History Main / CityPeopleEatSushi

* Inverted in an episode of ''Series/NightCourt'' where two Sumo wrestlers from Japan are disgusted by sushi, but ''do'' seem to like American food, including McDonalds.

This trope's existence is likely because sushi falls in a grey area as far as "foreign food" goes in America. Its preparation is still considered strange enough to (believably) alienate some Westerners, yet its mainstream enough that calling it {{foreign queasine}} would be considered silly (at least in America). This trope would not work, for example, if we replaced "sushi" with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balut_%28food%29 balut]].

* Mentioned in ''Discworld/{{Thud}}, and given more detail in ''The Compleat Ankh-Morpork City Guide'', a trend amongst the cosmopolitan young dwarfs of the Literature/{{Discworld}}'s big city is sushi ''rat'', bought from Gimlet's Hole Food Delicatessan's new franchise "Yo, Rat!" (a parody of the UK's Yo! Sushi chain).

Just like a [[PickyEater distaste for vegetables]] (particularly spinach or Brussels sprouts) is often associated with children, fiction has a tendency to portray those who have not or refuse to eat sushi as either uncultured or old fashioned. This is especially common in stories where people from the country or small towns are taken out to eat by their {{city mouse}} friends, only to be disturbed that they're being fed uncooked fish; whether we sympathize with them depends on the writer. Also expect them to accidentally eat too much wasabi, usually by mistaking it for guacamole. In contrast, liberal upper-middle class 20-somethings adore sushi, at least according to sitcom land. And finally, expect no one to mention that California rolls, which are served at all sushi places, contain no raw fish. In fact, the term "sushi" refers to the sticky, vinegared rice and does not ''have'' to include raw fish ("sashimi") by definition; it can also be filled or topped with cooked meats, seafoods and vegetables.

Just like a [[PickyEater distaste for vegetables]] (particularly spinach or Brussels sprouts) is often associated with children, fiction has a tendency to portray those who have not or refuse to eat sushi as either uncultured or old fashioned. This is especially common in stories where people from the country or small towns are taken out to eat by their {{city mouse}} friends, only to be disturbed that they're being fed uncooked fish; whether we sympathize with them depends on the writer. Also expect them to accidentally eat too much wasabi, usually by mistaking it for guacamole. In contrast, liberal upper-middle class 20-somethings adore sushi, at least according to sitcom land. And finally, expect no one to mention that California rolls, which are served at all sushi places, contain no raw fish.

* In Anthony Hamilton's "Comin' From Where I'm From" the speaker talks about his shady college-educated girlfriend who preferred sushi to fried chicken.

* A ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' article about what it's like growing up a redneck in the Southern United States mentions this view on sushi. The two major causes the author attributes to it is the South's relatively late adoption of refrigeration and the fact that the local climate is freaking hot and humid (which makes keeping fresh fish even more difficult than other places).

!! Examples

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* A ''{{Website/Cracked}}'' article about what it's like growing up a redneck in the Southern United States mentions this view on sushi. The two major causes the author attributes to it is the South's relatively late adoption of refrigeration and the fact that the local climate is freaking hot and humid (which makes keeping fresh fish even more difficult than other places).

[[AC:{{Western Animation}}]]
* ''Film/{{Cars}} 2'': At a party in Tokyo, Mater mistakes wasabi for pistachio ice-cream and asks for a big heaping scoop. He then embarrasses himself by rushing to a fountain to wash off the burning sensation from his mouth.
* ''Series/{{Arthur}}'': Francine's sister makes the family go to a sushi restaurant because she won the Coin Toss to decide what to do on family night. Francine complains that the fish isn't cooked, and then puts a big heap of "guacamole" on hers in the hopes of making it taste better. Then tries to wash her mouth out with a bottle of soy sauce.

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* When the Israeli Occupy protests started, David Amar, the mayor of the Israeli town Nesher, dismissed the protesters, saying, 'There's no protest, Bibi, note everyone on Rothschild Avenue, note got their hookahs and sushi.' Soon, 'hookahs and sushi' became a symbol for a condescending, dismissive view of the movement in Israel.

This trope's existence is likely because sushi falls in a grey area as far as "foreign food" goes in America. Its preparation is still considered strange enough to (believably) alienate some Westerners, yet its mainstream enough that calling it {{foreign queasine}} would be considered silly (at least in America). This trope would not work, for example, if we replaced "sushi" with balut.

* When the Israeli Occupy protests started, David Amar, the mayor of the Israeli town Nesher said dismissed the protesters, saying, 'There's no protest, Bibi, note everyone on Rothschild Avenue, note got their hookahs and sushi.' Soon, 'hookahs and sushi' became a symbol for a condescending, dismissive view of the movement in Israel.
* TruthInTelevision: The availability of sushi depends heavily on proximity to the ocean and the network of highways, rivers, and air travel needed to get sushi to the places it is eaten. Coastal locations and transportation hubs are also the nature location of bustling cities.

