Why is sushi so popular?

Scrabble123

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 10:31 am

MaBelleVie wrote:

If the flavor works then I don't care. I have nothing against ketchup. I just think it's an odd flavor combination with sushi, definitely doesn't sound appetizing to me.

Totally off topic, but my brother mixes ketchup into Cheerios and milk. Seriously.

Hatemywig

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 10:36 am

Scrabble123 wrote:

I'd really like to see some good kosher Persian, Thai, Mexican, & Indian restaurants. Quesadillas are great "on the go" foods!

I don't know about the Indian but LA has Persian, Thai and Mexican.

Scrabble123

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 10:40 am

Hatemywig wrote:

I don't know about the Indian but LA has Persian, Thai and Mexican.

LA having Persian and Mexican restaurants is not a surprise. That would be like Mexico having Mexican restaurants, but cities without large ethnic populations do not have those kosher restaurants, and even when they do, they are often less than appetizing and full of "Jewish additions" that make them lose their authenticity....

33055

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 10:43 am

DrMom wrote:

Um, never.

BTW, you may be interested in this tidbit: As of 2008, Tel Aviv ranked only behind Tokyo & NYC for per capita sushi consumption.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articl......html

That is interesting. BTW Monsey had two Japanese restaurants in 2008. Did they ever kick out the Japanese workers?

MaBelleVie

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 10:43 am

Scrabble123 wrote:

I'd really like to see some good kosher Persian, Thai, Mexican, & Indian restaurants. Quesadillas are great "on the go" foods!

The best kosher indian restaurant IMO is Darjeeling, in Paris. In Miami there's Thai Treat, which has a Thai menu and an Indian menu- both are excellent (the owners are a non Jewish couple, one Indian and one Thai). There's also a kosher Mexican restaurant in Miami, not sure what it's called, and I heard it's good and authentic.

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 12:03 pm

More on culinary tidbits (metaphorically)...

I believe frum (and westernised) Chinese cooking uses ketchup more as a
substitute for hoi-sin sauce which wasn't that easy to come in kosher variant.
In 'authentic' Chinese cooking, there is one dish commonly cooked at home
esp by busy working mums--it's basically scrambled eggs with tomatoes on
noodles. Tomato is adapted into HK cuisine which often mixes up western
ingredients.

Neither salmon or avocado were considered mamesh authentic ingredients
for sushi in Japan until more recently. Salmon was considered 'too fishy'
to be eaten raw (except for most northern island), and avocado was (again)
used as a substitute for fatty tuna in the west coast where it was not that
easy to find tuna of appropriate quality. Tempura sushi also does not exist
in Japan, which are two separate cuisine. It's like, say gefilte fish in cholent
or chopped liver kugel. As for dipping sauces, sweet soysauce and sweet chili
sauce are not native to Japanese cuisine either.

Vast majority of chefs at sushi restaurants are not Japanese. (Though they
may have been trained in Japan or by Japanese chefs).

33055

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 12:50 pm

Scrabble123 wrote:

I'd really like to see some good kosher Persian, Thai, Mexican, & Indian restaurants. Quesadillas are great "on the go" foods!

There is an Indian restaurant in Teaneck. They have one In NYC.

vintagebknyc

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 2:08 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

Well, someone could have started a thread "Why is pizza so popular?".
IMHO the main reason is that's what general (non-Jewish) population has been
consuming--since 1980s? 90s?--and we caught on the wave as well.

try 50s, at least in the northeast.

MomTu

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 5:14 pm

I'm a salad- soup- dairy gal. I don't quickly or easily get hooked, since I'm always watching my weight. But. Sushi. Yes!
I think its the varied combination of flavors and textures, you get with each piece, that makes sushi so appealing. And palate pleasing.
(It's not dripping in fat. That helps....)
And of course, the high-end price!

Fox

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 5:45 pm

I was beginning to think I was the only one in the world who didn't love sushi! My kids love it in virtually every variation, and I've tried it more times than I can count. The seaweed taste is just really off-putting to me for some reason.

LA is truly the kosher restaurant capital of the US. As far as I know, they still have more kosher restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the US, and the variety and quality is unparalleled. I'd happile go to LA on a "restaurant vacation"!

OOTBubby

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 5:53 pm

Fox wrote:

LA is truly the kosher restaurant capital of the US. As far as I know, they still have more kosher restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the US, and the variety and quality is unparalleled. I'd happile go to LA on a "restaurant vacation"!

I wouldn't be surprised if Miami area beats LA on the per capita as it doesn't have so many real residents but has tons of restaurants due to the tourists.

I'm with you on the sushi front though!

sweetpotato

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 5:55 pm

I remember reading an article a few years back that went into the whole history of why Americans b'klal are so into sushi. It was interesting because up until the 1970s or so, sushi was basically unheard of and considered totally exotic, and now it's in every mall and grocery store in the country. One conclusion of the article was that Americans took to sushi with such gusto precisely because it's sweet, and Americans love sugar. Probably can say the same for Jews, with our gefilte fish etc.

I had kosher sushi prepared by a Japanese sushi chef in Japan, and it was one of the greatest meals of my life. I literally dreamed about it for weeks after. Authentic sushi-making is an art form.

greenfire

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 6:07 pm

vintagebknyc wrote:

try 50s, at least in the northeast.

I'm with you on pizza was popular at least in the 60's that I know of ...

as for my input regarding the psychological thinking that makes sushi so popular - I do believe it's the closest thing to eating treif which seems a desirable enough reason

don't forget the wasabi ~

I personally do not eat sushi ~ I'll stick to bagels/lox & cream cheese

fmt4

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 6:19 pm

I don't know if anyone had said this already, but it's truly ridiculous how almost every single kosher restaurant, from pizza to burgers, from Chinese to schwarma, serves sushi. Frum people just don't understand the concept of restaurants serving the cuisine of a certain country, and instead throw anything they could think of into the mix. I know that any non- frum relatives that accompany us to kosher places are very confused about why a pizza place is serving sushi, when sushi is Japanese. But to frum people, sushi and pizza go together. To be honest, it's really not very classy.

amother

Sun, Jan 04 2015, 6:24 pm

Scrabble123 wrote:

I'd really like to see some good kosher Persian, Thai, Mexican, & Indian restaurants. Quesadillas are great "on the go" foods!

There are good Persian, Mexican, and Indian restaurants in nyc. Thai not as much but there is Thai food on the menu at Gan Asia.