Love at First Bite

I ate my first piece of sushi in 2009 and can say without hesitation it was love at first bite.

I was visiting my boyfriend who lived in Florida, and he wanted to take me somewhere special for supper. "Are you feeling adventurous?" he asked as we started to drive through West Palm Beach. "Sure," I casually replied, not thinking his idea of adventurous would lead to raw fish. 

When our car stopped in front of a restaurant with a flickering "Sushi Bar" sign, thoughts of having to visit the emergency room later to treat food poisoning flooded my mind.  "We're here," he said as he opened my door grabbing my now sweating hand to lead me to the entrance.

I grew up in North Dakota, the land of meat and potatoes. I did not eat raw fish.

While we were waiting for our meals – I can still feel the anxiety– he gave me a crash course in using chopsticks. ”There’s nothing to it,” he said, as he effortlessly picked up a straw wrapper from the table with his chopsticks. I felt like Edward Scissorhands holding those foreign objects that were supposed to transport food to my mouth.

Our sushi finally arrived and I remember thinking, 'I have to pick that up with these, right?' How I wished I had a fork in my purse. It took me a minute or so to grab a piece of my eel roll, but it was worth the struggle. The sushi had such an intense blend of flavors and textures, and I... absolutely loved it.

Coming back to Fargo, North Dakota, with a new favorite food, I was pleased to hear that new Asian restaurants were opening. The Fargo-Moorhead area, with a population of nearly 200,000 people, boasts more than 350 restaurants. Several of these restaurants cater to the 26,000+ college students who attend one of the area's three major universities. 

From 2009 to now, six sushi establishments have opened giving people of the Fargo-Moorhead area a chance to become hooked.

This blog is my report about those restaurants. My attempt to capture those experiences. From information on the chefs to customers’ favorite sushi rolls, may I guide sushi diners in their sushi endeavors.