Fishy

Initially appeared on vox.com on 2/13/2009.

(Disclaimer: There is absolutely nothing in my resume that qualifies me to be a food critic.  If anything, i am GOURMAND, not a GOURMET, so take my food-vice with a grain of salt.)

One of my great frustrations since moving to Grand Rapids is the lack of good, cheap sushi. Living on an archipelago for 28-odd years, i was spoiled by having fresh and (relatively) cheap fish readily available. I have fond memories of a trip to GenSan several years ago when i was in college - a place where tuna sashimi seemed to be available at every street corner. Those were the days!

It might just be our sucky abilities at choosing restaurants, but almost every piece of sushi i've had in this city had only a tiny sliver of fish on rice, half the time "fishy" smelling (i.e. not as fresh as it could be), and exorbitantly expensive. I though it was a phenomenon of living in North America until a trip to Vancouver last year when we had "eat all you can sushi" for about C$15 per head. Each slice of fish was a half-inch thick and fresh as it could be!

This is actually salmon, not tuna. Enjoying Sashimi in Vancouver I had almost given up hope until Gianina and i had lunch today at Mikado Sushi Restuarant (unfortunately no official website). We've been there before and i've always thought the food was the same as the other places, but today i ordered the "tekka don." In short, it's a bunch of tuna sashimi pieces on a bed of sushi rice. I wish i had taken more pictures of the food because this doesn't really do it justice:

Maybe they reserve the best pieces of fish for people who actually order sashimi (because the other ingredients in sushi can obscure the not-so-fresh taste - but i'm only speculating), but it was the freshest raw tuna i've had in the Midwest since i got here 4 years ago. A little expensive at around $18 (especially in a recession), but i do have to say it's worth it for the occasional fish fix. God knows i've paid much more for steak that's tasted like cardboard.

I wonder if anyone out there has any good sushi recommendations?

(Warning: i am aware of the health risks associated with the consumption of raw seafood and meat, and am in no way suggesting that you emulate my behavior. I will deny any responsibilty for raw-food-related disease stemming from reading this blogpost.)