Would You Eat This Thing?

I just received a communication from the p.r. firm that works with the TukTuk restaurant in Rehovot, an Israeli city not far from Tel Aviv. The restaurant has added a new dish to their menu. Hold your breath - they're calling this thing "Sushi Hamburger"

The ingredients - a "sandwich" enclosed by two "burgers" made of sticky rice with slivers of tempura and between those sashimi of salmon and tuna, lettuce, a carpaccio of cherry tomatoes, lettuce and a spicy mayonnaise.

Now let's be clear, this thing may be delicious but the list of ingredients is quite enough to put me off and in my opinion the photo shows this dish to be one of the most unsightly, unappetizing creations I have encountered. Why anyone would boast about a dish like this one eludes me. Who knows though - it may be the latest hit.

The photo may take a while to open (big file) but worth waiting to see it. Me..I will not be making a trip to TukTuk to taste this thing.

Best
Rogov

This is a place that "invented" something called the 'sushi sandwich' quite some time ago, and it seems popular with the teenage and young adult crowd. I suspect this burger version will sell to the same clientele, although I won't try it. Tuk tuk actually does semi-decent sushi if you stick to standard sashimi, nigiri and rolls - nothing very exciting or creative, but a tolerable option for the locals.

in my opinion the photo shows this dish to be one of the most unsightly, unappetizing creations I have encountered.

I agree it looks disastrous and I would not choose to eat it. But surely you've seen a lot worse!

[Robin Garr]

Sure, I'd eat that. What do they make the little "fries" underneath out of?

Rehovot? "Not far from Tel Aviv" doesn't sound right for either Isaac's well or Saul's home town ...

I don't find it revolting, and it would be something I would try, because I like all the ingredients. I'm not a fan of totally raw fish and would prefer it done like I cook my Ahi tuna, cooked around the edges and warm all the way through with the carry over cooking it becomes perfection for me. That is how I like all my sushi. Not sure about the mayonnaise floating around in there. I think I'd prefer marinated tomatoes in a light Asian dressing of some sort. I guess it will be a novelty to try, I would not go out of my way to do so.

I'd put it in the "ugly but I'd still probably give it a try" category.

If a very close friend served it to me, then I would at least try. However, I doubt that I could get more than one small bite down, and am not sure it would stay down.

[Robin Garr]

I'd put it in the "ugly but I'd still probably give it a try" category.

Ugly, and maybe even silly. But underneath the faux burger silliness there's tuna and salmon sashimi with sushi rice. What's not to like about that?

I'd put it in the "ugly but I'd still probably give it a try" category.

Ugly, and maybe even silly. But underneath the faux burger silliness there's tuna and salmon sashimi with sushi rice. What's not to like about that?

Exactly. It's ugly but not up to "cat litter box cake" standards and the ingredients all go together well. I've probably munched down a sushi roll or two that didn't look much better.

Personally, I think I'd prefer Tofurkey.

[David M. Bueker]

It looks messy as heck, but quite tasty.

Personally, I think I'd prefer Tofurkey.

Just because "The Thing" is not kosher.

Ugly, and maybe even silly. But underneath the faux burger silliness there's tuna and salmon sashimi with sushi rice. What's not to like about that?

Robin, that is exactly what I thought about it. You said it very straight forward.

"cat litter box cake"

And how did that taste? We're all waiting to hear.

If a very close friend served it to me, then I would at least try. However, I doubt that I could get more than one small bite down, and am not sure it would stay down.

I'd have to be well into a fifth of Jack Daniels to even consider trying it, and then would disgorge it as soon as it landed, most likely.

I would knife and fork it for a couple bites. But, it is a bit strange looking.

"cat litter box cake"

And how did that taste? We're all waiting to hear.

The first time I saw it, I couldn't take a bite. The second time was at a Halloween party and involved a bit of alcohol consumption. I did have a small piece then and it tasted fine. The visuals, though, were still pretty hard to take.

If any of you have yet to see one of these, check out this web page. (Insert barfing emoticon here.)

The kitty litter cakes are disgusting and should be banned from the earth. No one should ever have to receive such a thing like that, especially someone you love. There are so many other "joke" type cakes out there that are much more respectful.

[Jenise]

I'd put it in the "ugly but I'd still probably give it a try" category.

Ugly, and maybe even silly. But underneath the faux burger silliness there's tuna and salmon sashimi with sushi rice. What's not to like about that?

That's where I am!--if nothing else I could revert to childhood habits and dissassemble it to eat in small stages. But oh--they DO have to leave off that pink sauce or I'll be barfing in the parking lot with Bob Henrick.

Halloween party or not, if someone were to serve me that "kitty liter cake" I would find a polite excuse on which to thank them for the evening and take my leave to wander on.

[Jenise]

Halloween party or not, if someone were to serve me that "kitty liter cake" I would find a polite excuse on which to thank them for the evening and take my leave to wander on.

Someone made one for me once. It was interesting to serve and eat in a group setting--I'm famously one who eats with my eyes so no surprise that I had trouble with it, but there were some in the room who usually are not so easily put off at all, and it was fun watching them try to deal with it.

Sure, why not - they ingredients are all good.

No idea of size - does it need cutting into quarters or are they bite sized.

Either way, I'll try anything once, even if I am not a fan of faux food as novelty and would prefer the regular real deal.

While I imagine the thing tastes OK, I really detest the fact that people have such a compulsion to take the simple hamburger and pervert it beyond recognition.

It's kind of a thorn in my side that NYC has chefs I respect (Daniel Boulud is one) who concoct these ridiculous hamburgers that they can sell for $50 each. What is worse, people travel to New York just to try the expensive hamburger, and at lunch in Boulud DB Moderne (or whatever the actual name is) that seems to be the most popular choice. In fact if you pay attention to the description, the original recipe was changed ages ago, it used to prominently brag about containing black truffles and foie gras, but actually these days you are paying $50 for what is mostly cooked to death short ribs or beef cheeks. I think that there is an EVEN MORE expensive hamburger with a smidge of foie gras in it.

At any rate, Boulud goes down a notch in my estimation because of that business, and the chefs who have not succumbed to the concept of selling thousands of ersatz burgers go up a notch. Can you imagine Eric Ripert selling a "Fish-wich"? Maybe topped with Beluga caviar... The sad thing is that there would probably be lines out the door of le Bernardin because pandering to lower standards of taste works really well in America.

pandering to lower standards of taste works really well in America.

'Twas always thus!