Sushi?

Maybe it was the meal at Citronelle in DC a few months ago, or possibly I'm reading Ideas in Food too often, but lately I can't take my mind off foods that look or sound typical, but are more of a play on what they sound and/or look like (Example, rack of lamb at Citronelle consisted of four deboned lamb chops -- think mini fillet mignons -- that, instead of being blackened on the edges, were coated in powdered porcini mushrooms so as to appear charred, and, instead of mint jelly, came sauced with a jalapeno-white bean puree. My "fried rice" had no rice in it, but instead was potato based. As for their Breakfast dessert, I'm sure there's a better description of it on the internet than any I can give.). I knew it was becoming a problem when I was trying to figure out how to deconstruct chili for a work chili cook-off.

While the sushi pictured above would in no way find its way into Cintronelle or Ideas in Food, and is really not all that original at all (it's just veggie friendly sushi), it was still a nice change of pace. It started when I, for some unknown reason, watched this YouTube. Specifically at 5 min. 10 sec (Looks like tuna doesn't it?). Who says infomercials are a waste of time?

Anyway, moving pretty much from left to right in the picture is mango, roasted red pepper (from a jar, that's why the skin is on there--it was pleasant), orange (surprisingly good with wasabi), filleted tomato a la Chef Tony with a basil leaf underneath and a touch of salt, and peach (the peach was hopeless to begin with). On the small plate are some really good pieces of pan seared yellow squash and eggplant (the highlight), and some pomegranate seeds (like roe, very clever, I know).

For rice, I went here.

Everything was enjoyable. This would work well for a sushi making party, particularly with vegetarians or vegans. Still, I don't expect a job offer from Pacific East, nor will I be deconstructing chili anytime soon.