Not all fine dining requires pre or post-eating.

May 12th 2009 commemorates the third year of when the Tsu-man and I took the leap to DINK-dom. Every year, we have made it a tradition to have the Omakase dinner at Tojo's on Broadway as part of our celebration. Every year, the chef never fails to impress. Going to Tojo's means braving not knowing what you're having for dinner and not knowing how much you're going to pay for afterwards. The ultimate thrill, which we keep getting told is illegal in North America, would be to dine on fugu, aka the poisonous blowfish. Then dinner would really mean braving not knowing if you will leave alive or in a body bag.

Last night's degustation didn't disappoint at all.

1. Tako sashimi - In a creamy soy, garlic, ginger-like sauce. When asked, all Chef Tojo would say is that it wasn't something you could get at the Safeway aisle!
2. Shiitake mushrooms and sugar snap peas in broth - Softest shiitakes ever.
3. Baked sea urchin - Better than any bisque I'd ever had. And it had scallops to boot!
4. King crab hand roll - The Tsu-man and I are still trying to figure out what the crunch at the end was.
5. Crab, scallop, salmon, and sweet shrimp rolled in an egg crepe - All the fabulous fish, none of the rice.
6. Red snapper nigiri - Chef Tojo said, it is prized for the crunch factor. This was my least favorite. Probably because the crunch almost caused me to choke.
7. Toro nigiri - I have always been a fan of the fatty tuna. I think the Tsu-man finally had a toro epiphany last night.
8. Red snapper cheek stuffed with vegetables -Red snapper redeemed. It is fantastic cooked. Perhaps I may need more chewing practice to eat it raw.
9. Baked, smoked sablefish in broth - This dish was particularly outstanding. I will be asking for it everytime we go to Tojo's.
10. Barbecued eel and cucumber inside-out, topped with strips of tuna, salmon, spinach and egg
11. Green tea creme brulee with a sesame crisp - This has sent me into experimentation mode. How do you infuse a creme brulee with green tea?!

We definitely left full and happy. And I didn't even think about how that meal could have gotten me a pair of Manolos!

The Sippy Cup Incident

JJ and Kristen are two of my favorite females not related to me. We're always up for a good time. We all like our drink, be it a good malbec or a stiff vodka or rum based cocktail. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) Kristen now lives 80 miles south in the Emerald City. So when JJ and I can get our schedules synchronized between dog duty and being out of town, we make sure to make the most of it.

Our last weekend together started out with a trip to Ikea, a sure sign that we've grown domesticated over the last three years. A frozen yogurt, Swedish meatballs and a few hundred dollars later, we decided it was time to find a happy hour. (What? It was 3:30pm!)
Our first stop, Joey's in Southcenter. It was surprisingly nice, considering it is still a mall restaurant chain despite being marketed for the higher end crowd what with all the West Elm furniture. My come to mama moment? They had Hangar One vodka. Note: my moment lasted all but a moment. They just ran out of the Mandarin Blossom flavor. So my taste buds said goodbye to their hankering for a mandarin press and instead got the usual vodka and tonic. To give credit where credit is due though, it did go great with the Ahi tuna club.

In between bites of fabulous seared tuna, Kristen suggested we check out her favorite watering hole in the Fremont area. So post lunch and post-haste, off we went to Tost. Tost is where you go for a stiff drink and a $5 pizza. As I watched the bartender make my drink, I noticed he poured vodka until 3/4 of my highball glass was full. Then he added a few ice cubes and topped it off with a teeny, tiny splash of white grapefruit juice. Oh, this lush was happy. Six stiff ones and a tequila shot later, JJ and I decided we highly approved of Kristen's new boyfriend.

We left Tost for a pit stop at Kristen's before heading to the movie theater. We just had enough time to open 2 bottles of wine and pack 3 sippy cups into the giant purses we brought along for this specific purpose before the cab arrived. JJ already had the candy in hers. (Can you say premeditated?)

In keeping with the estrogen filled theme of the weekend, we chose to watch a 10pm showing of He's Just Not That Into You. The candy, wine and sippy cups came out as soon as we were seated. Apparently, the noise of the clinking bottles and plastic containers were enough to send the people around us off to find different seats. Or it could have been the loud giggling (damn you estrogen!) because a deep voice behind us gave a very stern warning that we would get kicked out if we didn't pipe down. JJ, always good for a fight, told him to get lost. I shushed her and apologized profusely but turned right back around and giggled even louder.

The rest of the movie ended up being a blur because the next thing I knew, JJ's sippy cup had turned into a puke cup. She was bent to one side emptying her stomach contents into what used to be her wine glass. I look over at Kristen and she had fallen asleep. I nudge her awake to let her know we were at code red. So off the three drunk girls went in search of the bathroom. We get there and JJ realizes she's lost her phone. Kristen had hers out to call a cab. She then decided she would call JJ's phone and I agreed to go back in the theater to look for it. It wasn't hard to find because it was lit and unsilenced. I head toward it but not before slipping on what felt like slimy yet chunky, viscous fluid. Leave it to me to end up on all fours in a movie theater! I grab the offending phone and run out of the theater, not bothering to check the state of my jeans.

Needless to say, we got out of there with our friendships, giant purses (I wasn't sacrificing a Kate Spade that night), phones and criminal records intact. My jeans, pride and knees on the other hand.. oh well, they can always do with some slight bruising.

Happy Hour and then some

The Temple Bar's version of bathroom reading.

Kegel Schmegel... This was all the sign I needed to stop in mid-stream!