Chicago Sushi Club - Frequently Asked Questions Chicago Sushi Club questions

- How do I join the club?
You really don't have to do anything to join because it's not a formal club. You can consider yourself a "member" if you attend from time to time at outings which interest you. You are not obligated to attend every time we meet. There are no fees, initiation rites, club secretaries, etc. - just people who meet to eat sushi and enjoy each other's company.

- How many people usually come?
It has varied from a low of two people to a high of around twenty so far. Most times there are 6-8 people, depending on people's availability and interest.

- How do you work out paying for the check?
Each person pays for what they eat. I have heard that other groups have had problems when they tried to organize one large order which everyone split evenly on the cost, because invariably there is someone trying to take advantage. We're all responsible adults and keep track of what we have ordered.

- My [boyfriend/girlfriend/dining partner] doesn't like sushi - is there anything else for them to eat?
Every sushi restaurant I have been to in Chicago always has cooked Japanese style entrees available. Even if you are the timid one, you won't be the first - come along and maybe just order one piece to see what you think!

- What are the sushi club members like?
Just regular people who enjoy eating sushi. Lisa and Terry are the ones who organize the outings so one or the other (usually both) will be there. We range in expertise from people who are just 'beginners' to people with more knowledge about sushi etiquette, preparation, Japanese names for the different fish, etc. I myself (Lisa) have only moderate knowledge, never having been to Japan or studied Japanese culture in depth. We just like this particular kind of food. The demographics of the group also vary widely at any given time - the club is open to anyone who would like to come and eat sushi with us, and the variety of people who come has been quite interesting.

- How did this get started?
The reason why I and my former coworker, Steve Ryner, set up the club was because we were always having a hard time convincing our respective families and friends to go have sushi as often as we wanted to go! So, knowing that this was likely to be a common problem for fellow sushi-lovers, we decided to make it easy for us to have company eating. We heard about other sushi clubs in other cities on the alt.food.sushi newsgroup, and when no one else got a club started, we did. Now I have heard of several other sushi groups that are in Chicago.

- How do I know where/when you'll be meeting next?
This website is usually up-to-date, and the date is almost always the same: the first Sunday of the month. When I am in my more organized state of being, I send out an email reminder to a distribution list I keep: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chicagosushiclub. You can add or remove yourself anytime: subscribe.

- Please recommend a restaurant for me.
Unfortunately I am not an opinionated enough person to feel confident that my tastes are better than anyone else's, thereby qualifying me to tell them what is "the best". Plus, this is a very subjective topic, where different people value various aspects of dining out more than others, and even just on the topic of the food itself, have varying ideas about what makes "good" sushi. However, I get this question a lot, so I'll make an effort, with some reservations: Lisa's favorites.

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