* An ad from [[TheNineties the late 90s]] for 10-10-220 long distance[[note]](for you kids out there, dialing it on a landline phone let you use a different, and presumably cheaper, carrier for long distance calls than your primary)[[/note]] had Terry Bradshaw (of Shreveport, Louisiana) and Doug Flutie (who grew up in suburban Florida) at a sushi restaurant. While Flutie digs in, [[GoodOlBoy Bradshaw]] remarks that when he was growing up they called it "bait" and lets the server know they forgot to cook it.

Just like a distaste for vegetables (particularly Brussels sprouts) is often associated with children, fiction has a tendency to portray those who have not or refuse to eat sushi as either uncultured or old fashioned. This is especially common in stories where people from the country or small towns are taken out to eat by their {{city mouse}} friends, only to be disturbed that they're being fed uncooked fish; whether we sympathize with them depends on the writer. Also expect them to accidentally eat too much wasabi, usually by mistaking it for guacamole. In contrast, liberal upper-middle class 20-somethings adore sushi, atleast according to sitcom land. And finally, expect no one to mention that California rolls, which are served at all sushi places, contain no raw fish.

* {{The Breakfast Club}}: Rich girl Clair eats sushi for lunch and bad boy Bender thinks it's disgusting.
* Averted in {{Repo Man}}: when the punk crooks are thinking of something criminal-ey to do, one suggests "Let's get sushi -- and not pay!".
* In ''YouveGotMail'' sushi is mentioned by the yuppie newspaper columnist as what dinner's gonna be. His bookstore owner girlfriend repeats "Sushi!" with a mix of surprise and approval.

* {{Two Broke Girls}}: Upper class Caroline can't believe that lower class Max hasn't tried sushi.
* {{The Nanny}}: Fran is taken out for sushi for the first time and eats a lot of wasabi, because she's told it's "like mustard" and she loves mustard. It knocks her on the floor, and temporarily opens her sinuses.

* {{Cars}} 2: At a party in Tokyo, Mater mistakes wasabi for pistachio ice-cream and asks for a big heaping scoop. He then embarrasses himself by rushing to a fountain to wash off the burning sensation off his mouth.
* {{Arthur}}: Francine's sister makes the family go to a sushi restaurant because she won the Coin Toss to decide what to do on family night. Francine complains that the fish isn't cooked, and then puts a big heap of "guacamole" on hers in the hopes of making it taste better. Then tries to wash her mouth out with a bottle of soy sauce.

* When the Israeli Occupy protests started, David Amar, the mayor of the Israeli town Nesher said dismissed the protesters, saying, 'There's no protest, Bibi,note everyone on Rothschild Avenue, note got their hookahs and sushi.' Soon, 'hookahs and sushi' became a symbol for a condescending, dismissive view of the movement in Israel.

* In ''You've Got Mail'' sushi is mentioned by the yuppie newspaper columnist as what dinner's gonna be. His bookstore owner girlfriend repeats "Sushi!" with a mix of surprise and approval.

* The anti-Howard Dean political advert had "sushi-eating" among the other liberal epithets (you know, "latte-drinking", "Volvo-driving" and so on).

This trope's existence is likely because sushi falls in a grey area as far as "foreign food" goes in America. Its preparation is still considered strange enough to (believably) alienate some Westerners, yet its mainstream enough that calling it {{foreign queasine}} would be considered silly (atleast in America). This trope would not work, for example, if we replaced "sushi" with balut.

* In You've Got Mail sushi is mentioned by the yuppie newspaper columnist as what dinner's gonna be. His bookstore owner girlfriend repeats "Sushi!" with a mix of surprise and approval.

{{Advertising}}

{{Film}}

{{Live Action TV}}

{{Western Animation}}

{{Video Games}}

{{Real Life}}

* TruthInTelevision: The availability of sushi depends heavily on proximity to the ocean and the network of highways, rivers, and air travel needed to get sushi to the places it is eaten. Coastal locations and transportation hubs are also the nature location of bustling cities.

* Civilization Four: Beyond the Sword Sid Sushi Co while giving less food when incorporated than Cereal Mills gives a good amount of culture per turn.

* When the Israeli Occupy protests started, David Amar, the mayor of the Israeli town Nesher said dismissed the protesters, saying, 'There's no protest, Bibi,note everyone on Rothschild Avenuenote got their hookahs and sushi.' Soon, 'hookahs and sushi' became a symbol for a condescending, dismissive view of the movement in Israel.