Welcome, newcomers!

[DrewJD82]

Look… In Japan, you can get almost anything out of a vending machine. That’s actually an art-form there.

My favorite choice was hot canned tea w/ the toasted rice.

That’s not really an exaggeration, either.

Need a pair of used women’s underwear? Hit up a vending machine.

 

[jellodog]

Man, I love some good sushi. We’ve got some really nice places down here and some other places you just look at and say “Nope!”

I think I'm addicted to the wasabi high. I deliberately dare myself to raise the stakes and add increasingly large amounts until I can stand it no more.

I don't feel that I've really had a fully "good experience" until I'm red-faced, eyes screwed up in anguish and with tears running down my cheeks.

 

[fretworn]

That’s not really an exaggeration, either.

Need a pair of used women’s underwear? Hit up a vending machine.

More amazing is that when I was there in the 1990s they had the coolest little tiny cell phones that relied on antenna infrastructure installed on all the vending machines. Everywhere. (Low powered phones/small batteries.)

It would never work in the western world were vandals would just break that shit. Very different worlds.

It’s not really a culture of new idea origination and independent thought. But how do they ever excel at making things better/beautiful.

In Japan you could buy a $3 or $5 apple or a $10 apple. (By now, I’m sure those prices have doubled or tripled.)

All the apples there are beautiful and yummy.

However, the $10 apple will blow your flipping mind. (Same thing for zucchini, or a pear or an eggplant actually. We’ve messed up food here but that’s a different thread.)

 

[norminal]

I think I'm addicted to the wasabi high. I deliberately dare myself to raise the stakes and add increasingly large amounts until I can stand it no more.

Real wasabi or the green-dyed stuff made of horseradish?

 

[jellodog]

Real wasabi or the green-dyed stuff made of horseradish?

LOL! Do I strike you as the sort of person that wouldn't eat only the real stuff, sir!?

 

[norminal]

LOL! Do I strike you as the sort of person that wouldn't eat only the real stuff, sir!?

Not sure. I’ve found the real stuff once in the states. It’s rare. Even in larger cities.

 

[fretworn]

LOL! Do I strike you as the sort of person that wouldn't eat only the real stuff, sir!?

Yeah, I don’t know many people that do. It grows wild in mountain rivers in Japan and used to be rare.

Maybe somebody figured out the hydroponic chronic Wassabi?

 

[norminal]

Yeah, I don’t know many people that do. It grows wild in rivers in Japan and used to be rare.

Maybe somebody figured out the hydroponic chronic Wassabi?

It’s still very rare, very expensive, and has a very short “shelf life” once grated/ground.

 

[jellodog]

Haha! Well alright... I don't know then @fretworn and @norminal . I've eaten at some very nice Japanese restaurants with excellent Sushi and Sashimi, but sure - they weren't in Japan.

You got me there with your actual proper facts. haha. Seems like I'm just addicted to plain old horseradish highs then. And damn if I don't love mustard too!

Apologies to all!

 

[norminal]

Haha! Well alright... I don't know then @fretworn and @norminal . I've eaten at some very nice Japanese restaurants with excellent Sushi and Sashimi, but sure - they weren't in Japan.

You got me there with your actual facts. haha.

Sushi Win in Evergreen Colorado. I’d stop there on my way back from the city.

One afternoon, for shits and giggles, I asked Win if he ever got in any of the real stuff.

Walked into the kitchen and came back with a small knob and grated it fresh on the spot. He said that they never served it unless someone specifically asked for it. I couldn’t believe how much more complex it was than the imitation stuff.

 

[DrewJD82]

I love horseradish and wasabi, so I’d LOVE to try the real stuff!

I can’t eat red meat without horseradish, prime rib or not.

 

[fretworn]

Haha! Well alright... I don't know then @fretworn and @norminal . I've eaten at some very nice Japanese restaurants with excellent Sushi and Sashimi, but sure - they weren't in Japan.

You got me there with your actual facts. haha.

I used to work in NYC occasionally… Quite a bit actually… Anyways, a colleague at work owed me a solid- promised me for years to take me to Nobu. (Never did fulfill his obligation.)

Ended up taking my family and it was rather disappointing.



My favorite Japanese restaurant story is me and two other guys taking multiple trains in to Chiba, and then walking down every dark alley. It’s Japan, your quite safe.

We keep seeking out darker and smaller alleys, darker and darker each corner. You hear mah-jongg tables in the background… That’s probably a place you don’t wanna walk into. Lol

We eventually ended up in a small joint establishment owned by a former kabuki theater player.

Delightful delicious meal, some very strange things happening like the bill total being the exact amount of money we had on us collectively. Bizzarro!

 

[norminal]

 

[norminal]

I used to work in NYC occasionally… Quite a bit actually… Anyways, a colleague at work owed me a solid- promised me for years to take me to Nobu. (Never did fulfill his obligation.)

Ended up taking my family and it was rather disappointing.

I remember there being a few gems in the lower east side and Chinatown.

 

[fretworn]

I remember there being a few gems in the lower east side and Chinatown.

Soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai Café. FTW.

 

[DrewJD82]

I used to work in NYC occasionally… Quite a bit actually… Anyways, a colleague at work owed me a solid- promised me for years to take me to Nobu. (Never did fulfill his obligation.)

Ended up taking my family and it was rather disappointing.



My favorite Japanese restaurant story is me and two other guys taking multiple trains in to Chiba, and then walking down every dark alley. It’s Japan, your quite safe.

We keep seeking out darker and smaller alleys, darker and darker each corner. You hear mah-jongg tables in the background… That’s probably a place you don’t wanna walk into. Lol

We eventually ended up in a small joint establishment owned by a former kabuki theater player.

Delightful delicious meal, some very strange things happening like the bill total being the exact amount of money we had on us collectively. Bizzarro!

@andergtr used to eat a lot of Nobu!

 

[fretworn]

@andergtr used to eat a lot of Nobu!

I’m sure it was quite the restaurant in its day. You couldn’t get a table without greasing someone. (That’s why I wanted to be taken for lunch. Lol)

 

[hemmelight]

Since we're on the topic of super spendy Japanese artisanal produce, I found this video fascinating. Love to try one of these someday:

 

[la szum]

Ever eat a Japanese pickle? It’s nothing like what we call a pickle.

Or Korean Kimchi.... or Herring..... or Gefilte Fish.

Fermenting/pickling is as old as humanity.; Without it one could validly
argue that we might not have survived this long to chase Mesa Boogie's latest amp.

Preserving food in that way is inextricably tied to our evolution as a species,
because gathering/hunting was not always a sure thing. Not to mention
drought and floods and famine and all the other shit beyond our control.

And it's good for us!

Lactobacillus for the win!

 

[la szum]

We've got a Long John Silver's

I love LJS, too. All the Hush Puppies. Nom! Nom!

Tartar Sauce = pickle + Mayo.