Sushi INSANITY

(Click the image above to see more photos from our sushi outing)

Those of you who live in Sacramento probably already know the phenomenon of Mikuni restaurants. For those of you who do not, it's the Wailing Wall for local sushi-lovers. If you like sushi, you make a regular pilgrimige here to worship at the temple of founder and sushi chef, Taro, who is a local celebrity for his fishy creations.

It just so happens that I recently came-by the information (thanks Farrah!) that the Fair Oaks Mikuni was doing a special, one-day promotion - they were rolling back their prices to 1987 levels on 5 of their most popular menu items!!!

Of course, this was not an opportunity to be missed, so I forwarded the email to every sushi-lover I knew and a few more besides. While many couldn't make it at the last moment, we did manage to pull together a core group of sushi worshippers - my friends Mala and her husband Shomeek, Joy, her husband Jenson, and two year old daughter Noelle (yes, Noelle loves Mikuni too, if not for the sushi then for the Udon noodles and tofu).

While we were missing two of our sushi group - Linh and her husband Yogi -we did have the essential and notorious team of Jenson and Shomeek. These guys, I gotta tell ya, BLOW ME AWAY with how much sushi they can eat between them.

At one lunch date a couple of years ago, they ate so much that they had to ask their wives to pull the plate of rolls over to them so they could reach them with their chopsticks. They were literally too full to lean over the table themselves. And it wasn't pure laziness because minutes earlier they were practically pouncing on every roll that arrived as if it were alive and would run away if they didn't pin it to their plate immediately. I also believe that Jenson ate so much at one meal that he threw up in Joy's car on the way home.

In other words, these guys are not kidding when they eat sushi. Do not get between them and a Spider Roll (unless of course they're toward the end and are having difficulty breathing.)

I arrived at around 4:30pm and was closely followed by Shomeek. At 4:30 there was not a parking space to be found and there were at least fifty people spilling out of the front door waiting for a table. I valeted since driving around waiting for a parking spot to open up is an activity I would gladly give up in exchange for poking myself in the eye with a toothpick. IE: No thank you.

The prospect of eating in the next two hours didn't look good!

We put ourselves down on the list, and despite being kicked-down once because Joy, Jenson and Noelle were still stuck in traffic, we got sat by 5:30-ish. I was very glad of this because Mala was getting hungry and it seemed as though she would let Joy and her clan fend for themselves in exchange for a table NOW.

By the time we were sat, there was a fire truck blocking the path of the main entrances. I later found out this was a result of the local Fire Chief noticing some fire safety hazards as he was munching on a roll himself. (Yes, all the local glitterati were in attendance.)

Meanhile, the front of the restaurant had turned into an impromptu outdoor festival. Everywhere people seemed to be breaking the licensing laws by taking their beer out of the restaurant, drinking them while sitting on the grassy verges and watching their children run rampant along the sidwalk.

Yes, the sushi is THIS GOOD, and for this one night those particular rolls were almost 1/2 price, but this kind of turn-out is usually only reserved for celebrities or royalty. If it wasn't for the fact I was in Sacramento, I would have sworn someone really important was going to show up.

In fact, such a special occasion was this that Mala and Shomeek deposited their baby, Evani, with her Grandmother for the first time ever and enjoyed a baby-free meal, accompanied by a cocktail. Good for them I say, that's what Grandmothers are for!

Anyway, much food and enjoyment was, um, enjoyed and we were out of there by 7pm. Perfect for a school night.