In Los Angeles, $3,000 tuition now gets you two entire months of training (and presumably) a certificate as a real, live sushi chef — suitable, no doubt, to make Walmart-worthy tekka-maki to your heart’s content.
As ELV has noted, the training in Japan takes ten years.
Read all about it here, and prepare to get depressed.
For those of you who didn’t read my “Mexican Mediocrity” rant a few weeks ago, today on Nevada Public Radio, I humbug my way through a commentary on how awful our Mexican restaurants are in this neck of the woods, and on how little my listeners seem to know (or care to know) about what constitutes decent, somewhat authentic, Mexican grub.
Click here to hear today’s commentary on News 88.9 FM KNPR – Nevada Public Radio; spoken, as usual, in the James Mason-esque tones for which ELV is famous.
“The trouble with touring in America is constantly having to eat what everybody thinks is Mexican food.” – Lyle Lovett
Like Lyle, I love it – “it” being real Mexican food. And I love all of you. You know I do. Some of ELV’s loyal readers are good friends. Some of you are restaurant professionals. Others are chefs or winos (in the best sense of the word). All of you are serious foodies and/or lovers of good grub and where to find it. But with all due respect for your impeccable taste in all things culinary, and your prescient recognition of excellence in Las Vegas restaurant blogs/websites, I have a modest, respectful request:
QUIT SENDING ME TO MEXICAN RESTAURANTS BECAUSE NONE OF YOU HAVE A CLUE WHAT MAKES A GOOD ONE!
(Pause here for parenthetical explanation before continuing rant)
At the beginning of the year, Nevada Public Radio asked listeners to e-mail in suggestions for where I should dine and review for the coming twelve months. By a margin of 3 to 1, Mexican restaurants took the cake for places I just had to try “…because it’s new and fresh and the owners are real Mexicans (as opposed to fake Mexicans) and we love it and they make great margaritas and we love everything on the menu and you really need to try it!”
(Return to Rant)