Reading the New York Times food section this morning, I came across an article about Homaro Cantu (login: wrreaders), the chef at an upscale restaurant in Chicago who is taking wacky food preparation to new heights (or lows, depending on your point of view). Among other things, Cantu prepares sushi - or rather, edible pictures of sushi - by "print[ing] images of maki on pieces of edible paper made of soybeans and cornstarch, using organic, food-based inks of his own concoction. He then flavors the back of the paper, which is ordinarily used to put images onto birthday cakes, with powdered soy and seaweed seasonings."

Wow. Yum. While that’s quite a funny idea (which has apparently garnered raves from food critics who must secretly hate food), it seems to me that Cantu has completely missed a crucial aspect food and the entire dining experience: namely, its sensuality. I mean, I love sushi, but it’s not just the taste that I like. I like the sculptural aspect of each perfectly constructed piece of sushi. I like the precarious heft of the maki or nigiri between my chopsticks. I like the silkiness of the fish, the tang of the seaweed, the coolness of the rice and the fire of the wasabi. I like how all of this feels on my tongue and between my teeth. I like the experience of eating sushi (heck, I just like the experience of eating). Eating a piece of paper that just tastes like sushi is in no way comparable to eating an actual piece of sushi. So while I’m sure it’s amusing the first time you encounter a sushi printout at Cantu’s restaurant, I know the novelty (and it is just a novelty) would wear off for me very quickly indeed.

Anyway, late this afternoon, when I should have been working, I was surfing around the Internet and somehow or another I wound up at the website of freelance illustrator Penelope Dullaghan, who last year organized an online costume contest on her site. Being the Halloween-obsessive that I am, I scrolled through the pictures, chuckling at the little kids dressed like chickens and the adults dressed like chimneys - and then completely cracking up when I reached picture 29 (scroll down about a third of the way) and saw the baby dressed like a piece of sushi. That - is simply genius. A few pictures further down, there’s a woman also dressed like a piece of sushi - also genius. A costume which appeals not only to the Halloween-obsessive in me, but the food-obsessive in me as well. I love it. I think dressing like sushi is probably more fun than eating a picture of sushi.

And finally, tonight, right before I was going to turn off my computer and go to bed, I took a quick glance at my RSS feeds and followed Neil Gaiman’s link to this: the Original Sushi Pillow. Yes, it’s a pillow…that looks like sushi. Pillows, in fact, as there are a variety of styles - shrimp nigiri, tuna maki, California roll… They look quite comfy. To be honest, they look tastier than Cantu’s inkjet sushi pictures, and you’d probably get a heck of a lot more sensual pleasure out of them as well. I approve of the sushi pillow.

And after a day filled, bizarrely, with virtual sushi, I’ve already made my lunch plans for tomorrow…