How Kroger Became the Biggest Sushi Seller in America

September 1, 2023 7:10 AM

Millions of shoppers agree: It’s OK to eat supermarket sushi. At U.S. retailers, sales are up over 70% in the past year. (archive,today link)
posted by Etrigan (95 comments total)

I'm one of those people and I appreciate really good sushi when its crafted well. But also, sometimes you just want sushi cuz you're in that mood and you want something fast and easy and it does the job. It's not the same as what you'd get when served at a restaurant but it does the job and is still often a bit healthier than most other quick to go meals, which is why I often pick it up when I'm in a grocery store.
posted by Fizz at 7:14 AM on September 1, 2023 [40 favorites]

Fizz nailed it. I love "good" sushi but I also like "good enough" sushi. For the stuff that's actually made in the store (like my local Kroger), it's easily "good enough" and a poke bowl for $9.99 holds its own against other grab-and-go options like a cheeseburger or a pizza.
posted by AgentRocket at 7:23 AM on September 1, 2023 [16 favorites]

I used to live near the Mitsuwa Marketplace/mall in Illinois and there was a place that did supermarket sushi - cheap, plain and in the same little boxes you get supermarket sushi in anywhere. It had a higher rice to fish ratio and the rice was drier and less sweet, but it wasn't actually better, per se, than decent US-style supermarket sushi, just different. This relieved me of some of my cultural anxiety around grocery store sushi.
posted by Frowner at 7:25 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

At my nearby (non-Kroger) grocery store, they have people making the sushi right there. It doesn't sit out for days, and tastes fresh when I've had it. It doesn't compare to high-end sushi restaurants that I've been to, but isn't bad at all and is comparable to plenty of modest sushi places I've eaten at.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:26 AM on September 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

It's best when you leave it on the counter for about an hour after getting home, to get it closer to room temperature. Cold sushi isn't where it's at.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:26 AM on September 1, 2023 [11 favorites]

Archive.ph is unimpressed with my traffic ID skills. Look, is half a wheel part of a motorcycle or not? Settle it on your own time!

I only eat vegetarian sushi -- which I do like a lot -- so I have no dog in the fight of its goodness. But as somebody who browses Food Safety News for fun, and who watched Poisoned on Netflix, I have reservations about buying any cut fruit or vegetables from a store. That covers just about all the sushi except -- nigiri? Is that the one that's just fish balanced on rice with a seaweed band? And tamago, of course.

I listen to a lot of Weird Al, because of course I do, and whenever I hear "Dare To Be Stupid" I'm caught out by the line "you can eat a bunch of sushi and forget to leave a tip." It reminds me that there was a time that people thought sushi was bizarre and possibly mystical. Now, of course, there's a whole separate line of thought among otherwise normal people that raw food is best for you. That's not true, either, but so it goes.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:39 AM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

I trust the safety but sushi, beer, and ice cream are all foods that if I'm not getting "the good stuff", I'd rather just skip.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:45 AM on September 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

Grocery store sushi is great! There are fancy grocery stores now, and of course they're getting in fancy fish and preparing it right there. It's a smart way to use already-in-place supply lines, and in some places (like here in Birmingham, AL) the grocery store tends to have better quality fish and more traditional cuts than most of the fusion-y restaurants.

I once bought and ate sushi from a drug store though. Now that's living dangerously.
posted by heyitsgogi at 7:49 AM on September 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

So what is #2, the archive.ph thing isn't working for me. Is there really some big sushi selling conglomerate that owns an absolute ton of 'local' sushi restaurants across the US? Because Benihana is the only sushi chain I can think of, and Kroger has 10X the number of locations.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:51 AM on September 1, 2023

Offtopic: (archive.today always works in Chrome and never in Firefox for me. WTF?)
Ontopic? Yum sushi. I ain't skeert.
posted by bitslayer at 7:55 AM on September 1, 2023

We agree that gas station sushi is still suspect, right?
posted by theora55 at 8:04 AM on September 1, 2023 [10 favorites]

70% increase in 1 year is incredible. What’s behind such a huge jump? Is it only the one chain mentioned in the title or is it across the whole supermarket sector? (I can’t view either of the the links on my phone)
posted by theory at 8:12 AM on September 1, 2023

We agree that gas station sushi is still suspect, right?

