Whenever someone holds a particular disdain for a food that I find impossible not to love, I automatically assume that they just haven’t experienced that food in the proper form.  I’m not just a food snob, I’m an optimistic food snob with the belief that palates can be changed. So I was honest. “Excuse me? My match.com profile specifically stated my policy against picky eaters. You probably just haven’t had good sushi.”

Thirty five dates later match.com accounts had been cancelled, but the real moment of truth was upon us. The moment that would ultimately determine our fate: the sushi taste test. We sat in front of Yoshi at Sushi Yasuda [204 E.43rd St., NYC].  The best sushi I’ve consumed in my entire life has been at Yasuda…even superior to a sushi breakfast consumed after the 4am tuna auction at Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market. Yoshi, on the other hand, is my favorite not for scientific reasons or specific skills, but just because he’s cute in a Japanese-anime sort of way.

Yoshi. Oh so sexy.

Yoshi matted an oblong ball of sushi rice in his chubby, hairless hands, and placed a piece of fatty tuna nigiri on the wooden platter in front of him (who we’ll now refer to as Dr. Awesome*).

The Yasuda Masters

As he fumbled with his chopsticks and took his first bite of real sushi–I waited with baited breath. “It’s good” he replied. A church choir started singing and the entire restaurant glowed with white light. Yasuda had another convert.

When someone says they don’t like sushi, I immediately assume it’s because they haven’t had good sushi. I indulge in the occasional Whole Foods spicy tuna rolls, but that’s not the real deal shit. Dr. Awesome had Continue Reading