Tsuguri/SLO 2 (November 19, 2006)

"Where sake flowed like the salmon of Capistrano."

After a little rest from the long drive, we decided that it was time to go to dinner. The lady at the Apple Farm suggested to us an elegant top of the line French cuisine to eat at. The menu looked nice, but I've done French before; though it is delicious cuisine it's quite small, and I just got off of a 4-5 hour road trip. I'm hungry and I want some food. Besides, I had already looked up some restaurants online and had decided on our favorite… Japanese.

I had come across a little restaurant called Tsurugi online and the description for the place was listed as romantic. Now, I love Sushi and I love taking Kellee out for Sushi, but I have never been to a romantic Japanese Restaurant to eat sushi. So this description caught my eye and I decided that I had to give it a go.

I asked the lady at the front counter of The Apple Farm if she had heard of this restaurant and what she thought of Tsurugi. She told me "yes" and that it was good food, but she wasn't really into Japanese, but some of the other girls always go to "another" Japanese restaurant in the area. She showed us the menu and looked pretty elegant and exquisite. I mean how could you go wrong when you have items called "The Sexy Roll"?

So we set out to go to this "other" Japanese restaurant in area. However, when we drove up to the place it was located in a strip mall next to Rite-aid and the inside didn't look that much more exciting than the Magic wok in Chino Hills. After seeing that all the elegance was sucked right out of this place I looked at Kellee and said, "Do you mind if we just go to Tsurugi. I'm not really into this place". She said, "I was hoping you were feeling that way. I really didn't want to eat here either".

So off to Tsurugi it was! The best part about this restaurant was trying to find it. I'm glad that I read some of the comments online about the place or I never would have located it. The address is on the main street, but you have to wonder in back of some creamery and then stroll down a little corridor to find the place.

We walked in and my suspicions were right; the description was dead wrong. There is no such thing as a romantic Japanese restaurant. Most have a lively atmosphere with lots of noise. This wasn't much different than the rest. Yet, it was still a big improvement from its strip mall counterparts.

Rather than sitting at the sushi bar we decided to grab a table; we were trying to make it as romantic as we could, considering the circumstances. Then the local starving-college student trying to make ends meet as a waitress came over to our table. I am not really sure what it is, but there seems to be a lot of sushi waitresses with attitudes these days. It seems like every sushi bar that I have been too, has at least one. At Tsurugi she was that one!

We began to order, and Kellee wanted the Sashimi Salmon (basically just raw salmon meat without all the rice or wasabi). So the young college student perks up and begins to tell us about their sashimi w/ a special sauce drizzled over it. It sounded alright; it fact I thought it sounded pretty yummy. I enjoy all the bells and whistles that come with sushi and rolls; I like my raw fish with sauce, cucumber, rice and so forth. Kellee on the other hand is a purist; just give it to her fresh and raw.

So she tells the Waitress, "No thanks, I just want the Sashimi Salmon". So the young starving college student just glares at Kellee as if to say, "This wasn't a suggestion lady! I am telling you what to order"!

I then proceed to order some rolls, and she then again begins telling me some of their other options. So to appease this young girl and not to set off any sort of bi-polarness I went with a couple of her suggestions. They were alright.

Kellee had ordered Miso soup and the glaring girl brings it out without a spoon. Now, I am not a connoisseur of the Miso soup but I am pretty certain that some type of utensil should be provided. Kellee doesn't want me to make a scene and believes that you are supposed to sip the soup from the bowl. Craziness! So I call the girl over and tell her that I am not aware of the etiquette of Miso soup, so can you please clear this up for us; do you get any kind of utensil? The glaring college student/ waitress now is looking at me flustered as if I have just ruined her whole night.

"No…you just drink it from the bowl. I get irritated when people ask for utensils".

What? I know I might look like it, but this isn't the living version of Beauty the Beast here. Were not living in the middle ages and I should not have to watch my wife slurp green gunk from a bowl. I realize this is Japanese and I should not be surprised when you consider that they use chop sticks. However, this is more to go with the theme and flare of the cuisine, not the practicality. But drinking from a bowl? Are you kidding me?

Anyhow, the Nigori Sake was flowing freely and the food was overall scrumptious. I was spending time with the person I love; so no irritated-glaring college student was going to ruin our night. For the most part it was a good time, but maybe next time I will go with the suggestions of the staff at the hotel I am staying; They're their to help.

So anyhow, we left and walked around the downtown. The College students of SLO must be serious about their studies, because by 9:00pm the place was a ghost town. This would not be the case in Redlands or Riverside. Then again that's the 951 I'm talking about!