It's on par with those hot dogs that been on the roller grill for 18 hours.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:12 AM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

We agree that gas station sushi is still suspect, right?

Suspected as delicious!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:15 AM on September 1, 2023 [15 favorites]

I'm not a fan of sushi, but my fam is, and we often pick up sushi for dinner from Kroger or HEB for them. (I often get dumplings.) They'll do custom orders if you ask nice.
posted by Spike Glee at 8:17 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Another grocery sushi eater here. It's fine. And getting it from the Galleria (Korean grocer) means there's also gimbap with cooked beef, and other possibilities.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:18 AM on September 1, 2023

At 17, traveling alone by train, I transferred at Penn station, and in the dark cramped basement there was a combination fried chicken-sushi restaurant. I made the wrong choice.
posted by pickles_have_souls at 8:25 AM on September 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

Expertly made sushi is great, as is a really good burger or excellent pizza. But less good versions are still perfectly serviceable in their own right.
posted by rikschell at 8:32 AM on September 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

I used to live on an island in Japan (yes, I know Japan is all islands...but I was on one that wasn't the big 5) and the sushi there was so good, so fresh. Even the conveyor-belt places were great (they were local and had their own fishing boats). I'd go to one of the sushi shops at least once a week and get 5 or 6 of the cheep plates. I was spoiled. I moved back to the US in the Before Times...and I'm one of these people in the article. Kroger sushi is good for all the reasons folks have mentioned here. I am a Kroger sushi fan.
posted by snwod at 8:39 AM on September 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

Order-of-magnitude-filter: "Americans purchased 43.7 million servings of sushi at grocery stores over the past year." With roughly 300 million Americans, assuming that few people eat sushi for breakfast, we have about 220 billion lunches and dinners a year (300m x 365 x 2). That means that grocery store sushi accounted for about 1 out of 5000 meals eaten in the US.

That's about 120,000 meals a day. In contrast, about 1/3 of Americans, on the order of 100 million, report eating fast food each day. ("Food reported as “restaurant fast food/pizza” was considered fast food for these analyses.")
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:39 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

To clarify...I'm not actually one of the people quoted in the article. Rather I am one "in spirit."
posted by snwod at 8:41 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ever since I learned that "sushi-grade" isn't actually a health designation and that all frozen tuna is safe, I've totally been doing my own raw-fish concoctions with Aldi's surprisingly inexpensive ahi steaks. They make a great tataki or poke and even a pretty good chirashi.
posted by jackbishop at 8:42 AM on September 1, 2023 [9 favorites]

I work with a lot of food co-ops. "Adding grab-n-go sushi" has been on almost everyone's list of "most profitable activities" for the past few years.

As someone that's on the road a lot, sushi compares very favorably to almost any other lunch option in terms of price, healthiness, and tastiness. I am a frequent consumer of that co-op grab-n-go sushi.
posted by GetLute at 8:45 AM on September 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

...in the dark cramped basement there was a combination fried chicken-sushi restaurant. I made the wrong choice.

Excellent 30-second horror story!
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:47 AM on September 1, 2023 [20 favorites]

Even in my small corner of the world the local Kroger-owned Safeway's little sushi counter is pretty ok, and the guy they have working it is usually right there, so if I have a basic request like I just want a tray of inari as a snack he'll do that.

I mean it's not a sublime, elevated sushi experience but it's often better and tastier than the sad dry-soggy premade deli sandwiches, and it's a relatively healthy quick option.

And if anything it might be closer to the original concept of sushi as quick, cheap fast food when you just want a few bites of something instead of the elaborate, elevated (and often very expensive) ritual of sushi.

70% increase in 1 year is incredible. What’s behind such a huge jump?

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that it's something that you're allowed to purchase using SNAP benefits because it's cold and packaged to go.

When faced with the choices between a deli sandwich that's simultaneously a bit soggy and too dry or cold fried chicken or a pre-made salad, supermarket sushi starts to look pretty good.

I know I use my SNAP card pretty often for supermarket sushi because of these reasons. If I'm biking to town to do errands and grocery shopping and I need to eat something because I'm getting hangry I'm usually grabbing a tray of basic veggie avocado roll to go with it because it's affordable, tasty and somewhat healthier than a bunch of meat and cheese in a sandwich and I really just need a snack that'll give me enough energy to get me home and tide me over to a proper dinner later.
posted by loquacious at 8:53 AM on September 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

Our local Harris Teeter recently came on the radar for us as a source of pretty good sushi. Nothing like enjoying (reasonably priced) sushi while streaming our latest obsession in comfortable clothes on our big comfy couch.

