Many Americans walk into a sushi restaurant and opt to sit at a table because they find the sushi bar intimidating. Sitting at a table feels familiar, as does ordering from a menu. California Rolls and other American-style sushi rolls are often the preferred items, simply because the diner knows what to expect.
Turning one’s back on familiarity and choosing to sit at the sushi bar requires courage, but the experience is far more interesting. For starters, most of the sushi that traditional chefs serve at the bar is not rolls, but nigiri—hand-squeezed rectangles of rice topped with fish. Not knowing what to expect, either with the ingredients or the order in which they are served, is part of the fun.
Americans can take solace in the knowledge that they are not alone. Many Japanese people also find the sushi bar intimidating. In 2005, a pair of Japanese comedians named Jin Katagiri and Kentaro Kobayashi, known for their irreverent cultural commentary, produced a video called “Sushi: The Japanese Tradition.” The video has become popular on the Internet, both in the U.S. and in Japan. (Click here to watch it.) “Sushi,” the narrator says, “is a snack that represents Japan.” When the narrator utters the next sentence, the astute viewer gets his first clue that something is up: “Most Japanese people eat at a sushi bar every day.” Japanese viewers chuckle, since quite the opposite is true. Many Japanese people—especially women—seldom eat at sushi bars because they are frightened of them, just as many Westerners are.
Opinions among sushi experts vary as to whether to ask the sushi chef about his “secret past,” as the video jokingly says. Most believe that what makes sushi unique is the intimacy that develops between the chef and his customers. Becoming acquainted with a particular chef, and returning to his sushi bar repeatedly, is one of the best ways for a customer to broaden his horizons. The chef is likely to serve his most-interesting and highest-quality ingredients to his regular customers. That said, a few sushi experts argue that the customer ought to keep a respectful distance from the chef.
Either way, most experts agree on one thing. Customers who show off their sushi knowledge at the sushi bar are tiresome. Chefs appreciate customers who would rather eat sushi than talk about it.