Hello, sushi!

Monday was 'Introduce Joy to Something New' Day. On the table: sushi.

I have long been hesitant to try sushi because I am allergic to shellfish. A lot of sushi places simply list the Japanese words for the fish and not the English translations. Many more list the type of rolls but not the exact contents. For a novice sushi eater, this is overwhelming. For a novice with allergies, it becomes too much bother. How can I enjoy a meal fully if one hand is gripping the epi-pen in my purse "just in case?"

But this week is about doing new and different things. So when I told my husband I was willing to try sushi if he could find a place with a sushi-for-dummies-type menu, he leaped at the opportunity. Sushi is among his favorite foods and I think he's been waiting for this day in his heart for seven long years.

So off we went to The Naked Fish. I examined the menu carefully and at length. Rod and the waitress were patient with me. And soon, there was a huge array of nigiri and maki sushi rolls before me. Salmon, yellowtail, eel and avocado, smoked salmon with cream cheese (shouldn't that be on a bagel, I wondered?), spicy tuna with cucumber, avocado, and macadamia nuts... all allergy-safe and stunningly gorgeous.

Rod showed me how Americans mix wasabi into the soy sauce. I dutifully followed suit. (Apparently Japanese dab wasabi directly onto the sushi, but I am not ready for that.) And then I dived into the nigiri. I was sloppy about it and felt like an idiot, and ultimately didn't care. This was good food. The maki roll with the macadamia nuts was a flavor revelation. Sushi is everything I love - great fish and rice and vegetables and flavor profiles - it just happens to be raw. I sat back, kicking myself that I hadn't tried this years ago.

And once again (as with so many things lately), my husband was grinning from across the table. This time, it wasn't a smug 'gotcha' grin, but a 'finally, we can enjoy this together!' genuine smile. Sushi, here we come.