Also recommend letting things sit out for awhile so it isn’t hard cold.
posted by kabong the wiser at 8:54 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

In the Chicagoland area, the Mariano's chain (which used to be independent but is now a semi-fancy Kroger variety) drops the price on (made fresh daily) sushi by 40% or so at 6 pm. If we're stuck for dinner at the last minute, it's a great choice.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:57 AM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

I grew up in a suburb with a huge Chinese population and in the late 90's/early 2000's many savvy local Chinese restaurants decided to cash in on the growing sushi craze and add all of the standard rolls to their menu, with a few "special" rolls. The line of thinking was probably, "eh, these white families don't give a shit - it's all *asian* food to them," and they were sadly probably on point. So many places made a total killing, and this is the type of sushi my family would go out for - ordering some california and spicy tuna rolls alongside some hot and sour soup and egg rolls.

My parents will tell you they "love sushi" but could not tell you the difference between maki or nigiri to this day. Which is to say I grew up eating low-effort suburban sushi like this and have a soft spot for it.
posted by windbox at 8:58 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Central NC here and we’re dying to try this well-reviewed, yes, gas station sushi. “… coveted spot at one of their monthly omakase dinners …” For reals!
posted by caviar2d2 at 9:00 AM on September 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

In the Chicagoland area, the Mariano's chain (which used to be independent but is now a semi-fancy Kroger variety) drops the price on (made fresh daily) sushi by 40% or so at 6 pm. If we're stuck for dinner at the last minute, it's a great choice.

An inordinate number of my life scheduling choices have been made so that I am in a prime spot for half-price Mariano's sushi as often as possible.

(I mean I also just spent an alarming amount of money on sushi at Kai Zan -- the key is just to not even think of the two meals as remotely the same thing. It's a burger vs dry-aged steak.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 9:00 AM on September 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

I have friends and family who are hard-core sushi fans and they tell that the recently introduced Costco sushi is excellent. Here is a review from the Costco near where I live.
posted by bz at 9:25 AM on September 1, 2023

The only truly bad sushi I’ve had was in a campus dining hall where the fish was fine and monitored for freshness, but the rice was dry, crumbly, and gross. Very disappointing.
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:28 AM on September 1, 2023

Not being able to eat gluten, supermarket sushi is a lifesaver because it is SO hard to find gluten-free grab and go prepared food without a whole rigmarole. I'm actually also a bit of a sushi snob, so I find it gross, almost always, because the rice is always so poorly made and seasoned and is often either mushy or a bit crusty and the fish usually has a weird consistency, but it is sustenance and I appreciate its existence.
posted by urbanlenny at 9:42 AM on September 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

It's also too bad that onigiri, the true grab and go sushi option, hasn't caught on much in North America because those things are awesome. I used to live by the Japanese grocery store on Robson in Vancouver and would regularly get their onigiri. One time I grabbed a natto one without knowing what natto is and that one was abandoned, but yeah, onigiri rules.
posted by urbanlenny at 9:45 AM on September 1, 2023 [8 favorites]

It's also too bad that onigiri, the true grab and go sushi option, hasn't caught on much in North America because those things are awesome.

This is a wild tangent but this is the perfect place to mention one of the most niche bicycle accessories I've ever seen - the onigiri handlebar bag.

Not only do you have to have the right style of niche handlebars, but you also probably want to live somewhere where there's a Lawson's nearby so you can easily and regularly fill it with an onigiri.
posted by loquacious at 9:55 AM on September 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

In LA, we have an inordinate number of sushi restaurants that range from world class to meh. (only been to one truly awful one and that was an AYCE joint, so I should have known better.)

