A few years ago, an old college friend of mine was in town and had time for lunch. “How ’bout sushi?” I asked.

“Nah,” Alvo grumbled in his Long Island accent. “Undercooked.”

I’ve never forgotten that slyly hilarious quip. I, too, was like Alvo, avoiding sushi places and their undercooked fish until well into adulthood. I have long since come around but can’t say that I’m anything close to a sushionado.

Nevertheless, sushi certainly deserves representation in Friday Food Fight. I chose a lunch special at Soho Sushi in Tampa, and came close to matching it up with a combo meal at Umami Endless Sushi & Bar in St. Pete. This spared me from having to use a stubby pencil to fill in X’s on a la carte menus.

SOHO SUSHI

Tuesday, 1 p.m., 80 degrees, pillowy clouds decorated the azure sky — ideal for an al fresco lunch. Alas, no outdoor seating. (That’s not a complaint.) Soho Sushi has a tastefully appointed interior, a cut well above your everyday sushi bar.

We sat at a two-top near the back of the dining room. Our server, Sam, was pleasantly patient while two seniors peppered her with questions about the different types of sushi, then adjourned to our menus, then came up with more questions, then back to our menus, then finally ordered.

Here is it is, verbatim: Combination Lunch ($19.99) — 1 pc each of salmon, crab, steamed shrimp + tuna nigiri, 2 slices tuna, salmon and escolar sashimi, with your choice of sushi roll (tuna/cucumber/avocado), plus your choice of miso soup or ginger salad. (The restaurant served me both.)

Appearance

Most sushi spreads are beautiful — so many shapes and colors — and this one was no exception. Also: it looked like a lot of food. I was glad Bonnie was there to help out.

Texture and Taste

Everything was terrific. Issuing an item-by-item appraisal would be drudgery to write, and probably more so to read. So I’ll go with highlights, starting with a big one:

I have a strong aversion to salmon, so it was with trepidation that, in the name of professional responsibility, I decided to give this raw version a try. Wait, whaaat?! It was mild-tasting, odor-free and had just enough of oiliness to give it some heft. A revelation. I even liked the salmon better than the ruby-red tuna, which is is my go-to sashimi.

Perhaps my palate is not fine-tuned enough, but I find raw sushi short on flavor. It’s a texture over taste thing. And that’s why the garnish is important. Ginger slices are a tad too strong for me, although I did try a few during my lunch. I used my soy sauce/wasabi mix, too, but my favorite accoutrement was mildly pickled cucumbers, sliced paper-thin, adding crunch and a touch of sweetness.

My chopsticks skills have atrophied, and I struggled with some of the more slippery pieces. (Hey, that’s what the off hand is for.) Bonnie and I laid waste to her roll and my combo, as well as our salads and soups. We left Soho Sushi full, but not stuffed.

UMAMI ENDLESS SUSHI & BAR

Thursday, 2 p.m., 80 degrees and cloudless — but, again, no al fresco lunch, and that’s not a complaint. Umami, located in the Tyrone area of St. Pete, occupies a large space. The interior is mostly brown — booths, tables, chairs — with little natural light (although it wasn’t dark).

We sat in a booth, but before we could order, an atrocity occurred that nearly caused me beat a hasty retreat. “Sweet Caroline” — arguably the song I hate more than any other — was playing on the sound system. I’m the worst kind of music snob, so you can see how hearing this was beyond the pale. Nevertheless, I gutted it out.

Our server, Xin Rong, helped match us up with the spread in Tampa — the Sushi & Sashimi Combo ($25.95), chef’s choice of 5 pieces of nigiri, 10 pieces of sashimi and a spicy tuna roll, plus miso soup and ginger salad.

Appearance

Fancy. I’ll go so far as to say fancy schmancy. The nigiri and roll sat on a curved blanket of bamboo sticks, the sashimi in a bowl on a bed of ice. Embedded there was a tiny blinking light. I paused and looked both ways before starting to eat.

Texture and Taste

The chef chose tuna, white tuna, salmon, tilapia and yellowtail — so somewhat different than what we had at Soho Sushi. Like two days prior, I appreciated the salmon, although it had just a tinge of “salmony” aftertaste. I didn’t recall ever having raw tilapia, and was pleasantly surprised by it.

The white tuna was the only piece that was chewy enough that I didn’t take a second bite. The tuna roll had a pinch of spicy heat that added some welcome bite. In all, it was an enjoyable lunch that we didn’t quite finish.

And the Winner of the Tampa vs. St. Pete Lunch-Time Sushi Skirmish Is …

Soho Sushi.

The raw fish seemed fresher at the Tampa restaurant, plus I preferred the overall vibe there, especially the music — modern dance-pop. But what really made the difference were those little slivers of pickled cucumber. Umami didn’t have any garnish save for ginger. Perhaps that would be fine for a sushi enthusiast, but for me, the cucumber added a tinge of flavor and crunch that enhanced my appreciation of the, um, undercooked fish.

Finally: In fairness, I may have fallen prey to raw-fish-overload bias. When we visited the Tampa spot on Tuesday, I hadn’t eaten sushi in a couple of years. Forty-nine hours later, I was at it again. Not to say that it was a chore, just that the novelty wasn’t there at Umami.