Try the Sushi

I was in New York City yesterday. I didn't get any pizza.

On the few occasions that I have traveled to New York, I usually have a few primary objectives:

1. Eat Pizza
2. If traveling in a cab, don't get killed
3. When walking the streets try not to look like a tourist
4. Verbally engage in a pointless conversation with a street vendor
5. Eat Pizza (yes I try to do this more than once)
6. Visit a local deli

On my visit over the past two days. I only accomplished three of these objectives, none of which involved eating pizza. It's a shame.

I have never considered eating at an Asian restaurant while in New York. No...I don't get into the Little China experience. That all changed last night. Have you ever heard of Ruby Foo's? Me either. However, before I knew it I was being dragged to a "pan Asian/sushi bar" restaurant. Personally, I was horrified. The worst part of all? On our way to Ruby Foo's, we probably passed 467 NY pizza places all of which had amazing food sitting in their window.

Once we arrived at what I thought was a Times Square tourist trap, I was surprised by the upscale atmosphere similar to P.F. Chang's. We sat down and the group I was with proceeded to order a large amount of appetizers (all sushi). You can probably guess by now that I had every intention of starving through dinner and getting pizza on the way back to the hotel.

When the sushi was brought out, it was placed on a large lazy susan (round moving table on top of our table) for us to all "share". Please also remember that I have never used chopsticks before in my life, and the idea of sharing or should I say reaching across the table with two sticks to grab food was not my ideal way to eat.
As everyone else started to dig in, I quietly proclaimed that I had never had sushi before...Let me stop here briefly and take a step back. Rarely do we try new food/menu items unless a friend HIGHLY recommends it (and is willing to pay if you don't like it) or you have seen enough advertising to make your head spin and you finally give in. Have you ever just had someone shove food in your mouth in attempt for you to try something new? I'm guessing your answer is probably no, like mine was until last night.

So I proclaim that I have never had sushi before, and within an instance the woman I am sitting next to says, "Dan, open up!" I turn my head, and without thinking open my mouth and a large, ripe, spicy sushi gets jammed in my mouth....I chew in shock...it's good, real good. After that, I ate 5 more pieces of sushi and eel.

By the end of the night I had tasted more raw Asian food than I had ever imagined, and I liked it. Ruby Foo's ended up being a surprise that I never anticipated.

What's the moral of the story here? Next time you're in New York don't just get pizza, try the sushi too.