The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi: Everything You Need to Know About Sushi Varieties and Accompaniments, Etiquette and Dining Tips and More [Paperback]

Dave Lowry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2005

Like sushi? Know a little something about it? Take your knowledge to a higher level with The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi. Author and Japanese-culture expert Dave Lowry provides a wealth of information on the varieties of sushi and its ingredients, with extensive coverage given to all types of fish. He lays out the finer points of etiquette and showcases the proper accompaniments. Lowry's wry, light wit emerges as he shares lots of cultural and historical facts about sushi. He'll tell you just how to go about finding a really good sushi restaurant. With this book in hand, you'll be sure to enhance your sushi dining experience, and wow your friends with your new-found expertise!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lowry, restaurant critic for St. Louis Magazine, offers an amenable guide to the little-known (to Westerners) world of sushi. A sort of sushi appreciation course, the book covers everything from the cuisine's history (it wasn't until 1834 that people started eating the kind of sushi we're used to) to the various kinds of sushi (hand-pressed, wrapped and rolled, etc.) and a reasonably comprehensive explanation of ingredients like aji (horse mackerel), kajiki (swordfish) and uni (sea urchin). Lowry's easygoing style can get a little grating—as he sidetracks into his umpteenth foray, some readers may want to scream "get to the point already!"—but you can't fault him for being approachable. Among his lessons: adding wasabe to a dish of soy sauce for dipping is a big no-no, as is dipping a piece of nigiri sushi (rice with a slice of fish on top) into a bowl of soy sauce rice-side-down (flip the piece upside down just long enough so the fish side is touched with soy sauce). For many people, sushi restaurants are intimidating places, and Lowry's handbook will serve them well as a friendly lifeline. (Oct.)
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Review

This handy guidebook . . . will turn a sushi lover into a sushi expert in no time. -- Washington County Retail

[Lowry] deftly defines the many sushi terms . . . those seeking to maximize their sushi dining experiences will be delighted. -- Library Journal

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; First Edition edition (October 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558323074
• ISBN-13: 978-1558323070
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,183,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding and comprehensive, October 6, 2005

By 

L. A. Kane (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi: Everything You Need to Know About Sushi Varieties and Accompaniments, Etiquette and Dining Tips and More (Paperback)

Dave Lowry is an incredibly knowledgeable martial artist and prolific author who also happens to be a food critic. This is outstanding book is the logical concatenation of his numerous talents, a true A-to-Z guide to everything you need to know about sushi including what to eat, how to eat it, and what to drink with what you eat. It covers the rice, types of sushi you can obtain, toppings, fillings, condiments, utensils, accompaniments, etiquette, and more. The 300+ pages are packed with interesting and useful information to keep you from embarrassing yourself and make your dining experience more enjoyable. The "watch for," "trivia," and "ask the itamae" call-outs are really neat features.

The book is broken into three parts. Part one covers everything about the sushi itself including rice, nigiri sushi (hand-pressed), maki sushi (wrapped or rolled), chirashi sushi (scattered), oshi sushi (pressed), tane (toppings), gu (fillings), and nori (seaweed). Part two is an in-depth primer of the various types of fish used for sushi. Part three explains the practice and etiquette of eating sushi, including condiments, drinks, utensils, accoutrements and furnishings, the itamae (sushi chef), and sushi ritual.

The only bad thing about this otherwise outstanding book is that it has no pictures. I'm still giving it five stars because the content is so good, but it would have been even better with color photos of the various types of fish and pictures or drawings of the other items he refers to that many readers will not be familiar with. Regardless, as with all of Lowry's books it is comprehensive, easy to read, filled with interesting vignettes, and very useful. I was first introduced to sushi (and sashimi) at a judo tournament in 1972, yet I learned a lot I did not already know in this fine tome. If you are into sushi you've got to buy this book!

Lawrence Kane
Author of Surviving Armed Assaults, The Way of Kata, and Martial Arts Instruction

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource for the novice and not so novice sushi lover, August 5, 2009

By 

Ingred "Ingred" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi: Everything You Need to Know About Sushi Varieties and Accompaniments, Etiquette and Dining Tips and More (Paperback)

This really is a must if you love to explore different sushi's but become intimidated when you arrive at a new restaurant and become overwhelmed by the menu.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A lot of ego, with some information sneaking in by accident, August 11, 2008

By 

jannielane (Littleton, CO USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi: Everything You Need to Know About Sushi Varieties and Accompaniments, Etiquette and Dining Tips and More (Paperback)

Mr. Lowry seems to be most interested in impressing us with his knowledge and believes that his readers want to become snobs. Most of us are never going to eat sushi in Japan, much less in the men's club type of sushi restaurant where competition is supreme. We will eat sushi in our American neighborhood restaurants, where there is no one to impress, because no one cares. However, under all the ego, there is useful information. It is incredibly irritating to find it, since Mr. Lowry also can't stick to a subject for more than a few sentences, before he wanders off into another story to prove his innate superiority. Maybe Mr. Lowry would consider issuing a pocket guide, which omits the fluff and leaves only the useful information about how to select sushi, how to know if the fish or seafood is fresh, what condiments belong with each fish, and other such facts.