Launch Party

I'd like to direct your attention to a new blog I opened. Food E (was I so enamored with the title of my previous post that I just had to figure out a way to utilize it more fully? Indeed I was.) Maybe it won't work. Maybe I'll lose interest. So far so good.

To celebrate, a treat from the archives:


In my experience there are three realms of sushi. The first is supermarket sushi—specializing in California rolls, heavy on rice, it is best for car-bound lunches paired with Diet Coke.
The second revolves around lower end sushi spots. The variety surpasses the supermarket, the miso soup is free flowing, but the sushi rice is sometimes undercooked and the sashimi is risky.
Your Happy Sumos and Takashis* produce sushi of the third realm. They’re pricey, they’re chic, I’m not convinced that they’re 100% authentic (a little over-fond of flashy, dripping rolls with quirky names), but their sushi is fully capable of inducing culinary euphoria.
In my most secret dreams I imagine a fourth realm—sushi made by master chefs in Japanese seaports, where the sashimi is still quivering and the specialty rolls inspire men to lead better lives…but, alas, I live in an arid landlocked suburb and so will take what I can get.

I visited Yamato (1074 S State St, Orem) doing reconnaissance on the expanding Utah Valley sushi scene. I wasn’t surprised to find a second-realm experience. The interior was nice—redone with paper lanterns and slate tile. The service was the high point: friendly and attentive and eager to help. The extras were ok, but the sushi wasn’t great. The rolls were small and understuffed and the California roll featured a mayonnaise-heavy crab salad, a supermarket skimp. Most unfortunately, the food was just pricey enough to make me wistful for the hipsters on Center. On a 1 to 10 scale, Yamato gets a meh.

*Since writing this (first appeared in Mungo Magazine, Fall 07) I've been to Takashi and wouldn't be so quick to clump it with Happy Sumo. That is, it's the hands-down best sushi I've had in Utah.)