"They Got Some Sake & Sashimi..."

First things first: OMG!  I got my first article published on ViewsHound!  Click on the link on the right-hand side of this page (the red box with the sniffing pup on it) to read all about it.  I can't help it; I'm REALLY excited!

Okay, moving on.

Let me tell you a little story.  Once upon a time, I hated sushi.  I hated Japanese and Chinese food.  I hated hummus, falafel, olives, salsa--oh, my, it was a really long list.  Most of the items on it, I had never actually tasted, but I knew instinctively that I hated them, like a five-year-old does, except I was in my 20s.  Some very patient, helpful friends (thank you, Paul, Keegan, and a numer of others) waded through my reticent stubborness to rescue me from not knowing what I was missing.  By the time I enrolled at St. Vladimir's Seminary in New York, I had learned to love a number of items on that list, and more importantly, I had learned to try new things.  And a good thing, too, as Michael and I went to a Chinese restaurant/sushi bar on our first date.  Ah, the good old Rice Star.

Let me clarify here.  This meal wasn't really accompanied by the typical awkwardness, uncertainty, and general unpleasantness that people associate with first dates.  By the time we finally got around to going out, Michael and I had been in seminary together for eight months, had been debating with ourselves about admitting our mutual interest for quite some time, and finally had a conversation vowing our undying love and devotion, all before our "first date."  We were both pushing thirty when we met, after all, and were both fed up to our back teeth with the frivolities of youth.  So by the time we were walking through the Rice Star parking lot together, I was experiencing more wonder at having found "the one" than nervousness about whether or not my breath was fresh.  Nevertheless, we remember Rice Star very fondly, and wish to thank them here and now for many happy meals and conversations.  End of back story.

For reasons of geography and life circumstances that we won't go into here, Michael and I haven't been able to find a good Chinese restaurant or sushi place near us since we left New York.  Until tonight.  Oh, joy!  Oh, rapture!  I have found Nirvana, and it has sushi!  Michael came home from work yesterday with a menu from "Sakura Restaurant, Chinese and Japanese Food," and in our desperation for good sushi, we only managed to wait 24 hours before we had to go try the place.  We dropped off Brigid with her kind, generous grandparents, and went to Sakura with our hopes high.  We weren't disappointed.  I had to struggle not to moan and sigh in satisfaction with every bite.  I'm a happy sushi lover.