i was in sixth grade. thats when the love affair started. my sister in law has been a big influence on introducing me to a variety of new foods and Japanese was one she knew i was going to really like. we went to a place in monterey park, a small joint that was ran by some Chinese *mandarin speaking family. but they had a few authentic sushi chefs (aka Japanese).. well we had the usual. cali rolls, eel, salmon, tuna, shrimp, miso soup. i tried it all and i loved it all. it was fun. the whole putting wasabi and soy sauce together and finding that special balance was harder than i thought. i was told to be careful but with my young chopstick skills i put a bit more green than i had anticipated so i had that wonderful thrilling and painful sinus cleanse. now when i do put a little too much wasabi it reminds me of when i was young and new to sushi. now i feel a bit of a pro. ..
back in cali, i have a few spots that i absolutely adore. one place i have only taken a few people to. i've been going there for over ten years now and i think its only about within the last two years that i actually started to take people who were not blood relatives there. its in little Tokyo and thats all i'm going to say about it. the food is a bit insane. so good and so simple that you might have a food induced high afterward that cannot be explained. i dont even try anymore. my friend once told me that the way you feel after biting into a spicy tuna hand roll is like being on some special shrooms from Amsterdam. and he would know. so i think the sushi is a bit insane. great. but now adays there are so many people going there the wait is about 2 hours. and it makes me sad. but no matter what the wait is... you wait and you enjoy even more. another solution to the 2 hour wait is to go to another sushi spot and have some appetizers, sushi hopping as my friends and i like to call it. two to three sushi spots in one night a foodie's adventure. a bit surreal when you actually sit and realize what you're doing but its amazing none the less.
my second spot is in the west side. sushi central. OMG. phil is the chef and the man knows what he's doing. i started going there when they first opening walking in and ordering to go to check out the flavors... they had amazing chicken terriyaki, to be honest i only ate the cooked food. because i was doubtful at first to any hole in the wall new places. and so one day i was in for lunch and phil and tally being the nice peoples they were made me feel like i was at home. and i was family and so we talked about food. and phil made me some amazing sushi. and from then i was sold. the food made me feel much better about life after i left the place. so it became my place to run to when i was sad and need some pick me up foods.
Now i live in Pittsburgh and it is much harder to find a open hearted eater to join me for dinner at the few places i might have found to be good sushi. but i have yet to enter them. I miss having sushi places and places where the food will make me happy again. Last week I went to a random sushi place in the waterfront and ordered over fifty dollars worth of sushi for myself, hoping just the act of mixing wasabi and soy together would bring back soothing times. it didn't really work long after i left the sushi spot. i love leaving being stuff and smelling like miso but i didn't here so i hope that sooner I'll be with my beloved favorite meal once again in Los Angeles. but i do encourage people out there to get past the preconceived fears of the food and try it out and you might be surprised at what you find. and if it isn't a great experience go find someone that is in love with sushi and they will explain to you why its great and go back... try and try again.
eat extraordinary everyday!
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