The Lost Weekend, part 3

On one hand, I want to go to Tojo's Restaurant, but on the other hand, I'm not hungry. Conversely, if I don't go today, I won't be going on this trip at all.

Fuck it, I'm going anyway - I'll just eat light. At least I'll be able to cross something off my mission101 list for the first time in months!

The trip has been short on visiting, so I've been entertaining myself mostly. Last night was an exception. I got together with somejauntypolka, bognaustroglum and neonknight69 and had dinner at Broadway Fusion. I was missing the Fusion menu of Syn Bar and Grill, the restaurant I like in Victoria, so we decided to try it.

The food was meh. The only difference between my meal, and those of my dinner partners, was the meat. We all had the same mashed potatoes, and sparse selection of steamed veggies. My mushroom-stuffed chicken breast was actually a chicken thigh and it was "mushroom-stuffed" only in the sense that there was a single mushroom inside it.

But still, I was hanging with my Vancouver peeps in a restaurant and having a good time right? Well I was until the karaoke started. Then you couldn't hear what anyone was saying. The restaurant had succumbed to the main reason why I hate clubs and love pubs - the friendly social atmosphere was exchanged for feeling the base of the music deep within your thorax and not talking. If I danced, I might get into it, but I don't know how.

Today I shopped along 4th avenue, swinging up to Broadway to sit and write at Calhoun's, which is where I am right now. Aside from this blog, I haven't done much writing. I have thought of some new porn to write, but I'm just not in a porn-writing sort of mood.

I'm lonely and my nose is running (despite antihistamines). Hopefully Ryan and Ken will be up for some late night coffee.

The Lost Weekend, part 4

Omakase - Entrusting (to the chef).

I went to Tojo's, as I mentioned in the previous post. I am now glad that I did. It cost me a pretty penny, but I got some delicious food that I might never have otherwise tried and I had exactly enough to satisfy myself without feeling stuffed.

Omakase at Tojo's means Tojo decides what you're eating. There is a $60, $80 and $110 version. I opted for the $60, hoping that it would be somewhat smaller then the $80 and $110. Chatting up the pretty bar tender I found that the difference is an extra removes and more exotic ingredients as you go up the price range. She even suggested (after I finished eating) that if I was with a guest, it's a good idea for one person to get the $80 and the other to get the $110, as there is almost no overlap of the removes (there is some overlap between the $60 and $80). This gives you the best variety.

For my mere $60, I got the following:

1) The starter - Tojo's Tuna. Tuna sashimi with Tojo's special sesame sause. The server urged me to not use any soy sauce with this item. He was right.

2) The salad - Mixed greens with a topping of fried shrimp cakes.

3) The entrée - Cooked halibut with a cream/soy sauce.

4) The sushi - a medley of popular pieces. I got one piece each of albacore tuna, snapper, Golden Roll, Great Pacific Roll, Spicy Tuna Insideout roll, Great BC roll (check the menu out for details). These were some of the most delicious and innovative pieces of sushi I've ever had. There was some definite fish bliss happening. It was also the first time I've had a spicy tuna roll that didn't make me regret consuming it. It was spicy without burning and it didn't interfere with the next piece.

5) Dessert - cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream.

I also remembered the joy of being served by professional servers - as opposed to students/actors/family-of-the-owner. They were attentive without being obsequious. Also friendly and knowledgeable. Every remove came with a brief explanation of what I was eating and how I should eat it to get the most enjoyment.

I walked into the restaurant nervous and a little sad. I left glad that I had made the leap of faith into Omakase. Delicious, new and not overly filling. Exactly what I was looking for.

Now I get to try and convince my Vancouver peeps to give it a try. In the past I had resisted this because I knew a lot of them weren't as into sushi as I am (preferring other, cooked, Japanese fare). Not now. There is no reason why they shouldn't go, aside from the expense.

If you can afford it, and you're in Vancouver, go for it.