Sofi had curried halibut cheek with dollop of cilantro aoili today....and she loved it!
We tried out a new restaurant tonight called
Nishino in Seattle. We've been longing for some good sushi ever since we moved here in April and I think we found our new favorite sushi place.
We ordered the
omakase (chef's choice). And hope to try the "Exclusive Omakase" one day (which requires 24-hour's notice.) Not the usual sushi - everything was a bit exotic (and in this sense I mean non-traditional Japanese). Everything was top-grade and fresh, fresh, fresh. From the octopus (so tender) to the tuna (melt in your mouth) to the shrimp dumpling to the oyster and mushroom tempura. Even the unago (freshwater eel) was the best I've eaten. And as I mentioned even Sofi liked it! In addition to the halibut (which looked a lot like chicken), she ate some my shrimp (cooked) which was laid on top of slice of octopus (which I didn't offer her). She even got upset, when Daddy ate up her crab rolled in a thin slice of cucumber
before she got a bite! Luckily, I was able to quiet her quickly (with some crackers) before her pout became a whine.
As for my favorite dish? I'd say it would have to be the curried halibut that Sofi tasted. Not really sushi, but it was darn good!
The "real" sushi was served at the very end: unago, tuna, a roll, and something else I've forgotten. It was a bit anti-climatic, but again the sushi was very fresh. I would have liked to have the sushi earlier - because I think my taste buds were overstimulated by the other dishes. But saving the unago for last (which is on the sweet side of sushi) was the way to go.
Another plus, the restaurant was surprisingly
child-friendly. They had a booster seat waiting for us (we made a 5:30 reservation). They were about 10 other children in the restaurant - a couple were Sofi's age or younger. And it helped that Sofi was soooo good for the duration of the two-hour-meal! Towards the end, she did end up in my lap. She ate a good portion of the dessert: fresh fruit and 3 flavors of mochi (lychee, peach? and coffee). But she was pretty happy.
It helped that I brought along
a few props to distract her: her baby flashlight (the size of a AA battery), 3 sheet of small alphabet stickers and her photo album, her Folkmanis cat puppet, her blue blanket, some crackers, milk. You know, the usual stuff (LOL).
Other departures from our usual sushi experience:
*We sat at a
table instead of at the bar. A bit more comfortable. Also there was more to look at - instead of the window of raw fish that is your only view when sitting at the bar.
*Our waiter
explained exactly what was in each and every dish. It was nice to know what we were eating. Typically, at other sushi places, the sushi chef might be too busy to elaborate or is a little hard to understand.
*
Dessert was included.
*
Set price. At our favorite spot in L.A. (Sushi Sasabune), the price varied depending on what was served.
*It was relatively easy to get
reservations on short notice. (It helped that we eat REALLY early). We hadn't planned a big dinner out this Saturday night. It was kinda spur of the moment when you realize you have nothing you want to eat in your kitchen. So, Jamie found this place on
Zagat's website. High on quality and the lowest-priced of the best-rated.
*And- don't know if it's a good or bad thing - the sushi chefs didn't
yell a greeting to you as you entered and exited the restaurant.
So, if you're in the Seattle area, I HIGHLY
recommend Nishino in Madison Park.
p.s. Nishino also serves non-sushi entrees, but of course we opted for the sushi. And we did order Sofi a small plate of teriyaki chicken ($5 for 2 mini-skewers) and bowl of steamed rice. Along with the bites off our plates, Sofi seemed to be well-fed. Next time, maybe I will try an entree!
