Sushi rolls through Missoula UC Market

Feast on an appetizer of ankimo, a salad of ika-sansai, followed by an entrée of tako – steamed fish liver, squid salad and octopus.

Eating sushi is the stylish thing to do these days, says Ray Lei, a local chef who prepares and sells sushi at Rosauer’s grocery store. Lei delivers the sushi to the UC Market on campus each weekday as well.

“We’ve been carrying the product here since January,” says John Alari, manager of the Market. “We’ve had a terrific, outstanding response.”

“I expected it to do well, but not in the quantities we are seeing – simply because of the price,” he says.

The spicy tuna rolls, shrimp rolls and mini California rolls are considered high-priced items for the Market. Many of the store’s sandwiches and lunch items sell for less than $5. On the lower-priced end, Lei’s pot stickers sell for $3.75 a package. Eel rolls sell for $6.75.

Alari attributes the success of the sushi products to their freshness.

Students looking for fresh sushi can also venture downtown for a full-dining experience at Sushi Hana, a restaurant on North Higgins Avenue. Sushi sales have increased dramatically over the past 10 years since Christopher Nagata has owned the restaurant.

Nagata lived in Japan until he was about nine years old.

“My parents went from the hotel business in Japan to the restaurant business in the States,” he said. “When we started, we were the first Japanese restaurant in town.”

Sushi Hana is quiet this weekday afternoon. Crisp white tablecloths drape over the 17 tables set with white vases. The cherry-wood chairs add to the room’s simple elegance.

Nagata’s sons sit at the dimly lit bar eating an after-school snack. Thirteen-year-old Christopher feasts on salmon rolls, 7-year-old Alex eats fish eggs and crab. Both boys agree that eating the restaurant food is the best part of being a restaurant-owner’s son.

“They grew up on it,” Nagata says.

While sushi sales have always been strong, Nagata has noticed a steady increase in sales over the years, especially among college students. And the sales are markedly higher on Wednesday’s dollar night, when a single piece of fish sells for a dollar.

“Typically, we serve them in pairs,” Nagata said. “So opposed to four or five dollars for a pair, it is a dollar a piece. It is a significant savings.”

Students may be eating sushi for the health benefits too. “I think they enjoy eating this type of food because it is definitely something they categorize as pure or whole food rather than having lots of additives and preservatives,” Nagata said.

Sushi meats are served both cooked and raw.

Unlike Nagata and his sons, sushi is fairly new to Libby Knutson. Knutson, 24, and her 18-month-old son, Nathan, are frequent customers to Sushi Hana.

“I hated fish my entire life,” Knutson says. “When I was pregnant with Nathan I was craving something. I ate a lot of craving foods to try to figure out what it was. I didn’t know what it was until I was about eight months pregnant and stole a shrimp off my 7-year-old son’s plate. Ever since then I have loved fish.”

Across town on North Reserve Street, employees at Nara Korean Bar-B-Que & Sushi prepare a sweet pink fish powder for futomaki (a veggie roll with scrambled eggs) and roll rectangles of nori (dried seaweed) around fish and veggies in preparation for the Tuesday evenings’ “Ladies Night” when featured items are half price.

“We also do dollar sushi on Monday and Thursdays from open to close and we are packed,” waitress Ashley Miller says. “Tuesdays starting at five, we pretty much fill up.”

Miller, 22, has worked at Nara since the restaurant’s opening seven years ago.

The restaurant is decorated in grays and blacks. Several small tables near the front windows are set with chopsticks, tiny bowls for soy sauce and napkins. Each of the six tables along the side wall have small, built-in grills and towering black hoods overhead for serving Korean barbecue entrees.

Customers at these tables cook their own food.

“It’s just like a barbecue,” Miller says. “We bring them raw, marinated meat, and they cook it as they like.” The meal is served with red leaf lettuce, veggies and rice.

“Ninety percent of my diet is sushi,” Miller says. “Eating raw fish is a lot different than cooked fish, but I love it.” Miller isn’t concerned over the safety of eating raw fish.

“I’ve had two children. I stayed away from it when I was pregnant and when I was nursing, but other than that it doesn’t even cross my mind,” Miller says.

But eating uncooked fish can be dangerous. People should be aware of the dangers of eating raw fish, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Eating raw fish can cause food poisoning, Hepatitis, Listeriosis and intestinal parasites.

“Sushi and sushimi must be commercially frozen to kill any parasites,” the U.S. FDA recommends.

However, sushi is crossing the minds of many trendy brides these days.

Sushi bars are suited for wedding receptions, writes Deborah Joseph in a Sunday TimesOnline article, “20 Hot Wedding Trends for 2008.”

“Forget the usual three-course sit-down do. Instead mingle while you munch,” she says.

Las Vegas Wedding Sushi menus are available at cupidswedding.com, and Blueberry Weddings Press lists sushi food stations as a trendy food choice. Like any fad, sushi can become a habit.

“I have heard people say it is addicting,” Miller says. “You eat it once and you have to come get your sushi fix.”