Tony "da Tigarrrr!!" ..'s Profile

I must have sat on a four leaf clover earlier that day because I lucked out. Reading about the long wait and Hideki's wife yelling at people, I expected a daunting experience. I've never been here and just happened to pass by.  Lo-and-behold there was no line and there were two empty seats. Good thing Hideki's stern wife was guarding the entrance, otherwise I would have broken one of their rules and just barged in and sat myself down.  She quickly cleaned it up and invited me in. My first actual mistake was opening those damn soy sauce bottles which virtually invite people to play with them. I was lucky that she wasn't looking or she would have thrashed me.

Once I got passed that gauntlet of a woman, it was smooth sailing. Hideki's nigiri is definitely one of the BEST I've ever had IN MY LIFE! Fresh and clean tasting.  Scallops, tuna, anago, butterfish, etc. were all awesome!! The fish that needed to be firm had great bite and those that needed to be smooth, melted in your mouth. The butterfish and tuna were so good! I can't explain the super quality of the fish. You just have to eat here to understand.

The entire restaurant is just an eight seat sushi bar. It' so small it can be awkwardly quiet. But quietness forces you to watch Hideki masterfully make your nigiri. Then you will realize that it's truly an art when done right.  He's so knowledgeable and once you break the ice, he's quite friendly. He was giving away bits and pieces to everyone. He gave me a few chunks of toro!!  My new #1 sushi bar!!

Damn, I just wanted to pick up the cauldren of boiling soup and drink it.  It's that good. The soup with all those herbs, spices, and what must be fifty garlic cloves gives the meat really good flavor. Althought I would leave out the cardomon. I'm not too fond of that.  Last time I went, we had the hot/mild pot.  Kinda pricey compared to an all you can eat hot pot place, but the herbal soup flavors makes it worth it once in a while. Service is kinda rushed but what do ya expect when there's a bus load of people waiting.

Well today, I saw puppies being sold from a cooler!! Man, that was sooooooo cute. Upping this one more star!~

In the four years that I have yelped, I have never given out a 1 star rating.  I wanted to reserve that one star for something that really deserved it. And I think I found it today.

This morning's "Automated Suicide Prevention Hotline" skit was not funny at all.  It's not that I find it a sick subject. The skit itself just wasn't even funny. The jokes were terrible and it was a convoluted boring piece.  They tried but it was soooooooooo lame. I was actually embarrassed for them. And what exactly is this music mix? It's a mishmash of everything.

Don't try to leave this place without saying goodbye to the owner. He will fraking chase you down and make you stand there so that he can bow and say good bye to you. What a cool guy!!!  Today was my first time eating in at the sushi bar.   I love nigiri and I had the scallops, herring, bonito, spanish mackrel, and amberjack. They were all very good, especially the scallops.  The place is kinda small and busy but they seem to churn out orders quick, while the cheery owner runs around filling people's sakes boxes.  Good spot.

The nice little lady that owns this place said I looked handsome.  Automatic 5 stars!!   She's a sweetheart.  If you're here for the food, luckily, it's also very good. I've had the chicken and fish salads and they were very tasty.  Like most South East Asian food, it's highly aromatic. It had slivers of garlic, lemongrass, ginger, etc.  They give you heaping mounds of sticky or steamed rice. Some of the dishes can be ordered either Thai or Lao style, although as a knucklehead, I can never tell the difference.  But everything comes with slices of cabbage, cucumbers, and string beans to munch on.  The little Miss will come out of her tiny kitchen and ask how spicy you want your dish.  I suggest you tell them exactly how many of those atomic hotpeppers you actually want in your food. For medium spicy she suggested using only four tiny peppers but it was still soooo spicy!!  Yet still delicious.  This place is not really a deli, more like a small family restaurant with only 4 tables. Don't be put off by the neighborhood or the decor. It's down to earth, nothing fancy, and cheap. Her son/waiter is also super friendly.  What a nice family!  But who cares about their delicious food....she said I was handsome!.... 5 stars!!!

My aunt lives nearby and I've driven past this street a gazillion times and never knew about this awesome place. That champa samplers is so dang good.  It comes in this big sushiboat looking thing.  Yes, you can share it with another person but why would you want to. Keep it to yourself.  It comes with noodles, the riceball salad, sausages, tons of leafy greens. Sooooooo gooooooooood.  The papaya salad is just as delicious.  The place is clean, and quaint. And by quaint, I mean, kinda small but it doesn't feel crowded.  This really is a gem. This would actually be a great date spot if you want something away from the melee. And yes, the front service it's run mostly by the kids. I super appreciate that.

Their attempt to recreate the pinkberry atmosphere is obvious with the new age furniture and pastelly colors.  As for the yogurt, I think I only liked the taro because it's earthy and the original tart because I generally don't like sweet things anyway.  I actually do appreciate the less-than-creamy texture of their yogurts. It's nice to have something refreshing without being too heavy.  I do have to give them thumbs up for including "asian" inspired toppings like mochi, tapioca, etc, which I don't think other places offer.

When the hell did this place open up? I don't remember seeing this before, but then again, I haven't been to this mall in a while. This stores is great, but kinda cramped on the aisles, especially in the magazines racks. I like the way the erotica section is right next to the philosophy section. So it looks like I'm trying to expand my thinking, when I'm really trying to get off my other head.

Some of the best kitfo I've had. Be a fraking man and order it raw like I did!  It was good and so was the lentil stew and chopped greens it came with.  Injera wasn't as sour as I've had at other places but it was still good. And service was very friendly.  It's kinda dark in there but I like the way they hang those carpets up on the ceiling.