My local Safeway has a couple of chefs working a counter and they make workable sushi that makes for a good quick "I need to eat something that isn't a sandwich or salad" option. Is it anyway near the best? Nope and urbanlenny is right - the rice is usually all wrong, but somethings a $5 box of spicy tuna rolls is just what you need.
posted by drewbage1847 at 9:58 AM on September 1, 2023

I'm very fortunate to live within a short drive of two Japanese cultural districts (high-profile and low-profile) with many options for sushi. Sushi is fresh, cheap-ish and plentiful in this region, including at local grocery store chains Lunardi's and Draeger's.
posted by JDC8 at 10:06 AM on September 1, 2023

Countess Elena: I listen to a lot of Weird Al, because of course I do, and whenever I hear "Dare To Be Stupid" I'm caught out by the line "you can eat a bunch of sushi and forget to leave a tip." It reminds me that there was a time that people thought sushi was bizarre and possibly mystical. Now, of course, there's a whole separate line of thought among otherwise normal people that raw food is best for you. That's not true, either, but so it goes.

If you think of sushi as something that can downright kill you if you piss off the guy who separates the tasty bits from the poisonous bits, that line made perfect sense back in the day.
posted by dr_dank at 10:06 AM on September 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

It's also too bad that onigiri, the true grab and go sushi option, hasn't caught on much in North America because those things are awesome.

San Francisco does have a nice little local onigiri chain called Onigilly. I don’t tend to be near it at lunchtime often, but when I am I enjoy eating some of their many varieties with a cup of miso soup.
posted by larrybob at 10:18 AM on September 1, 2023

Reminds me of how all the local Chinese buffets in town suddenly began carrying sushi because Sysco began carrying ingredients. Adequate sushi has become easy for most vendors to carry, now.
posted by charred husk at 10:19 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

One of the main things I miss about living in Japan is not being able to get cheap, reasonably good sushi. I guess I'm a snob but there'd have to be a very specific set of circumstances for me to decide on getting sushi from a regular supermarket (I'm OK with getting it from the large Korean grocery store nearby) instead of something else. Matter of fact my family's going out for sushi tonight to celebrate my wife getting a teaching position.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 10:34 AM on September 1, 2023

HEB has started carrying onigiri but it's kind of weird. It's 1/3rd filing by volume, which is a lot.

It's always fun to see what new stuff HEB comes up with, such as incorporating flaming hot cheetos into everything, or "loaded dumplings."
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:40 AM on September 1, 2023

With raw fish being what it is, I'd never risk getting raw fish-based sushi from anywhere but a sushi restaurant. But I will get supermarket avocado rolls and give them a good dose of light tamari before popping them down. The umami and salt from the soy, the savory from the avocado, and the sweet from the rice — it all hits my main food-mood groups for me.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:41 AM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

recently introduced Costco sushi is excellent.

The Costco in Richmond, CA has had sushi since the late 90s. It's always been pretty much fine if you aren't too snobby.
posted by aspersioncast at 10:46 AM on September 1, 2023

Aldi's surprisingly inexpensive ahi steaks

I just discovered these as Aldi is expanding here. They are ... amazing.

I hope they don't "milkshake duck" for some reason
posted by chavenet at 11:01 AM on September 1, 2023

Also: don't forget The Untold Story of Sushi in America
posted by chavenet at 11:04 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

We spent two weeks in Japan earlier this year and had a blast, but were so in love with all of the various other forms of Japanese cuisine (starting an okonomiyaki cult, for one) that we didn't have sushi that often there.

I was wondering when we might get another chance to go sushi crazy. Then when we booked two days in Paris at Christmas as a little treat as a stop before our umpteenth trip to to see Comrade Doll's mama in Cluj, we decided to stay near the Christmas Market... The neighborhood north of Tuilleries Garden turns out to be a heavily Japanese area in Paris, which is wild, but we will take it. So I guess I could use French sushi recs now? It's a weird world.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:43 AM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

I love "good" sushi but I also like "good enough" sushi.

Dibs on the company name!

Good Enough Sushi: it may not be delicious, but it sure is satisfying

Good Enough Sushi: like your favorite pajamas, perfect any night of the week

Good Enough Sushi: because great is expensive, and tiring

Good Enough Sushi: how high are your standards, anyway?
posted by LooseFilter at 12:00 PM on September 1, 2023 [12 favorites]

I have never been on the sushi bandwagon.

I was taught that raw meat is not something you should ever eat. And, I'm not a huge fish fan overall, but...

