Sushi is an acquired taste… at least that’s what I firmly believed until I met Ann. If you had put sushi in front of me at any point prior to 1997, I would have laughed you out of the restaurant. I do have a theory behind why my taste buds had a change of heart, but I wouldn’t formulate such insight until years after we met.

One of our first “big” dates was to a Japanese restaurant called Ru San’s in Atlanta. I had mix feelings about going because as I said before, up until this point I HATED sushi. But I sucked it up and went, never once allowing Ann to see even a hint of my apprehension. Ann ordered these wide roles that had crab and fried shrimp tails sticking out of them. The dish in its entirety was ascetically pleasing and I was quite shocked. I ordered a California roll and some Shrimp Nigiri. I may have not liked sushi, but I didn’t have an excuse to not act the part!

After our meals came out, Ann ordered a large sake. She immediately turned to me and asked why I hadn’t started eating. I shrugged my shoulders and reluctantly took a bite. To my astonishment, the food was good! Not long after our sake came out, we both spent the rest of the meal laughing and carrying on as if the world didn’t exist. Needless to say, I cleared my plate…

Over the years, we have tried to go out for sushi, but as Ann will tell you, a sushi dinner isn’t for children. We tried to take the girls a couple of times to a sushi place, but as you can imagine, every time was an epic fail. Children “despise” sushi. They really get offended when you tell them that what’s on the plate is Squidward Tentacles. Please learn from my mistakes. It seems there’s an affinity for this fictional character that is shared by millions of youngsters that I was unaware of.

To this day I attribute my lack of faith of the cuisine to my previous location. Given Atlanta is so close to the sea, it just makes sense that seafood is going to taste better than eating seafood served in the Midwest. Plus, I have a sneaking suspicion that good company makes any meal that much better, especially when they’re extremely pleasing to the eyes.

So in honor of every taste bud, I present this sushi. Every time I see sushi now, I can see her laughing contently. I can see her enjoying every moment without a care in the world and most importantly, I see her, just as unconditionally as I did when I first laid eyes on her… almost eighteen years ago.

Medium: Watercolors
Size: 6 x 4 (inches)
Materials: 90lb Cold Press Paper
Frame: Mini Wooden Shadow Box with Glass (4 5/8"W x 6 5/8"T x 1.25"D)
Completed: Sunday, October 19, 2014

Artist: Adam Kiger
Represented By: Park View Gallery
Artist's Website: www.adamkiger.com

Who is Ann and what is 31 flavors of love?!