David feldman and amelia mae kann of the sushi star brigade seek to fulfill their mission of love and silliness.

“You are a stardazzle. I love you.” These are the words of initiation into the Sushi Star Brigade. 

To understand what the Sushi Star Brigade is, you first have to realize that it is two things at once. Conventionally, it’s a new food booth at the Lane County Farmers Market, serving up vegan nori wraps on Saturdays. 

A little less conventionally, it’s the mission post of a galactic collective originating from the “Nori Nova” in the Milky Way galaxy, and its mission is “to teach the people here how to use agriculture sustainably so they don’t destroy the planet,” says sushi chef David Feldman, who also goes by the name Captain Monday. 

“Really, the main point is that we’re here on a peaceful mission to spread joy," Feldman explains. "And silliness. And love.”

Feldman, who started making sushi at the University of Iowa 10 years ago, says he opened the sushi booth after traveling the music festival circuit and catering for a few years. Since he sources most of his ingredients from the farmers market, he says, it seemed like a logical place to set up shop.

“Also, I just wanted to get a little more grounded in the community, so I decided to do the market instead of the festival circuit this year, because summer in Eugene is glorious,” he says.

Feldman’s sushi is entirely vegan — teriyaki and mushrooms make up the Forest Roll, while the Rainbow Roll includes every fruit and veggie imaginable, including mango, avocado, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, squash and beets. 

Sushi Star Brigade also offers salads, miso soup and green teas. A bicycle-powered blender for making green-tea banana smoothies is in the works, Feldman says.

“We’ve had a lot of repeat customers already, which is great,” he adds. “I think people like it. More than money, that’s the reason that makes sense to me to keep doing this.”

Vegan Nori wraps. Photos by Athena Delene.

For now, Feldman is joined by a few of his friends in the booth. They’re hard to miss at the farmers market, because they all dress in costume. The costumes vary, Feldman says. “We usually do themes, but we’re planning on announcing the themes ahead of time so people can get discounts if they come to the market dressed in that theme.” A few past themes include butterflies and moths, flowers and silky matching pajamas.

And when will the Sushi Star Brigade consider its mission complete? 

“Our primary goal is to remind all of the humans that ‘You are a stardazzle and I love you.’ And once we have delivered that message to everyone on the planet, we can move on to the next world,” Feldman explains. “The goal for takeoff is 2025, based on our calculations about when Earth people will figure out interstellar travel.”

Until then, keep an eye out for the sushi booth with the colorfully dressed visitors from outer space.

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