Not to mention roe and some of the other stuff that seems to be in a lot of sushi. Has been wild to see how popular it has become. Give me a broiled Rainbow Trout, sure. Random raw fish, thanks, but no thanks, uh-huh.
posted by Windopaene at 12:05 PM on September 1, 2023

Is there really some big sushi selling conglomerate that owns an absolute ton of 'local' sushi restaurants across the US?

I’m guessing that’s a reference to True World Foods, owned by the Moonies.
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 12:14 PM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

I eat it but I don't really like it. It's something I eat when I can't stomach another sandwich or pizza, I'm at the store, I need something to eat but I don't have time to cook, and I also don't want anything greasy. Which happens fairly often! I'm so old that I remember in late high school, my friend and I drove up to a suburb adjacent to the city we lived in just to try "raw fish" at a Japanese restaurant. We liked it, but were pretty clueless about the whole thing. Now sushi is everywhere.

Like orchids.
posted by SoberHighland at 12:19 PM on September 1, 2023

With raw fish being what it is, I'd never risk getting raw fish-based sushi from anywhere but a sushi restaurant.

If you're in the US, it was frozen (hopefully flash frozen on the boat) at some point. If you buy fish that isn't frozen, that just means that the seller defrosted it for you. The FDA requires it be so because worms.
posted by wierdo at 12:39 PM on September 1, 2023 [10 favorites]

I should have noted that I used to be all about the supermarket sushi. I used to get it all the time in Tulsa when the local chain started carrying it sometime around 2010. I've gotten it from Publix here in Florida a few times, but it's somehow not quite as good.

In Miami I had a decent sushi place a couple of blocks from my house, but I only ate there a few times because it was twice the price (just counting the menu price), but not twice as good. Nice as an occasional treat, but not something to get on the regular. The sushi places in Tulsa were much more reasonably priced, so Georgia and I had sushi quite frequently.
posted by wierdo at 12:47 PM on September 1, 2023

I was taught that raw meat is not something you should ever eat.

Not all modern sushi has raw fish in it and there are plenty of offerings that don't have roe. Coincidentally, I grabbed a tray of sushi from Kroger today after I finished an iron infusion at the hematology/oncology clinic; the roll I had today was a Shaggy Dog consisting of tempura shrimp, imitation crab, cucumber, and avocado. Zero raw fish or roe.

Nigiri is raw seafood over sculpted rice. Sashimi is thinly sliced raw seafood (or other meats, too, I'm told); no rice.
posted by cooker girl at 1:05 PM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

It's also too bad that onigiri, the true grab and go sushi option, hasn't caught on much in North America because those things are awesome.

I both do and do not want to know why the small-chain Mexican grocery near me has 2 kinds of onigiri in its grab-and-go fridge most days.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:21 PM on September 1, 2023 [4 favorites]

I bet a look at the back-of-house of your local sushi joints would explain it. My local sushi places conspicuously post all of there help-wanted ads in Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 1:34 PM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh no that part makes sense, but the "why onigiri, and ONLY onigiri, and specifically two kinds" is exactly the kind of minor mystery that I like in my grocery experience
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 1:35 PM on September 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: it be so because worms
posted by Windopaene at 1:38 PM on September 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

I used to own a Michelin recommended sushi restaurant in here in NYC. I learned all about sushi fish sourcing from the chef I'd hired. Essentially, all your basic sushi fishes in this country, and certainly the fish that you'll be getting from supermarket, sushi from the same company, True World. The fancier fishes come on the twice a week planes from Japan via one of the other two major sushi fish suppliers.

There is one supermarket I go to that has excellent sushi and I will get it about once a week or so. To me, it's the equivalent of what I call "neighborhood sushi", the small little local places that have your standard fare. If a market makes it on site and the sushi chef has decent knowledge of what they're doing, a lot of supermarket sushi is pretty okay, it really depends on the individual making it.

