Forking Tasty

More Pretty Fish

You never get to play with your sushi in the restaurant so I thought I’d have a little fun at my coffee table in between some Travel Channel show about the Grand Canyon. Keeping with the pescatarian diet, I only ate chicken twice yesterday. Really this post is about the pretty picture of a bunch of stacked sushi. Happy low-calorie, fish-instead-of-cow, double gym Weekend.

It Was Great…Until The Cops Came

Shanghai is a really REALLY big city. Over 20 million people live here. Some how we managed to find this really small area that has lots of restaurants and cafes. The area is really tight, like ally ways making up a maze. We went to a little sushi restaurant up stairs called Akurah and sat out on a balcony. It was about 10pm and there was hardly anyone around. We ordered a lot of sushi, sashimi and chicken curry. We were having a good time laughing and trying to communicate with the staff until the cops came…

Biggest Sushi Roll EVER!

Giant Sushi Roll in Kobe Japan from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Kobe Japan was an embarkation day for me on the ship, which means I work right in the middle of the day. We were fortunate to be leaving late enough for me to slip out and grab some dinner. I was on the hunt for some Japanese food. I took the train to the first main stop, got off, and looked for the first restaurant. That was not the easiest thing. However, after walking through a couple ally’s and a building I passed by this little hidden shop called Yawara that had a plastic display of their food outside. My eye was caught on this giant sushi roll. I had to go in and find out more….

Sake Before Sushi

Sushi in Otaru, Japan from Anthony Anello on Vimeo.

Day 2 in Japan brought me to Otaru. We walked around town all day checking out the local markets and shops. We walked a little out of town and made it to a sake brewery. We tried 4 different types of Sake, all cold. We tried to ask for some hot sake but she just kept smiling and bowing at us. It was funny. The sake was not as strong as I was used to. Seemed a little watered down but maybe that is how sake is supposed to taste. We walked around and saw all the brewing tanks and what was used to make the sake. It was fun. We walked away with a couple bottles to bring back to the ship. All that drinking and walking worked up our appetites.

P.I.E. WITH The Rocamboli’s

A giant round of take out sushi at the Rocamboli’s transitioned my “week” into my “weekend”. Avid readers of this blog know this division is more theoretical than tangible. None the less, I would celebrate this unrecognizable event with a trip out to Dave and Enid’s in Jersey City. Usually the three of us find ourselves with a delicious plate of cuban food in front of us. This time we switched it up with miles of sushi anchored by the staple Godzilla role.

Dave is a doctor working out in western Jersey but hails from “the island”. Dave and I shared tons of those awkward, right-of-passage moments in college and therefore never run out of fodder while pumping sushi rolls into our mouths. Such topics as the roach apartment, the robbery and the hole in the roof always seem to make their way into conversation. Enid is his lovely and astute wife who is currently on hiatus from fashion buying since little Lucas came along a few months ago. (We’ll get to Lucas in a second). Only for context would I ever explain “E” as Dave’s wife. If anything Dave is more “her husband”. Simply, Enid is my friend just as much as Dave. Having had our own bonding moments over the years, we always revel discussing topics that Dave would rather pace in front of the TV for than participate in. Having not seen them in a while due to their new addition and my travel schedule we had a great night of catch up covering a myriad of topics and laughing a ton. Just the way it should be. Of course the evening was interspersed and augmented by outbursts from one of my newest friends, Lucas. This little guy is adorable and happy as a clam. His giant open mouth smile kept Uncle J. entranced for a good hour upon arrival. As dinner progressed Lucas was right there with us until his fake keys, laughter and squirm parties got the best of him. Like a light switch at 9pm his eyes shut and his head rolled into his right shoulder. Lucas had left the building. ZZZZZZZ. More laughter and brownie sundaes capped off the evening before Dave decided to attempt a 2 river/2 tunnel drop off in Brooklyn that I must say, was as easy as he had planned it to be. Thanks for the sushi, the laughs and the ride home. Next time it’s my side of the rivers and my treat.

What we ate
Godzilla roll/spider roll/spicy tuna roll
Tuna and salmon sashimi
edemame
homemade brownie sundaes/cafe con leche

What is this P.I.E. WITH Series?

Lets iron out the situation

My favorite place to eat sushi in Manhattan just happens to be across the street from my apartment. Iron sushi is a staple in my book when it comes to eating in New York. First off, there is Denise, who will great you when you come in but if your lucky you may be singing his own form of karaoke with you at dinner. You will have to go and find out what I mean.