Expenditures

What is a great meal worth? With today’s economy, this is certainly a pressing question for us foodies, and a question I struggle with over and over.

Today I went to the best sushi restaurant I have ever been to and probably will ever go to (unless I make a trip to Japan). The sushi is some of the freshest that can be found in California, and it is where I had my first taste of the magnificent Uni (sea urchin). Mmm… the scallop, amaebi (sweet shrimp), tobiko (fish roe) with quail egg, and tamago (rolled egg) were simply amazing.

The sushi here is so good that it has attracted quite a cult following in the Bay Area. But as any sushi connoisseur knows, to get good sushi one must be prepared to pay the price. It is very difficult to have a meal here under 40 dollars, putting quite a dent in your average student food budget. I mean, if you want to have the real experience, that is. If you just want to get a roll and leave hungry then it probably isn’t worth making the trip.

At Sushi Sho, once you enter the restaurant, you feel like you have been accepted to some special club. There are only eight seats at the sushi bar, and once those are filled, that’s it for the first 6 o’clock seating. Other diners will then have to wait for the later seating at 8.

At the bar, the regulars know each other. They talk to the sushi chef, Aki-san, familiarly, asking about his son, future business plans, etc. They also talk to each other about what kind of fish is fresh today, what “off-the menu” items to order, and other insider topics. Throughout the night people who don’t know about how the restaurant works come in the door from time to time, only to be turned away with “we only serve sushi here”, or “ you need to wait 25-35 minutes”. The regulars snicker and murmur that these people should read the sign at the door, laying these policies out in writing.

Being a regular here means spending more than 40 dollars for a meal at least once a week. Some go two or three days in a row. It is plainly evident that being a regular at Sushi Sho gives one a certain feeling of prestige, one of those who are “in-the-know”. A meal here is always a good experience, and it makes me want to be a regular too. But at the same time I think about how 40 dollars spent on groceries could feed me well for a week and a half. And how a great, albeit simple, meal with friends at a good burger place costs at most 10 dollars. It’s a sort of tug of war for me. Some weeks I’m all about frugality and adhere to the “simple life” philosophy. Other weeks I’m a hedonist and throw caution to the wind, ready to lay down 50 dollars or more for a nice meal. I suppose I can never be a regular at any place with these tendencies, but at least in the end my expenditures sort of even out.