One of my passions in life has always been and will always be food. From going out to an elaborate dinner to cooking one myself - both creating and eating meals are one of my favorite things. And while I may have many favorite types of food that I frequently enjoy - one of the favorite types of food I love to indulge in is sushi.

From the first time I tried it, I have been addicted to it. To me, eating sushi is an event that I look forward to each time I head to my favorite sushi restaurant - Osaka on Flatbush Avenue. Besides serving excellent sushi, they have an "All You Can Eat" special that is right up my alley. Basically, for twenty dollars, you can eat all the sushi you want, including individual pieces, rolls and hand rolls, and order as many helpings as you wish - as long as you finish all the sushi on your plate. No wonder Osaka is my favorite restaurant.

Feeling in the mood for sushi, I went to Osaka last night to satisfy my sushi craving, which creeps up on me now and then and can only be satisfied by heading to my favorite restaurant for "All You Can Eat" sushi. Besides being my four favorite words, my appetite and the amount of sushi I eat makes it impractical to eat at a sushi restaurant that does not have an "All You Can Eat" special. Here's why:

My first helping of sushi last night consisted of four pieces of tuna, salmon and white tuna, one piece of yellow tail, a six-piece spicy tuna roll, and both a tuna hand roll and salmon hand roll. All together, that was 21 pieces of sushi that, if purchased individually, would have cost $41 - and that was only my first helping. If I stopped eating right there, I already doubled my money by eating $41 worth of sushi for twenty dollars. My second helping consisted of five pieces of tuna and salmon, which would have cost another $20. Follow that with my last helping of one more tuna hand roll and one more salmon hand roll at five dollars a piece - that comes to 33 pieces of sushi at a grand total of $71 - all for twenty bucks.

Besides being cheap and good - I also find sushi to be an excellent source of energy. I remember when I was moving into my new apartment. After feeling weak from moving my stuff from one house to another, I took myself to Osaka and gorged on some "All You Can Eat" sushi. After I ate, I felt full of energy and was able to move the rest of my furniture.

Many people find it hard to eat sushi, because it is "raw fish" - but people do not realize that besides tasting amazing - especially covered with Wosabi - how healthy sushi is for you. Sushi is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to be protective against heart disease, and can be labeled a low-fat food. When sushi is eaten together with rice, seaweed and avocado, it is a perfectly balanced meal of carbohydrate, protein and fat.

So while I may be a sucker for a good steak or a hearty plate of my mother's Shrimp FraDiavlo - roll me some good sushi any day.

After writing this column - it looks like it's Osaka for dinner tonight...