Posts by Trevor Corson
“Jiro Dreams of Sushi” Film Screening & Discussion with Eric Ripert and David Gelb
Jump to photo album. An amazing experience last night at the Japan Society, where Chef Eric Ripert and filmmaker David Gelb, director of the new documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” joined me for a screening and panel discussion, along with sushi chef Masato Shimizu of 15 East, who spoke on the panel and made sushi on…
Read MoreTurns Out that Lobsters Talk to Fish
One of the scenes from The Secret Life of Lobsters that people remark about most is the description of the “LTV"—"lobster trap video"—which exposed the behavior of lobsters in a trap as rather like a mob of escaped convicts in a barroom brawl. Escaped convicts because, after their slugfest, most of the lobsters caught on the LTV…
Read MoreToo Much of a Good Thing?
This is a pile of lobsters photographed on the coast of Maine around 1870. Lately the piles of lobsters being hauled in by Maine lobstermen are even bigger. That’s partly because lobsters are all that’s left in the Gulf of Maine for fishermen to catch—most of the cod, haddock, hake, and other fish have long…
Read MoreSavage Beauty
I’m not normally much into fashion, but Alexander McQueen captured my heart with what the New York Times called the “lobster claw stiletto bootie,” perhaps the most aquatically sensual shoe ever created. The Times wrote: The boot transformed the models’ feet into … the claws of some futuristic crustacean. … McQueen, influenced by On the Origin of Species, presented a kind…
Read MoreIn Lieu of Being a Rock Star
Having played in a rock band in high school, the dream, of course, was always to “play an arena.” I’d assumed that dream had died a brutal and summary death once I’d headed down the path of becoming a writer—not to mention a writer who has spent a good chunk of his time writing about…
Read MoreWould You Eat a Taco Off a Conveyor Belt? Why Would You Eat Sushi Off One?
It’s official, I spotted the future digs of New York City’s fast-approaching kaiten sushi joint in SoHo, on the corner of Grand & West Broadway, which according to a sign on the window of interrogation-room glass will be opening in February. As you probably know, kaiten sushi is the Japanese term for “conveyor-belt” sushi, and apparently sushi lovers in…
Read MoreIf You Happen to Have Named Your Dog “Sushi”
Then I dare say here is the perfect doggie sweater.
Read MoreThe Lobster-Killing Conversation Continues
The timeless topic of how best to dispatch a lobster is revived again this weekend in a New York Times review of two new books that flesh out the lobster literature alongside my book, The Secret Life of Lobsters. The review ponders the best way to kill a lobster for cooking, and cites “an illustrated blog…
Read MoreWhat Is the Most Difficult Sushi to Eat?
I was recently asked this question. Personally, I might have to go with the futomaki, which translates literally as “fat roll.” Most of the oversized sushi rolls that we eat in America were invented right here in the States. Typically, traditional Japanese sushi is made small. But the futomaki is an exception. It’s usually overstuffed with…
Read MoreSushi Can Survive, and Thrive
With the ongoing tragedy in Japan, people have been asking me if sushi is safe to eat, and indeed, whether the future of sushi as a cuisine might be in jeopardy. Let me first say that the situation in Japan is heartbreaking, and I have many close friends there who I’ve been in contact with…
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