It’s good of you to appreciate that this is not a political forum — yet somehow you still feel compelled to use a food blog as your soapbox to expound upon your political views; I can only presume that this is an attempt at cleaning up after your wife’s blatantly offensive comments. And by the way, the fact that she is younger than you is no excuse for her inappropriate, not to mention irrelevant, ad hominem remarks. To be honest, it is still beyond me what safety of Chinese exports has anything to do with a post on one’s meal at a sushi restaurant.

There is no need to belabor the points brought up, as it is a blog whose mission is to share cooking and dining experiences among friends and food enthusiasts. I will only mention one thing with regard to your notions of “globalism”. Regardless of whether or not you are a proponent, I hope that you and your wife will eventually realize that globalism is not a recent trend but has been an essential component of the American identity ever since the Founding Fathers and their ancestors set foot on this continent. It is truly a melting pot, where Chinese food and sushi is consumed even more frequently than apple pie. And contrary to what you might think, I believe that diversity is a good thing for this country. I’ll leave it at that. Unless there are statements to be made that are directly pertinent to the post, I propose that further discussion of this topic move to another forum.

First, let me qualify my question and my subsequent comments by the admission that I am NOT in favor of “globalism.” I think that the concept is VERY dangerous to the health and welfare to the citizens of the United States of America.

That being said, I am infuriated by the daily reports of China’s shipping of poisonous food and food-related products into the U.S. China has inundated us with poisonous products including pet foods, fruits and juices, vegetables, meat products, seafood, toothpaste, and God knows what else.

Many of our elected officials, who could not care less about our health, permit this travesty in the name of “open-trade” and “globalism.”

• So, what can we do to protect ourselves from China’s poisonous products?
• What are YOU doing to protect yourself?
• What suggestions do you have for the rest of us?

I know that “FoodMayhem” is not a political forum, nor should it be. However, the problem of people being sickened (and in some cases, dying) from eating imported crap . . . insufficiently regulated by our government . . . is worthy of rational discussion.

So, perhaps you may want to post some recipes for food that we native American people can eat, NOT disgusting stuff like “sushi yasuda”) . . . GAG!

Since you are living in NYC (legally, I hope) you should appreciate this valuable advice.

MrsDocChuck (also known as chiffOnade) . . . a PROFESSIONAL CHEF who graduated from Peter Kump’s Culinary Institute in Brooklyn.

Sheng, I forgot to thank you for the tastespotting recommendation. I’ve heard of it before but didn’t do a thorough look through. I will now, thanks!

I loved the eel we had yesterday. I think it was the sea eel (Jess if you can please confirm). It was so good I had two pieces. Its a little sweet a little salty with a nice meaty texture. Its not the one with the sauce but the one with the sprinkle of sea salt if that helps. It was really really delicious. Jess told me Lon loves it as well.

One thing I kind of overlooked until the end of the meal the first time I went was the rolls. So make sure you save some room for those.

I would just say sit back and enjoy. Everything is good. You really can’t go wrong there.