"sustainable sushi" news and stories

While chef and restaurateur Nobu Matsuhisa continues to wrestle with boycotts by environmentalists and plenty of celebrity scorn for not removing endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna from his worldwide menu, savvy restaurateurs at sushi joints like Tataki in San Francisco, Bamboo in Portland, Ore., and Mashiko in Seattle have embraced 100-percent sustainable sushi menus, which means you can toss aside the handy seafood guide in your wallet and enjoy your meal guilt-free.

These thoughtful sushi chefs are substituting sustainable items like Arctic char for red-listed farm-raised salmon; and U.S. farm-raised kampachi in place of hamachi. At Tataki, they're even welding some clever culinary slight-of-hand by swapping silky sustainable sablefish for the red-listed farm-raised eel traditionally used for unagi. They've dubbed it "faux-nagi" instead, and customers are clamoring for more.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of tidbits from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week.

• You may know the difference between spicy tuna and a hand roll, but do you know how to tell whether your sushi is sustainable or not? Check out this quiz to learn how!
• Looking for a quick recipe for dinner? How about this gorgeous and seasonal Chicken with Pear and Leek Sauce.
• Katie Lee Joel answers back to the critics who say that her Burger Bash winning burger isn't actually a burger at all, but instead is a patty melt.
• Domino's Pizza has recently entered the world of submarine sandwiches. The YumSugar team got their hands on one and took if for a whirl.
• We're used to incorporating grated carrot and zucchini in baked goods, but have you ever thought about stirring in some shredded beet?
• Being a restaurant critic is dangerous business!
• Looking for a spooky/scary Halloween dessert? How about swirl-topped spiderweb cheesecake!