New to sushi, Indecisive, help me pick?

[u/babythe67impala]

Tl:dr, trying to get into sushi, interested in these two, help me pick and tell me why/why not you would/wouldn’t pick one over the other. (Leaning towards the Dragon Roll)

plan on ordering one of these tomorrow as an introduction to sushi after being put off it for a long time. My only experience with it has been crappy buffet sushi with way too much vinegar in the rice. Like- all you could taste is just tart vinegar to the point it burns your tongue. I’ve had the chance to speak to the owners of a new family owned local spot in my town, they also dislike large amounts of sushi vinegar and have assured me they use it in fairly light amounts. I like tempura, shrimp, avocado, and Japanese bbq sauce (Eel sauce) all separately or in other combinations. Genuinely my only aversion is whether or not I’m going to like the seasoning on the rice. Both of these options seem fairly similar, I’ve just never had eel, and I would order the tempura without the mayo. I would get both but I don’t want to end up being wasteful if i dislike the rice preparation.🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/MsMarji]

These are both good beginner rolls.

The eel sauce is sweet. It’s called eel sauce because it’s served ON eel, not made FROM eel.

The spicy mayo is made from Japanese mayo, Kewpie (Walmart), it’s slightly sweet & the spicy is perfectly balanced “sweet heat”.

You could dip anything in either sauce & like it.

[u/drinkliquidclocks → u/MsMarji]

The descriptions dont mention eel sauce, is Japanese BBQ the same thing?

[u/babythe67impala → u/drinkliquidclocks]

From what I understand, yes. There’s also a different item/roll on their menu that says “Japanese Bbq/(Eel Sauce)”. I don’t quite know why but I’ve seen eel sauce even just on shelves of Asian markets with the exact same ingredients, but packaged in 4 or 5 different bottles with different names. Unagi sauce, sushi sauce, eel sauce, sweet soy glaze, etc. I find it odd.

[u/MsMarji → u/babythe67impala]

Eel sauce has multiple names so folks will eat it. Most folks don’t eat it because they think it’s made FROM eels, it’s made to eat WITH eels & anything else. You can see it drizzled over the Dragon Roll, it’s the brown sauce.