*An interesting aside, True World is owned by the Unification Church (Moonies), and all of it's employees are members of the church. I used to talk to my regular delivery person and he would tell me stories about his mass wedding with thousands of others in a stadium and such. Interesting company...
posted by newpotato at 1:40 PM on September 1, 2023 [9 favorites]

From Desperately Seeking Susan: “Taxi Driver : I lived in New York all my life. We used to have Chinese restaurants, ltalian restaurants. Now you have these sushi restaurants. Everyone goes for sushi. Sushi - I hate the stuff. Although, I tell you, I had some the other day. I took it home, I cooked it, it wasn't bad. It tasted like fish.”
posted by anshuman at 1:54 PM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

the roll I had today was a Shaggy Dog consisting of tempura shrimp, imitation crab, cucumber, and avocado

Ugh, why do so many rolls in the US have to have cucumber in it? I can't stand cucumber. Something about the watery crunch (I also dislike watermelon). Yet it seems like most every roll on the menus has cucumber. I like every other ingredient. But no to cucumber.
posted by downtohisturtles at 2:04 PM on September 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

But no to cucumber.

I like the palate cleansing nature of cucumber in a vegetarian or California roll. What I don't like is that every special roll around me seems to have avocado in it. I find it far too unctuous in most rolls. And yeah, supermarket sushi can be Good Enough (TM), and that's alright.
posted by mollweide at 2:27 PM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

But what about airport sushi?
posted by misterpatrick at 3:19 PM on September 1, 2023

I am eating Kroger sushi right now! It's fine. Duo combo, rainbow and spicy tuna roll, $10. It's not going to win any sushi prizes but it's totally perfect for when, like now, I'm sick and just want to eat lots of wasabi in my pajamas.
posted by mygothlaundry at 4:00 PM on September 1, 2023 [3 favorites]

every special roll around me seems to have avocado in it

Yes, there are even places where the default seems to be to add avocado to every role now. I like avocado, and especially in the case of supermarket sushi don't get too fussed, but my husband is mildly allergic, so it's a pain.

Shaggy Dog consisting of tempura shrimp, imitation crab, cucumber, and avocado. Zero raw fish or roe.

This is my sister's favorite roll at Krogers and she just introduced me to it for the first time this weekend. It's very similar to one I'd get at a local place in Chicago called the lions's mane, which had more imitation crab (shredded at the end and styled like a mane) and I think some roe. Considering how much cheaper it was and that I could grab it to go back ordering and waiting, the shaggy dog is definitely good enough, especially now that I don't live near my old neighborhood.
posted by ghost phoneme at 4:37 PM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

lots of wasabi in my pajamas

How it got into your pajamas, we'll never know. 🥸
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:48 PM on September 1, 2023 [7 favorites]

For me, it's less about food safety and more about the condition of the rice. Refrigerated sushi rice just doesn't taste the same.
posted by nightrecordings at 5:52 PM on September 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

I was taught that raw meat is not something you should ever eat.

I was taught not to eat spoiled foods, but here I am, crumbling blue cheese onto my salad.

I guess what I'm saying is, we're all raised with rules and taboos around food--some of which have solid grounding in safety concerns. I certainly don't eat just any old spoiled dairy. But these rules aren't black and white and cultures that make different exceptions than the ones you're familiar with aren't necessarily doing it wrong. It's fine if you don't like it, but "I was taught that raw meat is not something you should ever eat" might be a teaching that's, well, a bit oversimplified.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:24 PM on September 1, 2023 [5 favorites]

I travel a lot for work, and supermarket prepared foods is often my go-to meal, and sushi is often part of that. I avoid cheap rolls with that orangish goo. I seek out nicely cut salmon and tuna, or a better roll with avocado and eel.
posted by hypnogogue at 8:29 PM on September 1, 2023

If you’re ever in Seattle, go to Uwajimaya and go to there grab and go prepared food section. It is divine and has so much more even than sushi. It’s so nice to just grab a box of tasty something when you are hungry. You can even get saba — marinated (not fully raw). It’s oily and salty and delicious and still somehow has this like clean sea water tinge. Whenever we get saba it’s a careful negotiation to share.
posted by R343L at 11:10 PM on September 1, 2023

This is no denigration of “grocery store” sushi. I’ve had plenty that made me satisfied and happy. But Uwajimaya and similar places have variety that I think make it clear WHY so many folks love grocery store sushi.
posted by R343L at 11:13 PM on September 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

All this talk of spicy tuna rolls is making me jealous! In Tokyo there's food from all over the world, but American sushi is almost impossible to find.

That said, we do have very good supermarket sushi (standard nigiri). And my local super has just started selling meat sushi, a trendy food fad that I believe originated in Tokyo a few years back.
posted by Umami Dearest at 11:18 PM on September 1, 2023

with avocado and eel.

