Sushi help

Hi everyone! I've been reading here for quite a while, but only recently registered to bother posting anything. I am in need of advice!

When I was in college I briefly dated a guy who was really into sushi. He rarely wanted to go out to eat anywhere but his favorite sushi places, and always ordered for me. Towards the end of our relationship I had the unfortunate experience of getting food poisoning (twice!) from sushi dinners (two different places!), and I haven’t had sushi since.

Fast forward eight years, and I’m ready to try again. But I know so little about sushi I don’t even know what to order! The ex always ordered for me. We have reservations at Tanoshii (discussed favorably in a thread here) for my future brother-in-law’s birthday this week. Can anyone give me some “sushi for beginners” advice? It has been eight years since I’ve touched sushi, and I never did the ordering, so I couldn’t even tell someone what I liked/didn’t like. Honestly, I’m not a picky eater at all, and I’ve never met fish I didn’t like, I just don’t want to look/sound like a fool when I’m out with future in-laws.

Thanks!

At Tanoshii, it's easy. Just ask Sushi Mike for omakase, and he'll pick a variety of the best stuff he has for you - both nigiri (fish on top of rice) and maki (rolled). You can probably get a description of each piece, and from there decide what you like best.

My parents got me eating sushi at an extremely young age (it's one of the first solid foods I can remember eating). They started me on the easiest stuff, and then gently pushed me towards the more interesting.

At first, I would eat shrimp and inari (kind of a sweetened fried tofu wrapped around a ball of rice). Nothing raw or "complicated" here.

Then, I moved on to smoked salmon. Do you like bagels and lox? Well, sub out the bagel for a ball of rice and you're there. If you're comfortable with this, it's not much of a jump up to fresh salmon.

Next would come tuna. Raw tuna has become pretty ubiquitous outside of sushi bars, so maybe you've already had some exposure. If not, I like to tell people that if you like steak, you'll probably like tuna. If you can appreciate fat, go for some toro. If you really want to go for it (and it's available) get otoro.

Finally, I would recommend yellowtail. Along the same lines as tuna, but with a bit more character while still being accessible. Same rules apply for yellowtail as tuna. If fatty yellowtail (hamachi toro) is available, get it.

I don't know how much you like to eat, but I think an order of 2 pieces each of shrimp, salmon, tuna and yellowtail plus maybe a roll or 2 would be a perfectly respectable order.

One more wrinkle you might want to consider...If you're sitting at the bar, ask the sushi chef what's best. If you want to branch out, always go with what the sushi chef recommends.

My advice is to get a sampler platter for everyone to eat off of and just take what looks good to you.

Some sushi basics, though:

Maguro: Tuna. A red tuna that is generally mild and delicious. I think it's usually bluefin tuna. There might be another kind of Tuna on the menu called "Toro" - It will be a little more expensive, but it's worth it. A fattier cut from the belly.
Sake: Salmon. Usually smoked, I believe. Orange with white streaks though it. Nothing surprising here, you've probably had salmon before.
Hamachi: Yellowtail. A white fish that tastes a little more fishy.
Saba: Mackeral. Silver/blue skinned whitefish that is a little less fishy than yellowtail.
Unagi: Eel. My favourite. Broiled and brown. Usually covered in "Unagi sauce" whatever that may be. It's light and buttery and falls apart in your mouth. A safe bet if you're afraid of raw things.
Ebi: Shrimp
Tako: Octopus. Often overcooked and sliced too large. If you get a nice cook and cut it won't be rubbery. Subtle taste.
Kani: Crab. Often imitation crab is used, called crabstick or Kani Kama. If it's in a roll, you'll likely not notice the difference.
Tamago: Egg Omelet. Took me a while to get used to this. But it's just what it says it is.
Masago & Tobiko: Roe, fish eggs. Don't count them out. They're on a lot of rolls for colour and texture and you wouldn't even know what they are if someone didn't tell you. Not much taste, but a little pop of texture that's a nice contrast to the fish.

I find beginners are more comfortable with rolls (Maki-sushi) but if you want to dive in and try the fish with rice (nigiri-sushi) or without rice (sashimi) you won't be disappointed.

(I'm sure a few more people posted in the time it took me to type this, but I hope it still helps)

Thanks everyone, for the help!