The History of Sushi In The United States

May 4, 2015 in Daily Bulletin

Laurel Randolph wrote about the rise of sushi in the United States:

  • The first known American sushi restaurant was opened in 1966 in California, by a Japanese man looking to spread his native culture.
  • It became popular with Japanese businessmen who invited their western counterparts who took a liking to the dish.
  • It was also the beginnings of the health food craze, and sushi began to draw the attention of movie stars, making the restaurant a Californian hot spot.
  • In the 1970s the California roll was invented and this unleashed a wave of experimentation across the United States.
  • Soon sushi included things like jalapenos, cream cheese, and steak. Some places, of course, tried deep frying sushi rolls.
  • But there are concerns about the decline of quality sushi. Fewer sushi chefs are travelling to the United States from Japan – possibly as a result of the difficulties in obtaining a visa.
  • While there have been several great non-Japanese sushi chefs, they were often well trained in special academies – something that is also becoming less common.

Read about the wider 1,700 year history of sushi, and more over here.

Source: Paste