Any one who knows Handy Man can tell you that he is your stereotypical "meat and potatoes" guy (minus the potatoes on most occasions.) Actually, he's more of a meat and pasta guy. Anything you can make with a noodle is right up his alley.
That and peperoni pizza - only peperoni on his pizza.
Handy Man is a routine driven kind of guy who always colors between the lines. He likes boring traditional foods of all kinds - that might be an oxymoron. Comfort food. Anything he can eat with a fork that is boring traditional is perfect in his book. If he has to use a knife, it's too much work.
When we got married, one of my favorite pre-wedding consultations was with the caterer. Taste testing all of those divine dishes. It was heaven to my pallet. Handy Man missed the consultation due to work. While my mom and my future in-laws were helping me to select the menu we would serve our guests, we joked about Handy Man's ideal wedding dinner. Just prior, Handy Man had suggested bar-b-queuing for our wedding guests. Hamburgers and hot dogs on the porch of our little house on the prairie - for 250 guests.
That is reason 4,268 why most grooms don't get to make final wedding decisions.
While deep in laughter over Handy Man's suggestion, the chef offered to make Handy Man a hamburger for his wedding night. He said, "If the groom wants a hamburger, I will make him a huge juicy hamburger." So that is exactly what we secretly arranged. We all agreed not to tell Handy Man he would be getting a hamburger on his wedding. On our wedding day while everyone else was plated the fancy dinner selection, out comes a large cheeseburger just for Handy Man. He was shocked. Surprised. Confident he married the best woman ever.
The groomsmen were jealous.
Saturday night, Handy Man and I had an afternoon and evening out on the town. Just us. We attended his company's summer picnic and then went out to dinner with some friends. A double date night. The other couple chose the restaurant. Since they invited us out, I was
game with whatever they selected. Well, until I found out they really
wanted to get Sushi. I couldn't help but giggle inside.
Handy Man + Sushi = hahahahaha
I called my mother-in-law and told her we'd be picking up the kids a little later. I announced we were going out for Sushi. "SUSHI???" she asked. I confirmed that I had not misspoken and we (Handy Man included) were in fact going out for Sushi. She was flabbergasted. She said I better take pictures because she would never believe me if I told her he tried Sushi.
I was so excited!
Handy Man was a little reluctant. Nervous I think. Scared - probably.
With a little pep talk in the car, I assured him that he would be able to find something on the menu and not to freak out. He just needed to have another beer relax.
We ordered an array of Nigiri Sushi items and Handy Man ordered a seared salmon dish. I made sure to select a few tame items for him to try including a couple rolls - he agreed to "try" at least one piece of Sushi.
I was giddy inside as I watched his expression when they brought out the large plate of sushi. To be honest, I think he started looking a little pale.
After eating most of his salmon dinner, he announced he was ready to, "try this sushi stuff." We helped him mix his soy sauce with a little wasabi. We gave him a little tutorial on the different items and I tried to coax him towards something pretty mild to start with.
Handy Man jumped right in there and started with Kani (cooked crab meat).
This was a Kodak moment.
A few last minute instructions
He chewed carefully. Processed this new experience thoroughly and when he had finished swallowing he announced that it wasn't half bad.
And then he reached for another piece.
I about fell off my chair!
Next choice, Hirame (Halibut). He really liked that one.
He tried a couple pieces of Sake (salmon) and a lobster roll.
About fifteen minutes after getting our large platter of assorted items, another smaller plate arrived with Toro (fatty tuna). I could tell just from looking at the Toro that I was going to pass on trying it. It was not my cup of tea. Fatty tuna is the most prized and expensive part of tuna, like the tenderloin of beef. But it's pretty fatty - go figure.
Handy Man jumped right in there and was willing to give it a go.
I was worried for him. He had come so far. Branched out on a BIG limb already today. I was afraid his new limb might break under him. But he cowboy'd up and took a bite - a BIG bite.
My heart was racing a little. I watched as he chewed the Toro.
Silence speaks a thousands words.
Handy Man has a pretty good poker face.
It was no use. I have watched that face for more than 12 years and I knew he was having a hard time getting that one down.
When he reached for his chop sticks - I know he even used chop stick! Can you believe it! - to sneak a few scoops of teriyaki sauce left over from his seared salmon, I knew he did not like the Toro. But he was brave. He forcefully swallowed the Toro and searched the table for something else to cleans his pallet - the last Kani (cooked crab meat).
Modestly, he admitted the Toro was not his favorite. Pretty greasy tasting. But overall, his first Sushi experience wasn't all that terrible. He admitted that he expected the worst and it really wasn't that bad. His favorite was definitely the Kani (cooked crab meat) with the Hirame (Halibut) a close second. He said he would never suggest Sushi as a restaurant choice, but knew that if he was stuck in a situation where he had to get Sushi again he wasn't nervous.
I was so proud of my Handy Man. My meat and pasta only guy.
Shoot, he was braver than I was!
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