So, I moderate the responses to my blog because sometimes people write things that are just plain dumb. Someone posted on my most recent post - describing my situation in Israel - that I should "quit whining and get a life". Hmm, I just wish the person who wrote that would have the eggs to identify themselves. Saying something like that under the veil of anonymity is so cowardly, I would have had tremendous respect for the person with that very same comment who at least owned up to it.
Moving on...
Slightly Mad tagged me the other day and so I wanted to take this time to respond to the tag. Unfortunately, I don't really know any of the other blogs I read, so I can't pay the tag forward and so the buck's gonna stop here. Anyway, the tag is to list out the five favorite places I like to it in my location. But, since I shuttle back and forth between New York, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, I'm going to list my 5 favorite sushi restaurants.
1) Sushi Samba 7 - By far my favorite sushi restaurant in Manhattan. Located on 7th Avenue South right below Christopher Street (convenient to the 1,9 trains), I started going here way before Samantha had a date at this locale on one infamous Sex and the City episode. It's all in the spicyness of the sushi, and put a jalapeno with my spicy tuna roll and I'm in heaven. Couple my sushi with the Emerald Forest drink - which is loaded with rum and is green people - and it's a fantastic night out at a botte in Gotham. In the summer, the restaurant is packed with people who like to be seen and people to see. Book reservations way in advance and try to get a table on the roof deck, it's worth it.
2) Choshi - This little known sushi restaurant on Irving Street, across the way from Friends of a Farmer (a well known brunch place that is absolutely packed on Sundays in the summer), I am always shocked at how consistently good the sushi is. Freshness if key, and every time I went for a pre-drinks dinner at the corner shop, I was impressed with the sushi quality. Also, their sake collection is vast and, if you like cold sake, they have some incredible plum flavored brands that are perfect with edemame and an avocado/tuna roll.
3) Yoko Ono - Located near the Bursa, this is by far my favorite restaurant in Tel Aviv! Forget the fact that Buggy and I had our second date here, the sushi is terrific, the prices are reasonable and the ambiance is great. It's a perfect romantic spot for an intimate dinner, and also casual enough for an evening with the girls. The wait staff is really friendly, and the wait is practically non-existent. I highly recommend their sorbet for dessert too, because there is nothing better than washing down some great sushi with a nice passionfruit sorbet.
4) Sushi Running - Ok, ok, technically this is not in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or New York but the Herziliya sushi restaurant was surprisingly good! Located away from the hotel strip, these restaurant features the conveyer belt bar, where the sushi chefs put out plates of varied sushis for patrons to grab at will. This is a lot of fun if you're in the mood to play "guess what we're eating". But, if you want something a bit more formal, there is both an outdoor and indoor eating area. The menu was vast and they had some interesting appetitzers. I personally love sushi that comes with some tempura, but did not find that on their menu. Nevertheless, I was able to mix and match and basically create my own inside out roll, which was great!
5) Yama - Back down on Irving in Manhattan, Yama is the restaurant where the food really does live up to the reputation. Located off the beaten path, you have to really look for the sign of you might walk right past it, the cramped quarters gives way to an intimate dinner atmosphere where people are gorging themselves on sushi and sashimi. The sushi here had such smooth rice that it almost dripped down my throat like liquid, which was a pretty incredible sensation. Since the down-downtown Yama tends to get overcrowded, with lines out the door, I recommend skipping the sceney spot for this locale, where the sushi is just as good if not better.
Today was Yom Yerushalayim and somehow, Buggy and I ended up in Jerusalem not once but twice! I have never seen the flag parade before, although I think I did participate in it during my year in Israel. I don't remember much from 1995 - it was a while ago - but I do remember marching with friends from the Tachanah down towards the Old City, through the Arab shuk and to the Kotel with hundreds and hundreds of people. It was such an amazing experience, I wish I could remember more of it. Anyway, Buggy and I made it through the thousands of high school students gathering at Gan Saccer with their flags and back to his folks house to get ready for tonight's party. We had a family function in Beit Shemesh that we had to get ready for, and it was nice and wet. Apparently, it poured in Jerusalem for a few hours. They even reported some spots of hail in the area! Buggy and I had a gorgeous, sunny day in Tel Aviv. Sadly, his car is still covered in the dust from the dust storm and the woman at the gas station remarked that his car looked terrible. Meanwhile, everyone else driving around in Jerusalem looked like they just had their cars washed at the car wash. I promised Buggy we'd go to the mall to get his car washed.
The drive to Beit Shemesh was nice and quick and we were only 45 minutes late to the party. Then I did something stupid, Buggy got mad, we had words, and I apologized. I then spent the rest of the evening feeling bad about what I did, and so I offered to drive back to Jerusalem with Buggy so we could discuss and work things out. He dropped me off at the Central Bus Station around 10:15 and I was soon batteling a throng of pre-and-post-peubescent kids trying to make it back to Tel Aviv. At one point on the crowded bus (the kids were sitting in the aisles that's how crowded the bus was!), I felt like this crotchety old man who had no patience for the chattering and singing of these little kids. I don't know how that happened, I used to have so much patience. I really need to work on that.
Anyway, tomorrow will be back to the government with the rest of my Aliyah issues. I'm saving the fight with Maccabi though until Buggy can come with me. I want to make sure someone who is fluent in Hebrew is on my side during what is bound to be a hell of a fight.
Layla Tov and Chag Sameach!
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