Restaurant Review- Sushi

(Sigh) I feel like I'm doing this a disservice. I reviewed this place 3 or 4 years ago (or was it 4 or 5? I forget) and it was one of the 1st food reviews we wrote well before Moda began frassin for the CP. Sufficed to say, I'm going to continue to refer to this place "Japplebee's" in terms of it's cuisine, quality, and the type of crowd they're pandering to.

While we were out and about last night, Moda and I were in the midst of a severe sushi jones and since I'd passed this joint on the way to AL's birthday dinner earlier this week (And as it has recently opened in the 'hood) I thought that maybe it had came into it's own in spite of our initial experience being poor at their flagship restaurant in EP. (In case you forgot- Bad sushi, poor service, terrrrrible ambience)

We arrived well before the dinner hour, both very hungry, and both very willing to put our experiences behind us in order to expand our neighborhood options. The restaurant was quiet, tastefully decorated (with the exception of the weird Audrey Hepburn poster in the men's room. I didn't get it.) , and we were seated right away. We started off with: veggie gyoza, edamame (natch) and a small bottle of sake' to share.

The edamame was fine and brought out straightaway. The gyoza was...interesting. The dumplings were a shade of green and instead of the ground veggie/tofu innards I was expecting there were large tablets of edamame bean here and there. (A weird sensation on the palate, to be sure) Again, not great, but interestingly displayed.

As for the quality of the sushi? This is why people say they "hate" sushi. (Outside of the seaweed and raw fish, I guess) I won't even bother entertaining you with the kind of rolls we ordered. Simply put? They were warm. (Our same issue as the last time) And it wasn't even like they were "warm from sitting out or being heated" (I said at the very least with the temperature as it was I expected the fish to be manky or the rice to be firming) It was just...well room temperature sushi is kind of gross. And if that was their "thing" I don't think I'm alone in saying it's not how people are meant to enjoy sushi-room temperature and underwhelming. We ate it very fast.
Later we were given some complimentary fish eggs since they were originally to top our order but we were informed that they were still thawing out and needed a few minutes to prepare. (Note to self: You like the roe better than the whole slimy egg)

We were still hungry, but both quickly agreed that another roll wasn't what we desired. We shared some Udon noodles which were hot and filling but still- shy of out and out delicious. And the sake was pretty lame too. That, and when I said it panders? (The signage in front of the restaurant kept pimping the steaks, almost as if to say "Don't be afraid of the sushi! We have meat and potatoes too!") As for the quiet ambience, it was soon ruptured by the sound of a 3rd Date couple "Mr. Johnny Salami Loud-Talker", a pair of woman who I overheard loudly say they were only leaving a 10% tip, and finally...the random loud-ass gong followed by an obnoxious canned birthday party. (There was a hibachi birthday in the adjoining room. There's only so much cheering, clapping, robotic birthday songs, and clanking of knives one can take when they're trying to immerse themselves in a tranquil Japanese dinner)

We won't be going back again, as there are newer sushi options that have popped up in NE within the last few months that may beckon at a later date. All told, I feel like a douchey boyfriend for having "treated" my girl as a housewarming gift to a sushi dinner at a place that, after two at-bats, is just as disappointing the second time around.

How I know the world is going to hell...

Some bastard has requested they change the programming on my ("my") treadmill from NBC to CBS. Unfortunately, what this means is that instead of my steady stream of news reporting that I'm accustomed to watching (It meant that, while funemployed, even if I hit the gym at 8am I was guaranteed another 2.5 hours of local and national news.)

Well now it seems that the programming ends at 9 and we're served up a pile of talk-show in the form of "Ellen". I have nothing against her, mind you. I think she was funny when she did stand up, had an unfortunate run of a luke-warm sit-com when hit sit-coms were starting to peter out creatively. And her show was actually kind of funny- Until I found out she pulls "Jackass" level stunts on her studio guests for her own amusement.

i.e. She's kind of a dick. She might as well find new ways of throwing Bam Margera into a snake pit.

Anyway, out of my peripheral vision from my ("my") treadmill I can usually rely on the noise provided by CNN which gives soundbites of news followed by hours of commercials telling us how awesome their reporters are, when they had a commercial showing their next segment about the tragedy in Japan, the radioactive waste leeching into the ocean, and their special correspondent (wait for it) "Bill Nye the Science Guy" was going to share his thoughts on the subject.

This is akin to interviewing Ronald McDonald about the a large recall of salmonella tainted beef. And apparently, it's news. *


*Speaking of beef, I guess the Porky's is gone the way of the dodo. I understand the sentiment that goes with a neighborhood restaurant closing and how it affects the community as well as long standing patrons. HOWever, the abruptness in which it announced it's closing and the subsequent mobs that turned out (yes. Mobs. Complete with pitchforks, torches et.al.) feels like they cheapened the event and could have maybe planned their swan song a little bit better- meaning gotten a lot more dough. Instead, they decided to create a scene. And I guess I don't approve.