Sushi’S Big Moment

Have you ever done omakase?” asked my neighbor at the sushi bar, a young man with white teeth and a clip on his ear. I told him yes but that it was my first time at this Ravenswood restaurant. “Same,” he said. “But that’s who I am,” he added, loudly enough for the two young women sitting on the other side of me to hear. “I’ll spend $500 on a meal.”

The four of us, out of five at the counter, started an awkward conversation that veered from dogs-versus-cats to the ashtray-like flavor of Malört. Mr. Teeth was kind of sweet behind the bravado, and he kept up an amusing commentary that verged on poetry. For example: “Nori smells