I'm with you on the clams (must be a New England thing) but I can't stand Uni (sea urchin).

Gimme some clams with lemon and and a dash of Tabasco - :-)
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When I worked downtown there were 2 sushi joints within walking distance and I'd hit one every week. Now that I'm our in the 'burbs I'm lucky to get it once a month. I usually stick to the traditional stuff, but I'll get a spicy tuna roll occasionally and a spider roll (fried soft-shell crab) when the season is in.
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Speaking of soft shell crab.... I LOVE THE STUFF! There is a Japanese restaurant I frequent on a regular basis that has a soft shell crab tempura dinner. It is fantastic. A whole soft shell crab tempura battered and friend with a side of veggies. A great dinner when I'm in the mood for it!
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thats what happened to me. had to have it for lunch
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We are a BAD influence huh Freddy :-) :-)
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Urchin is, shall we say, an acquired taste.

I been munching on sushi for a fairly long time, and still don't care much for urchin. No, that's not true. I don't care at all for urchin. :-) On the other hand I love mackerel, which many find too fishy. Just depends on your taste buds.
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Love sushi, but just cannot do Uni. I have been to Japan many, many times and have been told that "supreme Uni" is great (it depends on the freshness and where you go), but a couple bad experiences has killed it for me.

Now, I have had all sorts of sashimi, including horse, chicken and just about all parts of beef (be creative). Interesting stuff can be very tasty sometimes.:-)

Luckily, I have found several great sushi places in the Raleigh area (Waraji is fantastic).
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I love uni while I know many who don't.

Not sushi related, but one food item I cannot stomach is natto. Just the smell of it gags me.
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Cell rang as I was getting ready to leave work last night. It's my cousin and he says "Hey there is this new Sushi place I go to and they have happy hour specials. Do you..." YES I'LL GO :-)!

He didn't even have a chance to finish asking me after reading this thread yesterday.
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No not that please. I would rather just smoke dirt then smoke a Gurkha. Wait was is the difference???:-)
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ROFL! Too funny. I come into work today and my boss says "Hey I've been meaning to sit down with you and talk about some changes I want you to make to our training program". "Great" I say, "How about we discuss it over lunch... sushi?" "Sure" he says :-)

I'm such a bastard :-)
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So how was sushi dinner fellas? I'm still holdin' out....for what, I'm not sure. And mrsreindeer don't do no sushi so I have to find a chance to fit it in when she's busy!

Sharkeez nub :-)....NO MO! They rebuilt it and it looks NICE! No wonder they set themselves on fire. The old joint was a dive.

When you do roll down there Mike.....call me, I'm down, whenever I can break away. And we can smoke outside Naja's at the Redondo Pier afterwards and try 70 of their 77 beers on tap. It's all about moderation.

UNI - do it - try it - do it

Like others have said and I've touched upon, Sea Urchin is definitely an acquired taste. It's not fishy like mackerel and I'm definitely impressed you tried Octopus and liked it. Not sure what you didn't like about the eel...some don't like that it's EEL (bottom dweller, scavenger, etc.) but I find it quite good. And it's cooked (which takes away the 'fear' or 'grossness' of eating something raw) with the sweet eel sauce (which is more like teriyaki sauce) on top. If you're feeling like giving it another try, I much prefer freshwater eel so give that a shot. And good octopus sure is good. You can even ask them to put eel sauce on top of that and it's a nice combo.

So, back to Uni (sea urchin)....again, the best comes from Santa Barbara, California, not Japan. I wonder if the Japanese order from us? When you look at a piece of the Uni sushi, the Uni (and correct me if I'm wrong here but I believe what we eat is the roe or eggs and not the actual urchin....and it doesn't look like any fish eggs I've seen before) resembles a tongue.

I don't believe there's much of a smell to it and some add the quail egg on top for an extra 'wow' factor and more creamy, silky, yolky, goopy goodness. I, on the other hand, tend to be more of a purist. I like the plain 'ol uni, resting on a bed of rice, surrounded by a crown of seaweed.

So imagine an orange-y tongue as you lift the piece to your mouth. As you bite, the roe tends to kind of melt/liquefy in your mouth. Not like popping the larger salmon roe that is also served the same way but just kind of melting, creamy in your mouth. The first taste, well, tastes like the sea.

As I've mentioned before, I order this every chance I get. This is the one item on the menu that truly reminds me (as if I need reminding) that I'm eating something that came from the sea. Sometimes, the sushi chef will tell me they don't have it when they actually do and that's because they make the decision for you as to whether or not it's fresh enough. It's unfortunate that some of you have ordered it and those places haven't taken this step in quality control, but I'm not surprised. Also, I think we're spoiled out here on the West Coast because we're so close to Santa Barbara and it's almost always going to be available good & fresh.

So, that first bite is 'of the sea' and then you get on in to the rice & the seaweed and they complement the wonderful salty, creamy, sea-like flavors really well. Some folks don't like the texture but I love it. And again, I wouldn't say it's 'fishy' tasting, just like swallowing some seawater...but better!

Down in Redondo Beach at the pier, I even shared a live urchin with a buddy of mine as it crawled across our plate. I don't like harming living things myself, so that was a bit tough. But tasty!

I'm dying. Must have UNI now!

I hope that helps and I wish you luck on the Uni slope. Please tell us about it if you do end up trying it!
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I love sushi, I just started eating it about a year ago but since then I have enjoyed it so much I always want to go. Now you all have me very hungry!!!
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Just got back from my Sushi lunch meeting :-) Had a great lunch, Maguro, Shiro Maguro, Tako and Unagi.... MMmmmmmm!

It was great!
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Damn it, rub it in Dustin! :-):-)

Didja get any UNI???
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LOL I told you I've been just eating a crap load of sushi lately :-)

Nope didn't get any Uni, I have to be in a special mood to enjoy Uni. I don't dislike it but I have to totally be in the mood for it
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Go to hear Sharkeez is back up. I guess it made too much $$$ for them not to rebuild it.

Ah, Najas...another old haunt. I filled up my passport when I was in undergrad. It was great. :-)
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Uni is made from the urchins gonad's....so eat up! You can have my share. :-)

It's all about the OTORO!!! And Dustin, that pic you put up of the toro...damn! Haven't seen fatty tuna like that in while. yum!
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:-) I love being a Sushi Tease LOL

What makes me really happy is that at two days old we are almost at six pages worth of sushi talk :-)

God I love this ****.
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Guh, I hate that stuff. My wife loves the stuff. It's disgusting
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