Naked sushi nights come to Minneapolis

Article by: Star Tribune
Updated: February 13, 2008 - 7:29 PM

First event will be held March 8 at Temple

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A naked dining experience in California.

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Food is beautiful, tasteful, spiritual and sensuous. So is the body, says Thom Pham, owner of Temple restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.

So he's combining both by offering Naked Sushi nights. The Japanese delicacy will be served on the bodies of male and female models who lie in the center of the diners' table.

Despite the event's name, there will be no nudity, Pham said. Models will wear strategically placed banana leaves and flowers. "This has to be tastefully done," he said.

Pham is following a trend that began in 1960s Japan among followers of the geisha community, he said: "It's culture and it is art." It has spread to Hong Kong, London and Paris, and more recently to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Similar events have been staged in the Twin Cities, but Pham said Temple is the first restaurant to offer the experience. His first Naked Sushi night will be March 8. Tickets are $75 per person and include sushi, sake and champagne. Future nights will be held only for groups of six or more and tickets will go for $150 per person.

TIM HARLOW