Sushi Popper

Sushi in a tube is a new product that is a great example of when a person needs to just keep their mouth shut. In my mind I envision a light bulb going on over somebody’s head and the person next to them smacking them just hard enough to get the point across that new ideas aren’t necessarily good ideas. In principle, putting a fully formed and cut sushi roll in a tube might seem like a great way to make sushi portable. The sushi popper is a roll (maki zushi) that has been pre-cut, placed in a tube and frozen, ready to be purchased, thawed, and eaten.  In reality what you have is something contrary to what sushi is about. Yes, sushi was originally street food, the fast food of an earlier time. What you have in the tube, however, is mushy rice, soggy, rubbery nori (seaweed), and some kind of fish that is most likely preserved with chemicals I’d rather not think about.

I love convenience. I love sushi. I don’t love “sushi poppers.” Have you ever tried frozen and thawed sushi leftovers? I have a suggestion. Don’t. This item may very well turn a population of people off sushi forever if this is their introduction. Sushi kabob? Not even, that would actually be a good idea, if it were fresh. But I can’t imagine that this is qualitatively like anything you would actually find in a restaurant. I am not a happy man just thinking about it.

Look for sushi in a tube in the freezer section of a grocery store near you. Or don’t and go out for a great sushi meal without having to worry about freezer burn and the taste of something you found on the bottom of your shoe.