Five Absurdly Elaborate Sushi Rolls

When did sushi lose all but the most glancing connection to fish and nori rolled in vinegared rice? Oh, about the time American maki makers started loading up sushi rolls the way Burger King loads up a Triple Whopper. If you can palm it like a San Francisco burrito (see: the sushirrito), or it fills the corners of your mouth with mayo, or it packs the kind of calorie count Tim Lincecum sucks down at lunch, is it really sushi? The good news: Even as the typical Crazy Roll in your neighborhood sushi joint has become a craggy, dripping exercise in deep-fried excess, other rolls in both the U.S. and Japan have become subtler vehicles for self-expression. Behold these five example of elaborate sushi-roll ― um ― art, that we'd feel guilty about dunking in soy sauce.

1. Skull maki.
Perfect to bring to one of those Goth potlucks where it's so hard to please anybody.

skulladay.blogspot.com

So, so dark.

2. Obama sushi.
Popular with the Gucci-loafered elites at DNC fundraisers.

blissnine.com

Oh no, you can't.