I tried it.......and liked it!!!

My mother always said, "try it once, if you don't like it...don't eat it!" Well, I tried something last night I had never eaten before: SUSHI; and, it was really, really delicious!!!!!!

N and S invited me along to celebrate S's 30th birthday - C was my date! - and we went to The Fish, a Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Dallas' West Village. The restaurant was spectacular: very modern design with black, white, and red decor. The waitstaff was very thorough and their attention to our service, and my dairy allergy, was appreciated. Because of this excellent experience, my expectations of future sushi meals are very high!

As soon as we sat down and began looking at the menu (it was all Greek to me!), I immediately said, "I will try whatever you order, except for eel." I also needed help with the chopsticks. I failed miserably at trying to hold my own, so the gracious waiter brought me a set of kid's sticks. The sticks were bound with rubberbands holding a folded piece of paper at one end, very clever idea for this sushi novice. I had an a-ha! moment before dinner also, if I had to eat with chopsticks everyday, I would lose a lot of weight!!!!!!

We began the meal with appetizers - scallops and calamari. The calamari was dipped in a tempura batter (made with milk), so I could not eat the squid. Rain did not fall on my parade though, I've never been a fan of squid. However, the pan-seared scallops in sake soy sauce with jalapeno were incredible!!! The scallops were sweet as sugar but the jalapeno was kickin' hot. N and S enjoyed the miso shiru soup while I enjoyed the house salad with a ginger sesame vinegarette. C ate all my crunchy wontons, carrots, and cherry tomatoes, but the lettuce and dressing were delicious! Bonus feature: the waiter brought me a fork for my salad, bless her precious heart!!!!

The star of the evening: SUSHI. I don't remember every sushi roll, but here are some that we ordered:

Lickitty Split - Spicy tuna and soft shell crawfish topped with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and avocado
Not one of my favorites, I think I enjoy softshell deep-fried the best!!!

California Roll - Crab, avocado, and cucumber
Very simple and light. Of course, by the time this arrived I was stuffed to the gills (no pun intended!) I loved the black sesame seeds in the rice too, very tasty.

Tiger Eye Roll - Smoked salmon, cream cheese, and jalapenos rolled in soy paper
This was an "off limits" option because of the cream cheese, but N and S really enjoyed this one.

Sea Diver - Fresh water eel and avocado w/ snow crab, avocado and cucumber inside
Remember that comment I made earlier, well - yeah, I tried eel and LOVED it. So much, in fact, I thought it was bacon. And I love bacon!!!! HAHA I'm not kidding, I couldn't make this up if I tried. After the first bite, I asked, "this is really good, is that bacon on top?" N and S reply: "no, it's eel!" (everyone cracking up laughing, even C).

Cheeseburger Roll - Crab, avocado, cucumber inside topped w/ tuna, escolar, avocado and spicy sauce
Excellent name for a sushi roll without cheese. The cool and crunchy cucumber paired with the spicy mayo was perfect with the crab and tuna - very flavorful. Another one of my favorites.

Sooooo.....I'm really liking this sushi thing. Never in a million years would I have thought to say those words, but hey, I'm full of surprises. Thanks N & S & C for a fabulous dinner, I hope S has a wonderful 30th birthday too. I'll send Kevin away more often so we can enjoy more sushi dinners!!!!!

Blessings,
Nicole

P.S. Are you a fan of sushi? What's your favorite kind of roll? Can you use chopsticks without help from the Kiddie Table!?!