Enjoy Christmas in July with a Candy Cane Sushi Roll

The Candy Cane, with crab meat, tuna, salmon and shrimp, is one of the specialty sushi rolls at YamaChen’s Sushi House in Suffolk.

One of the fun gigs I have is writing an every-other-week food column for The Virginian-Pilot newspaper. My latest review is of YamaChen’s Sushi House in Suffolk.

Sometimes it’s hard to resist making a corny joke when writing a column. When I dined at YamaChen’s on a July evening and saw sushi rolls on the menu with names like Christmas Tree and Candy Cane, I knew immediately that I would be incorporating the phrase “Christmas in July.”

While I may occasionally crack jokes, I take my responsibility as a food writer seriously. I strive to be positive — but fair — and give gentle criticism when it’s called for. I’m very aware that I’m reviewing a business, often family run, that people work hard at. I’m also aware that I have to balance that with the duty to let the newspaper’s readers know whether a restaurant is worth checking out.