“I think I’m turning Japanese…”
The last post I made mentioned what has been happening over the last few weeks as it relates to my yardwork (or lack thereof). However, the last month has been a different situation as it relates directly to my lunch and dinner choices.
You see, a few months ago, I was introduced to a food group I had ignored previously. Sushi.
However, when one set of lunch plans failed due to Jeff’s favorite restaurant, Pan Acean, being packed for lunch, Kiran spotted a Sushi restaurant in the same block. Upon finding out I’ve never done sushi and Kiran was willing to help me out as it relates to my own diet choices (both personal and religious restrictions), we poured ourselves into a booth and enjoyed our meal.
Kiran and I traded sushi between our Bento boxes (he got all my shrimp and crab sushi rolls and I got his tuna and salmon sushi). This was a wonderful tradeoff for both of us and I was initiated into the world of raw fish as a food group.
Fast forward to about 4 weeks ago when Sushi Tokyo opened up just blocks away from our work. That first week, we went 3 times. We initiated another of our coworkers, Antwan, to the fantastic restaurant. It was rather a surprise that he loved it as much as we as he is what we might call a “brotha” in south Dallas or tha hood or any other urban environment. (He’s picked it up for takeout almost as often as we’ve gone).
Three weeks ago on Wednesday, the Internet group of the Marketing department treated our team to lunch at Sushi Tokyo and Nafeisa just checked off several different sushi rolls on the menu for the waitress to order. I had to interject a few suggestions else I would have had no sushi to eat myself. They had to bring out the order on a 3 foot platter. I left there quite full, but not tired of sushi.
Jeff, Antwan and I returned on Thursday and then the three of us plus Kiran on Friday.
Two weeks ago, we went on Wednesday and Friday. Our meal on Friday was a thank-you from our Director for all the work we had done on the previous Sunday when the software upgrade was performed.
It was around this week or the prior week we found out about another restaurant opening up a little further north from Sushi Tokyo. Shinsei Steak and Seafood is a Hibachi restaurant (like Benihana or Kobe Steaks) and a Sushi bar. It was set to open in May and we were checking on a regular basis. Jeff was calling almost daily to find out when it would open. We finally found out it would open on Tuesday evening of this past week. We made it our plan to go on Wednesday for lunch.
The website informed us that lunches for the month of May would be 20% off and during the first two weeks, dinner would be 50% off. This made our mouth water even more at the prospect of two Japanese food groups melding together.
Jeff, Kiran and I made the inaugural trip to this restaurant on Wednesday. It was wonderful food and I had Teriyaki Salmon (however, for the beef eaters, the Hibachi Ribeye is terrific). The service was outstanding and the food even more so. I did not order sushi as I wanted to enjoy the Hibachi meal first.
We were gone just a little over an hour, but we had to brag about it to our coworkers. Cheryl decided at that point that we should go there for lunch on Friday. There were no dissenting voices.
However, on Thursday, Amy and I worked overtime and as a reward for working so hard all week, I took her to Shinsei. We ended up at a table with a few close friends of the manager and, as is quite customary for friends of a restaurant manager, they ordered everything they could think of as they would stick him with the bill. We just ordered our Hibachi dinners and I ordered some sushi and sushi rolls.
It was late into the meal before we got our sushi, but I think that was just due to them being quite overwhelmed with the number of customers they had (as well as computer issues we discovered later). Amy finally tried sushi and a sushi roll for the first time and pronounced that she does not like it at all (though she did show some interest in trying a Philadelphia roll some time which consists of smoked salmon and cream cheese).
The only issue we had was it took over 30 minutes to get our check (due to the aforementioned computer problems). The manager and one of the hostesses (as well as three waiters and a Hibachi chef) were all quite apologetic about the situation and sought to resolve it as fast as possible. I was feeling unusually patient that evening so I still gave a very good tip when we got the final check (in which we were discounted 50% as well as our sushi being free). It was the waitress’ first night waiting tables (ever) and I didn’t want her to be discouraged.
The manager hoped we would come back again and I told him that it was not a problem and that I already had plans to come to lunch the following day. We received some chopstick sets on our way out the door (just a parting gift for new customers, not because of the computer problem).
So on Friday, nine of us went to lunch as my team and the Billing team made an outing of it. The Manager and the hostess recognized me and I knew we would get exceptional service in deference to me being in the party. A few more of our group were introduced to Hibachi-style cooking (some having never been to any place like Benihana) and had a great time. However, we did find out that the owner was having to change the name of the restaurant because the name was too close to one in downtown Dallas called Shinsei. They will now be known as Kenkozu Steaks and Seafood (Kenkozu is Japanese for “family”).
Now we get to today and the situation that gave rise to the title of this post and the reason I mention all this. After we had completed the yardwork (well, at least what we had energy to do), we then bathed the dog in the backyard and then showered. Amy suggested that “lunch” (in quotes because it would be almost 4pm when we ate so it really was “lunch/dinner”) involve hamburgers or Chipotle. I latched onto her first suggestion as I knew how stuffed Chipotle makes me feel.
So I decided on the burger place, Red Robin, as it would be more than fast food, but not too expensive (or so I thought… I forgot how much they prize their burger creations). Of all the choices for burgers, my subconscience decided that it needed more Japanese food. However, as the menu was lacking in sushi and Hibachi options, it suddenly grabbed my brain and said, “hey, one of the burgers has teriyaki sauce and pineapple and is called a Banzai Burger”.
So I got it… and, lo, it was good.
Am I obsessed with Japanese food? Um.. yeah. BANZAI!!!!!
(The title of the post is a reference to an 80s hit from a UK band as shown in this video on Youtube.)
