What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?
When we were visiting Japan, we were invited to a local’s home for dinner. We enjoyed the warm hospitality and were served the best sashimi I’ve ever tasted. I knew it was premium grade by the way it literally melted in my mouth. I heard my mom’s voice in my head to be a gracious guest and resisted the urge to chow down. Man, that took willpower.
Our host was concerned I wasn’t enjoying the meal because how little I ate. On the contrary, I explained, this was the freshest sashimi I’d ever tasted. He understood I was holding back. It turns out he was a tuna broker that sold freshly caught tuna directly to restaurants. He said not to worry, he had forty more pounds in cold storage and encouraged me to dig in. He didn’t have to ask me twice.
After our meal, I couldn’t eat sashimi or sushi for the rest of our trip because nothing would compare. It was that good. That was more of an experience than a meal.
I started searching for fish related songs and bands. I’m not sure why I was coming up empty. I’m sure there are hundreds out there to choose from. I ended up choosing a Smiths’ song covered by Hootie and the Blowfish. And even though nobody can really replicate Morrissey’s vocals, I do like how obscure this one is. I remember adding this CD to my collection eons ago thinking how cool it was that Darius Rucker covered songs from bands I loved like the Smiths and REM. Here’s their version of Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.
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Good times for a change
See, the luck I've had can make a good man turn bad
So please, please, please
Let me, let me, let me
Let me get what I want this time
Haven't had a dream in a long time
See, the life I've had can make a good man bad
So, for once in my life, let me get what I want
Lord knows it would be the first time
Lord knows it would be the first time
MyGenXerLife 
A Tuna Broker. Now there’s a job I never knew existed. Lucky you getting invited to one’s home for dinner – in Japan! Cool story.
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Wow! That really says something. I enjoy sushi, but I’ve only had it stateside. If I ever make it to Japan, I’m sure I would find the sushi here lacking.
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A lucky situation indeed!
I feel similarly about the grilled fish dishes I ate in Kyoto. Nothing near that since and unlikely to have again!
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