    AVOCADO & EEL
- Fine Haberdashers =
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:38 AM on September 2, 2023 [5 favorites]

FWIW, I really like the Happy Heart Platter (or as I like to call it, Scattered Smothered & Covered). Can't currently afford things like that, but it's a nice treat every now and then.
posted by deusdiabolus at 1:00 PM on September 2, 2023

I love sushi. I’m fine with supermarket sushi that’s made on site. I’ll even eat gas station sushi. But the worst is sweet over-seasoned rice. (I’ll still eat it.)
posted by slogger at 1:27 PM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Not all modern sushi has raw fish in it ….

Sushi is the name of the rice, not the protein!
posted by TedW at 3:25 PM on September 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

If you knew sushi, like TedW knows sushi...
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:27 PM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

My issue with prepackaged sushi is when the rice dries out, so I generally don't buy at the grocery store. Whole Foods has people behind the counter, and the newest Walgreens in downtown Minneapolis had a fresh sushi place inside when it opened. Their premade stuff was very good. The only time I've felt off after sushi was at Lunds and it was underripe avocado. Blech.
posted by soelo at 5:24 PM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

I love sushi, but the divided comments about it always make me think of the third verse of the Christine Lavin song, “Good Thing He Can’t Read My Mind.”

I am eating sushi
When I do not like sushi
But he loves sushi
And I love him
I'm poking with a chopstick
At a living breathing fish stick
Oh my God!
I think it's trying to swim

Some say eating sushi
Is like chewing on your own cheek
Or sucking down a bucketful
Of tentacled slime
I do not like sushi
But look I'm eating sushi
It's a good thing
He can't read my mind.

(Yes, this is a very interesting texture. What is it?

Ohhhhh....)
posted by LEGO Damashii at 6:33 PM on September 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

MetaFilter: lots of wasabi in my pajamas.
posted by loquacious at 7:16 PM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

When I get a craving for sushi, nothing else will satisfy. Once while traveling, I ate sushi in a tiny podunk Arkansas town where one of the main rolls featured crawdads and the green tea was Lipton in a bottle. Grocery store sushi is fine by me. (Though I'm now spoiled by several decent and relatively inexpensive places nearby.) In a lot of smaller towns, it's the only place to get sushi, or at least the only place that looks like it would pass a surprise visit from the health department.
posted by Saucy Possum at 8:16 PM on September 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ugh, why do so many rolls in the US have to have cucumber in it? I can't stand cucumber

How do I favorite a comment a dozen more times? This obsession with cucumber some places have stops me from trying so many new types of rolls and honestly plays a huge part in whether I will frequent a restaurant or not. I don't understand how cucumber manages to overpower every other flavor, either.
posted by Saucy Possum at 8:33 PM on September 2, 2023 [2 favorites]

I always order my rolls without cucumber, even if it is not listed as an ingredient, like with many Philly rolls. I also poke it out of a roll with a chopstick if I buy something premade. Sometimes it causes the whole piece to collapse, but at that point, I don't care and just eat it.
posted by soelo at 5:28 AM on September 3, 2023 [4 favorites]

I don't care about cucumber either way, but I am not a fan of when they use a ton of cream cheese, like you find in rolls sometimes.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:28 AM on September 3, 2023

If you're in the US, it was frozen (hopefully flash frozen on the boat) at some point. If you buy fish that isn't frozen, that just means that the seller defrosted it for you. The FDA requires it be so because worms.

Appreciate the downsplaining. More like (defrosted, uncooked) raw fish still carries the risk of parasites I don't want, and so I prefer to pay for the training and knowledge of a sushi chef who can more easily tell if a piece of fish is really consumable or not, as opposed to risking my health with someone who is paid minimum wage to slice whatever piece of slushy protein is put in front of them. That's just me.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 11:58 AM on September 3, 2023

as opposed to risking my health with someone who is paid minimum wage to slice whatever piece of slushy protein is put in front of them

Not sure if I’m just lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest, but the folks working at the local Kroger/Safeway sushi counters strike me as being at least as well-trained and capable as an average back-of-house chef at a standard mid-level sushi joint, and I’ve never noticed any difference in the fish quality if we’re just talking about the basics like tuna and salmon. To be honest, I might expect the supermarket sushi chefs to be more cautious, since they’re not looking at the razor thin margins of an independent sushi spot. The main failure (by far) of grocery store sushi is the rice.
posted by not just everyday big moggies at 12:53 PM on September 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Some say eating sushi
Is like chewing on your own cheek
Or sucking down a bucketful
Of tentacled slime


