The Sushi Eating HOWTO
Stop by the sushi bar and order like connossieur. There are several traditions and protocols involved in ordering sushi that we westerners largely ignore. Have you ever wondered how to find an excellent sushi place? Were you ever curious as to how to eat fugu, one of the most poisonous creatures on Earth? Do you know the difference between wasabi and dyed horseradish? The answers are in The Sushi Eating HOWTO, a tongue in cheek source of information presented in the style of a computer help manual: clearly organized, concise, and accurate.
"What and how should I order?"
Alberto, my older brother, innocently asked that question after we shared a delicious dinner at the Nikko Hotel Mexico City in late December of 2001. I wrote an email that outlined how to order and eat sushi, and he forwarded it to his friends. They forwarded it to their friends. And so on. Pretty soon I was getting email questions from all over Mexico and the US so I decided then to turn the original email into a "concise reference manual for how to eat sushi" which became the most popular sushi ettiquette in the world by early 2005, and was the top Google search result for "how to eat sushi" for three years before sliding back to the second result on the first page. The HOWTO grew for 7 years to the point where it's got tons of information.
Several Japanese, in person or email, have expressed their good wishes and admiration for the Sushi Eating HOWTO, and have helped correct several mistakes in the content. I realized after my November 2007 visit to Tokyo that the Sushi Eating HOWTO had peaked when my newly found Japanese friends indicated that they had only heard of some of the things in it. The HOWTO is possibly the most comprehensive sushi guide ever, but that made it unwieldy. You're unlikely to find some of the most exotic sushi featured in it even in Japan...
So far almost 2 million unique viewers have loaded by the HOWTO from every corner of the world. I want to thank you all for your visits! The Sushi Eating HOWTO development has stopped as of January 2008, and will only get updates whenever something exotic or interesting comes up. The viewership is still strong, with an average of 320 unique page views/day, and featuring the occasional spike of 15,000 to 50,000 viewers per day.
It's better to quit when you're on top and move on to other interests. Best wishes to all, and enjoy your sushi!
