The Death of Sushi

A friend of mine sent me a link to something called a Sushi Popper.

This unholy item makes sushi more convenient with a push pop candy apparatus, so that it may be eaten at the ball park, in stadiums and other such places. This is part of a trend that I blame on the popularity of sushi.

Restaurants that have no business making sushi want sushi on their menu. So they get someone else to roll them up a supply, which they leave in their fridge until someone orders it--not unlike what you'll find at a Publix in the sushi case. At least there, you know that your roll might have been made up the day before. At a restaurant you expect that the chef is rolling it up when you order it.

What I like about the Sushi Popper is its sheer audacity. One look at the packaging, and you know that baby wasn't made-to-order. They, like the sushi you sometimes get at non-sushi restaurants, are made up ahead of time. Sushi Popper hires local rollers to fill their blasphemous tubes (Hi Kellie, I stole your phrase!)The tubes are then refrigerated and await your order.

I don't think they're a horrible health hazard. After all, I've eaten sushi from the case and lived. Many people have.

But it still makes me sad because the real, made-to-order deal is just so much better. If I had kids I wouldn't want them to grow up in a world where sushi came in tubes.