A Funny Visual Guide To The Dos And Don'ts Of Eating Sushi

Sushi is mainstream cuisine these days, and yet dining at a sushi restaurant feels a lot more rigid and ceremonial than grabbing a burger at the neighborhood diner.

Even those of us who consider ourselves old sushi pros know we're breaking all kinds of rules when we eat those raw fish rolls our way, namely dipped in a mixture of wasabi and soy sauce with a bunch of ginger slices on top.

The traditional sushi set in Japan see ginger as a palate cleanser, to be eaten between types of sushi not on top of rolls, and drowning rolls in soy sauce is seen as a sin by sushi chefs.

The folks at The Bold Italic headed to Ichi Sushi, one of San Francisco's best sushi bars, to get the skinny on the do's and don'ts of eating sushi.

This funny visual lesson may not change the way you eat sushi, but it will give you a good idea of why the sushi chefs keep glaring at you while you eat!

See The Do's, the Don'ts, and the Oh God, Please Don'ts of Eating Sushi here

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What if the piece is too big to safely eat in one bite?

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"pallet cleanser"
Wooden pallets are pressure-washed.

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Like someone telling you to not eat with your mouth open? Different cultures have a large variety of meal manners, some more arbitrary than others. No one forces you as an adult to follow any of those manners. But it is helpful to be aware of the customs at least, so you can chose to ignore them and be aware of context, instead of just letting ignorance make that choice for you. And for some foods, e.g. sushi, knowing how it was mechanically intended to be eaten would save many people the confusion of why something keeps falling apart or ends up messy for them.

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Sushi is not some mystical popcockery from beyond the stars. It's food. Like all other food, you eat it in whatever manner you see fit. If someone tells you you're doing it wrong it's because they're an asshole.

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