A new episode of HBO’s show Somebody Somewhere captured St. Louis’ endearing trashiness.
Set in Manhattan, Kansas, the series covers the platonic love story of Sam (played by comedian and Kansas native Bridget Everett) and Joel (Jeff Hiller). The show’s most recent episode covered Sam and Joel’s mission to reinvigorate Sam’s childhood passion for singing by going to a fall recital held by Sam’s former music teacher.
This all takes place in Kansas. And the show has nothing to do with St. Louis except for a scene towards the end of the episode.
Toward the end of the recital, Sam and Joel munch on snacks at the reception. That’s when Joel makes the mistake of trying something the show calls “St. Louis sushi.”
It’s not real sushi, as you could probably guess. It’s not pork steak stuffed into a ravioli and then deep fried, either. Which, now that we’re thinking about it, doesn’t sound half bad.
This sushi is a pickle smothered in cream cheese and then wrapped in ham.
“It’s a family recipe,” the sushi's chef, Brad, tells Joel. “We call it St. Louis sushi… It’s addictive!”
(After some Googling we learned this abomination is an actual thing people make. But it's called Minnesota Sushi... So what gives, HBO? You didn't have to come after St. Louis like that.)
Apparently the description of this supposed delicacy wasn’t gross enough to make Joel and Sam’s stomachs churn. They each plucked a piece of the “sushi” out of a Tupperware container and stared at each other with perplexed expressions as they chewed. Each then filled a plate with the sushi and gorged.
"Kinda good but kinda gross?" Sam asks after a few long seconds.
Kinda good but kinda gross. What statement is more emblematic of St. Louis?
It’s not that St. Louis has a shortage of good sushi; there are places to go for that. It’s that we’re a city perpetually stuck in the middle. We’re in the middle of the country. Our population is medium-sized. We’re not exactly known for our elegance but dammit we’ll ritz up when we need to. We have great restaurants and a plethora of sports teams, but at the same time can’t handle the most of basic city services.
Brad never explains why his pickle-and-cream-cheese concoction is called “St. Louis sushi” and not known by it's more familiar moniker, but the change makes sense. After all, we’re in the Midwest, land of casseroles and “salads” consisting of boiled potatoes with eggs smothered in mayonnaise.
Sam and Joel ultimately paid the price for eating "St. Louis sushi" and suffered nasty fits of diarrhea. The friends laughed through the experience over the phone as they both languished on their respective toilets.
Maybe it’s unwise to place meaning into something that could have none. But perhaps we can learn something from St. Louis sushi.
Accept that thing in your life that’s kinda good and kinda gross. Even if it’s your city.
(But not if it/they give you diarrhea. That’s unhealthy).
Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