This does remind me of back in the eighties/early nineties when sushi in popular culture symbolized, at best, yuppie wealth (and the collapse of the working class) but usually decadence, phoniness and stupidity - who after all would eat some gross, unAmerican food like raw fish and rice? Also a lot of racist anxiety about Japan as a global competitor. And some stuff about masculinity - a real man wouldn't eat something effete and gross like sushi.

One of the very few apparently lasting improvements in America is that it is no longer cool and normal to assume that because you haven't eaten something or don't like it, then that food is ipso facto gross and the people who eat it are lying liars who pretend to enjoy it, unAmerican weirdos or unwelcome foreigners.

Like, who says that eating sushi is like chewing on your own cheek? It's not like that at all! Even low-quality octopus sushi, the worst sushi, isn't! Sushi isn't slimy! You don't "suck it down"! And at a sushi restaurant, no less! But that was the discourse around sushi, it's raw fish of course it's gross and only phony weirdos would eat it.
posted by Frowner at 1:18 PM on September 3, 2023 [3 favorites]

Went with a Snowfox (JFE Franchising) spicy California roll for dinner today.
posted by mikelieman at 4:09 PM on September 3, 2023

Even low-quality octopus sushi, the worst sushi, isn't!

Hmmmm. My vote for worst sushi is any Uni that is not absolutely fresh. In the latter case, it’s like a little bite of ocean; in the former, it’s like cold mucus in a cup. *shudder*
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:08 AM on September 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

My vote for worst sushi is any Uni that is not absolutely fresh.

This x 1000. My worst and first sushi experience was a spicy uni roll at some university meet and greet put on by my undergrad. It put me off sushi until my now husband took me to his favorite sushi place and I figured it was worth another shot (with some much more pedestrian rolls, like eel and salmon).

I only tried uni again when visiting a friend at a fancy* sushi place in Seattle. It's a completely different dish and was worth whatever price we paid.

*My husband and I showed up when the place opened, 5 pm, and were very politely, warmly even, told that we could be seated at 10 pm. Our friend showed up, and after the hugs we magically had a table at 6 pm, just enough time to grab a cocktail or two at cozy bar nearby.
posted by ghost phoneme at 11:30 AM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am not a fan of when they use a ton of cream cheese, like you find in rolls sometimes.

Since they've taken over the menus of all but the most traditional sushi restaurants, it's clear to me that Americans mostly favor these big, elaborate rolls I call goopy, due to their sauces and such.

From Desperately Seeking Susan:

Dumb then, and still dumb.
posted by Rash at 2:43 PM on September 4, 2023

Mod note: Folks, let's please remember to keep things kind, productive and insult-free.
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 7:03 PM on September 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

I ate sushi in a tiny podunk Arkansas town where one of the main rolls featured crawdads

Crawdads are essential to viet-cajun food, and sushi rolls in viet-cajun areas often have crawfish tails, which are not that different in food texture and taste from shrimp. It's like fusion-fusion food.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:14 PM on September 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

Crawdads are essential to viet-cajun food, and sushi rolls in viet-cajun areas often have crawfish tails, which are not that different in food texture and taste from shrimp. It's like fusion-fusion food.

Now I'm hungry. Anyway, don't get me wrong; I ate it and it was delicious. The place was just significantly sketchier than my local grocery stores.
posted by Saucy Possum at 5:22 PM on September 5, 2023

And some stuff about masculinity - a real man wouldn't eat something effete and gross like sushi.

There's a really gross joke in the Breakfast Club in this realm when Claire opens her bag for lunch and she has a nice sensible bento box set, and it's totally used as a crude sledgehammer about her parent's class and social status and then overly garnished with innuendo from Bender.

Fast forward 30+ years and it turns out that oh duh reusable bento boxes and lunch kits made out of sustainable bamboo are not only pretty cool but probably a good idea and here we are talking about the joys of cheap chain grocery store sushi.
posted by loquacious at 7:49 PM on September 8, 2023 [2 favorites]