On sushi bullies and etiquette of eating sushi...

I've always like raw food since I was a kid. Back then, my mom would admonish me for "stealing" the raw food that she's marinating, or licking the marinating sauce off of the raw meat that I'm not supposed to eat (like pork or chicken).

That's probably one main reason why I like sushi so much. I read the Wall Street Journal, with interest, on sushi bullies - the sushi chefs who dictate which patrons get to eat what and how. I must confess that I routinely break sushi rules and etiquette, like ordering miso soup upfront, and adding more wasabi than I'm supposed to, because I like very spicy food, and I like the kick out of a heavy dose of wasabi. But there are a few things that I would do right. For one, I hate California rolls (I don't know how anyone would like these rolls). And I don't like too much soy sauce.

There's this sushi place in Boston, MA, called Sushi Express which offers pretty decent Japanese food for very reasonable price. It's a small, dingy place with maybe 5 small tables on high stools, a tiny sushi bar, and they do takeouts. But there's no sushi bullying chef to boss you around. You order whatever you want, and it won't break your wallet. The kids have come to love sushi too. For a decent meals for a family of four, it can cost less than $50. If you compare that to Mr Sushi in Brooklina, MA, for example, and you'll feel the pain when the bill comes, particularly in this hard economic times.