Here, There, and Everywhere

After a relatively steady stream of posts, I've lapsed into the writing gaps of yore. I have valid reasons, though. I've been busy...

1. Watching baseball. ESPN's been televising (or streaming, in my case) a high number of Yankees games in the past week and a half. I'm out of territory, and need to capitalize on these opportunities when they present themselves.

2. Preparing (through lists, mostly) for my first ever trip to Denver. I better love it as much as I'm being told I will.

3. Transferring the emptiness brought on by the end of the Olympics by immersing myself in Breaking Bad. I've put it off long enough and am finally ready to see what all the fuss is about. Horrors* aside, I am intrigued thus far. Also, it's re-excited me to someday (hopefully in the next year) visit New Mexico. 

4. Seeing some of my close family after far too long. I spent Friday night on Berkeley's campus, and in addition to feeling nostalgic for the start of a new school year, I also felt about 800 years old. 

5. Completing my Fantasy Football draft, and then spending hours poring over ESPN's coverage, in an effort to bolster my confidence in my team. For the record, defense aside, I'm feeling pretty good about my team. I am also choosing to ignore, until the last possible second, that as I've drafted Tom Brady, I will now need to cheer for the Patriots all. season. long. 

In an effort to bring some relevance to this post, I'm including a link to the winning entries in National Geographic Traveler's annual photo contest: Check it out.

* I'd link to video of said horrors, but would rather not scar people (i.e. my nonexistent readers). You cannot un-see these things. 

The Seaweed Is Always Greener

A friend and I have great plans to work our way down the restaurants of Mountain View's Castro Street. About a month ago, we started this journey at Rose International Market, a Middle Eastern market that also offers kabobs and falafel.

An aside: The Market is well worth a visit (or few). Their chicken is delicious, and I'm fairly certain their rice is laced with crack. There is no other explanation for how delicious some mostly plain rice can be. 

This week, in an effort to continue our eating expedition, we decided to dine at Sono Sushi. This place seemed fun, in theory, due to their having little sushi boats that float around a bar-like island. If you see some sushi that you like float by, you can just grab it and dig in. 

We were a party of three, and so opted for a table, rather than linear seating, so the art of sushi boats was inconsequential to our meal.

On a basic level, the restaurant does well: The establishment is cozy without being claustrophobic, the wait staff is polite and attentive, and the food is inexpensive.

Where the restaurant does not-so-well is where it pertains to the main event: the food.

The edamame, which we ordered as an appetizer, was cold. This problem didn't stop us from eating the entirety of our serving, but it's atypical of edamame to be served this way.

When it comes to Japanese food, I tend to lean the way of chicken teriyaki or udon, not because I don't love sushi, but because I don't love seafood. Yesterday, however, I opted for a cucumber roll and a chicken teriyaki roll. The former was fine--I imagine a cucumber roll is one of the most difficult to screw up--and while the latter wasn't terrible, it wasn't something I'd seek out again. 

My friends ordered seafood-based rolls, such as the Philadelphia roll, and while they weren't put off by their meals, they weren't impressed, either. 

In a place like the Bay Area, which hosts a bevy of restaurants, there's little room for mediocrity. I say this not to be snobby, but to be realistic. I don't spend every meal dining out, so on occasions where I do so, I want to make my experience and meal worthwhile. 

I'll head over to Sushi 85 if I need a local sushi fix, instead.