ebisu

motivation: showing off san francisco sushi to lovers/hotties, the two p's. coincidentally, they're boyfriends and they have the same name and we were thrilled to be hosting them from their hometown (and pinky's alma mater) of montreal.

despite our call ahead of time to get on the list (ebisu doesn't take reservations) we still had to wait HOURS to eat. i know it was that long because i almost passed out from hunger. and no, i'm not being overly dramatic. now the drag queen sitting at the table next to me, SHE was overly dramatic. flamboyant and loud stories about a bad date she'd had the night before kept us all entertained. when we did finally get seated, the wait staff was quick with appetizers and sake which helped, after all my complaining, to appease me rather easily. pinky's sensibilities were not however, as he was offended not only by the hideous tabletops but by the thrashed bathrooms as well. of course this too was forgiven when the sushi arrived.

quality: the aji melted in my mouth, the kanpyo was the sweetest and softest ever, and the caterpillar roll super-rich. the 49er roll was gorgeous though the uneven cuts had us fighting for fair pieces (did i mention how hungry we were?). pinky declared it all "sushi so soft you can eat it with your dentures out", which is our homage to our geriatric readers. the p's had a taste for the spicy scallops and described how la langue est en feu et tu transpire des temps. apparently that's a good thing. we were suspicious that the sushi rice had some extra sugar in it or something because a lot of the rolls tasted like candy. and they looked like it too. i loves me some cherry blossom roll and i always eat the orchid!

decent prices make this a favorite in the san francisco guide books. and that also explains all the other languages we heard spoken there. their sushi ranges from $3.50 to about $7, with a big specials board list that'll cost you a bit more. but when they get something fresh coming in, it's highly recommended. we had some toro that night that i even ordered an extra round of.

belly: relatively full. those montreal boys made short shrift of the rolls and, being the good hostess that i am, i let them. so i could have eaten more and i probably will the next time i'm there.

the flirtability was also worth mentioning. the sushi chefs chat everyone up and occasionally yell (like when you buy them a beer). the wait staff are working pretty hard but towards the end of the evening they'll slow down a bit and linger with a smile. the clientele ranges from marina-chicks-as-trophy-girlfriends to dressy queens and locals with babies. not to mention the internationals wearing shorts and t-shirts. they tend to keep to themselves but as the p's are rather gregarious (and hot), we were able to engage a few tables in fun chit-chat. the smooth jazz music background did not help much though.

last note: p1 did want me to point out that he has had better green tea ice cream elsewhere. the bitch did not tell me where, however, so i'll have to keep eating japanese food all over the world until i find it.

itadakimasu!