DU sushi aficionados; explain UNI to me

[Ediacara]

So tonight, my boyfriend and I went to a sushi restaurant. A restaurant that came highly recommended and was fantastic. The kind of restaurant that I would actually order uni in.

To describe it as possibly the worst thing I've ever eaten, would be too mild. I wanted to spit it out on my plate right in front of the waiter, the chef, the chef's wife, and Madeline Albright (who by bizarre coincidence was at the same restaurant, no I didn't meet her). I didn't spit it out, but I wanted to with every fibre of my being.

The texture, the flavor, the heaping pile of it. All of it: horrible.

Is there something I'm missing here?

ON EDIT: I should add, I really enjoy sushi, and eat it probably once weekly, but it's only rarely that I'll go out to an "A-list" sushi restaurant, generally, I go to an Asian grocery.

[Kutjara]

1. Well, it is the gonads of the sea urchin, so...

...how good could it be?

Actually, I quite enjoy the more...erm...adventurous forms of Japanese food, a byproduct of years living in Tokyo. Sometimes, though, even I suspect some of the stuff is an elaborate practical joke.

[Ediacara]

2. Well ya, I knew what I was getting into, I knew what it was

but the texture was so soft like mayonnaise and the taste was just so.... repellent. I think you may be right about the practical joke aspect...

[Kutjara]

3. I once heard it described as like eating someone else's phlegm.

I wouldn't go quite that far, but it isn't among my favorites.

[Flaxbee]

8. well, there goes that culinary experience

;) Guess I can cross uni off my list! lol

[jgraz]

17. As long as that person was a smoker who gargles with fish sauce.

Yeah, I loves me some uni. :9

[Hand]

4. Nope.

You've got it entirely right. Uni is one of the most repulsive things to ever violate a taste bud... :puke:

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Oddly, I seem to be able to gauge the quality of a restaurant by its Uni.

If the Uni is good, I find that the rest of the sushi is likely good.

Yes, it's a borderline experience.

[Ediacara]

6. Well... what's it supposed to taste like?

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. It tastes exactly like you've experienced.

I'm not always sure why I order it.

[Ediacara]

10. Then um.... so does anyone actually like uni?

[Fire Walk With Me]

12. The better sushi chefs seem pleased when I order it- but then might simply be laughing

as another poster said.

Can't say that I have a specific desire for it. It certainly adds a tangent amidst a meal...

[MissMillie]

16. I think the taste is ok, but the texture

not so much

[jgraz]

18. I love it, but it's not for everyone

You need to go to a restaurant that really knows how to handle it. Old uni is NOT a pleasant experience - kind of like a combination of bad fish and burnt rubber.

But when it's fresh, it should be very mild, custardy with a slight smokey taste. It's even better with a raw quail egg on top.

If you're looking for an acquired taste to ... well ... acquire, there aren't many better choices than uni.

[NV Whino]

9. I tried it once

'nuf said.

[lutefisk]

11. If Ralphs sold sushi, uni would be their "namesake dish"

"ralph" ...:puke:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. What can I say except that it comes from a country where some people

eat purposely rotted soybeans (natto) for breakfast? No, I didn't say "fermented"; I said "rotted." To me they taste like a heaping garbage can smells.

Mostly I love Japanese food, but there are certain items I avoid if at all possible. Natto is one of them. Uni is another.

[Karenina]

14. I had a similar experience...

at a VERY exclusive Japanese restaurant in Manhattan. I was with in the company of some big names and had no input... This THING was just placed in front of me (I somehow KNEW it was NOT something I wanted to eat). I smiled, managed to get it into my mouth without making a fool of myself and down the hatch it went.
It took every fiber of my being to smile, nod and not GAG.

The taste wasn't all that unpleasant, like fishy peanut butter; it was the SLIMY TEXTURE that got me. IT WAS HORRIBLE!!! :puke:

LL mentions natto. I actually LIKE natto. But UNI??? :puke:

[MonkeyFunk]

15. Uni is an acquired taste

but it's awesome.