first-time thing, but wasn't sure I would ever do it again.
Fast forward to this year. Jeremy and his coworker discovered happy hour at Asian Star in Midvale. From 11- 1 and from 5 -7 Monday through Thursday, most of their sushi and appetizers are half-price. Two people can eat a substantial sushi meal for about $18! It's an awesome deal. This does not mean you get discount sushi, as in sub-par sushi. Oh no. It is still top-notch, just not as expensive!
Backing up - Jeremy was one of the last people I thought would ever eat sushi (same with Thai food, which he also now loves). I don't know why...but it shocked me when he came home and told me all about it and raved and craved and wanted to go back. So I met him for lunch one day and discovered the wonder that is the sushi roll:
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
To me, eating a sushi roll is a completely different experience than eating the other stuff. You don't really realize you're eating raw fish, and a lot of times you aren't! Sushi actually means "with rice". The raw fish, if present, does add a nice texture, but in some rolls, it is, in fact cooked. The point of the roll is that all the flavors and textures mix together to form a perfect, delicious bite. Heaven!
Our favorite rolls at Asian Star are the California roll (crab and avocado), the Vegas (tempura fried smoked salmon with sauce), the Philadelphia (like the California, but with salmon), and the Asian Star, which is spicy! So good. We've tried several others, and they are all yummy. These are just the ones we tend to get.
We actually haven't been to Asian Star in weeks. I hope we can make it work tomorrow on our actual anniversary. This past weekend, I convinced Jeremy that I wanted to try a different restaurant, just to see what else is out there. We decided to go to Tsunami, as we'd heard from friends that it was good, and we met Jeremy's brother and his girlfriend there. (Nevermind that I'd made reservations at Midvale restaurant and Jon and May went to the Sugarhouse location. Long story. All my fault.)
The sushi at Tsunami was great. It was more money than our beloved happy hour, obviously, but it was fun to try a new place. We probably won't go back , at least not to the Sugarhouse one. It had a whole Sugarhouse hoity-toity vibe to it, and the server acted like she was WAY too good for us, but at least the food was yummy, though it took FOREVER to get to our table. The advantage of Asian Star is that you can sit right at the bar and watch the chefs (one of whom we are on a first-name basis with) make your food. You know it's fresh because you can SEE it!
So go eat some sushi. Don't get it from Costco, don't go to an all-you-can-eat buffet, and don't go somewhere that offers "discount sushi" (read: old fish). That's the one bad thing about sushi - you HAVE to eat it at a reputable restaurant or it's just not the same. Trust me - I tried to make California rolls once. It was a disaster.
5 Talk to me!:
Yum! Marty and I need to make it to Asian Star and try out this place during happy hour! I always considered sushi rolls not true sushi, but I do like them better than the other kind. I can only eat so much of the other kind before I'm done with the raw fish! I had no idea there were so many types of sushi rolls so we will have to try this out. Let's plan a date and you can show us all the kinds you like!
My dad makes California rolls for my family and they eat it like candy, however, I've never been a fan. I take part once in a while as to not offend anyone, but on the whole not my favorite. I wish I did. I truly wish I did. I want to meet Frank for happy hour one day and indulge in the "Rolls". Maybe someday. They say try something 10 times before you declare it a dislike.
Funny story: My friend made us California rolls one time and she had placed them on the serving dish in the middle of the table and had not yet sliced them. We said a prayer and Frank didn't realize she hadn't sliced them up so he just stabbed a whole roll with his fork and plopped it on his plate. No one said anything so he just thought this was their way of serving them, he started to eat it like a hotdog. Finally, we started laughing and he realized the rest of us were slicing them up. Maybe if I tried really good sushi if would be better.
I'm still too scared to try sushi!!
Awe, what a sweet anniversary post:) I've not been exposed to a lot of sushi in my life. However,taylor recently had to do a project at school about Japan and he choose to make sushi for it. We made a California Roll with crab and avocado and it turned out really good. I want to expand my sushi horizons now and try some different kinds. I think I'll skip on the raw fish though:)
Thanks for the Sushi primer. We want to go to Asian Star in October. Make us a reservation. Blog more about my grandbaby and what she is up to :)
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