on the fly

yes i have been fly fishing, once. in the rogue river, oregon. in flipflops, i might add, which i highly do not recommend. it was a thelma and louise sort of trip up the coast of the pacific northwest (that i highly DO recommend). my friend and i, thelma, wandered into a bar one night in the small coastal town of gold beach, and sat for a while realizing we did not "blend" in. "i see white people", i said. "i think they keep staring at us because we look "ethnic", she said. and we probably did to these oregonians. we had dark hair, olive skin tones, kissed with summer's golden touch, and ya know new york style, meaning we weren't wearing CROCS. so here we are at this bar, sticking out like elle woods on a camping trip, and this very handsome fly fisherman saddles up next to us. he was free the next day and would be honored to host two lovely ladies(of course he was) on his boat, with his golden retriever, and teach us how to flyfish. we acquiesced, happily, and found ourselves up at the crack of dawn in the middle of the rogue river swinging this pole this way and that way. yes he wore those brad pitt wader things, and we, well like i said flip flops not so good...

it was at this time i understood what being a vegetarian really meant to me, and why for some reason i felt very much okay with eating fish, but not poultry or beef or pork or two-to-four-legged creatures. it was the rush of standing out in the hot sun all day hunting, well kind of, for our food. the thrill and necessity of the food chain. i felt like if i could actually give something all of my strength and time and focus to catching it, then it was okay for me to eat it. we were in this together, at some point the fish would let go, stop struggling, and decide to give its life for our nourishment. five hours later, and no fish caught, salad looked pretty good, anything looked pretty good.

one of my favorite ways to enjoy fish, as i am sure many of you can agree, is sushi. also a nickname given to me in college, sushi is one of the most creative, deeeelicious, and satisfying ways to enjoy a fresh catch. I travel a lot and one sushi experience in particular that stands out was this on-the-water restaurant in seattle with a sushi roll complete with tuna and watermelon and mango and spicy sauce...i think i had died and gone to heaven, and came back speaking japanese..

i do not cook japanese sushi, maybe someday...but instead of a recipe i am including some of the best sushi places in NYC that many may not know of...try them, you will be transformed.

1. Bozu 296 grand street 718 384 7770 (take L to bedford stop walk left to grand st. make another left)

go on a sunday night and ask for Phillip...he will show you the way to gastronomic bliss!

2. Kodama (our midtown fav!) 301 w.45th street @8th ave

ALWAYS A+ ALWAYS, great service, and they are Mets fans!

3. blue ribbon sushi 119 sullivan between prince and spring 212 343 0404

a little more pricey, but superior quality (same guys as the blue ribbon rest) an innovative take on the authentic

4. Masa in the Time Warner building 10 Columbus Circle

yes also a little expensive, but AMAHHHzing sushi

5. Ebisu 9th st between 1st ave and ave A.

unknown, high quality, great sake!

that should keep you busy for a few nights...