Two items in the food section of the 4/18 New York Times cracked me up, and I had to pass them on. California food styles, like its governor Schwarzenegger, are far ahead of the pack...A new restaurant opening in West Hollywood features Nyotaimori, associated in legend with Japanese organize crime, the term translating as "female body arrangement" (and - this being gay West Hollywood - prospective customers have also made inquiries about a male model being used instead of a woman). Rachael, the model:
was a human sushi platter for the evening, the centerpiece of an opening party last month for Hadaka Sushi on the Sunset Strip. Taking gentle breaths, she kept as still as possible so as not to disturb the clusters of oil-infused sushi rolls, sashimi and other pieces of raw fish artfully arranged on the banana leaves in a style known as nyotaimori.... [she]..seemed to enjoy the evening as much as anyone could while lying supine and being poked by chopsticks. To an onlooker, the most disturbing aspect of her job might be Hadaka’s rule that forbids a model to eat the sushi that rests inches away from her mouth.Head up the California coast from LA to San Francisco and you have "Cafe Gratitude"
a raw-food restaurant in San Francisco, where every order is a self-affirmation — I Am Open, I Am Beautiful, I Am Powerful — mirrored back to you by your server....
“We invite you to step inside and enjoy being someone who chooses: loving your life, adoring yourself, accepting the world, being generous and grateful everyday, and experiencing being provided for.”
Wow. So. The appetizers: I Am Bountiful live crustini, “toasts” made from seeds and nuts with such toppings as avocado and not-so-local Himalayan salt. I Am Happy live almond-sesame hummus. (“Live” food has not been cooked above 118 degrees, the temperature that kills enzymes, and incorporates sprouting seeds and nuts.) I Am Insightful spinach-wrapped samosas with cauliflower and macadamia “potatoes.”...And on through the long menu: I Am Giving, I Am Festive, I Am Prosperous, I Am Fabulous, Yo Soy Mucho (Mexican bowl).
Nyotaimori translates as "Female Body Presentation" in Japanese and if ever there was a foodie's variant of weabooism, this is it without a doubt! The whole affair revolves around the Nyotaimori Model, a woman entirely nude, who becomes a human servery for the food at a function. Part of the thought process behind it is that the heat from the woman's body keeps the food warm while people take their sweet arse (pun intended) time deciding (perving) what they want to have.
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