sushi zone

nb: google says 1815 market st, but it's actually located on pearl.

motivation: dinner out with "edgy author" s, at his favorite sushi place within a mile radius of his apartment. plus it was my treat, after he'd had me over for dinner on several occasions, and stocked me with reading materials for months to come.

quality: decent. the fish was good, the slices generous, and the menu imaginative. sushi purists will likely be turned off by the creative use of mango, mayo, and macadamia nuts but the server was quite willing to accommodate my pickiness and they customized a few rolls just for moi. as i was still battling the rare nomnom cold, we declined alcohol and just ate until we were full, which didn't take long with a seaweed salad, hawaiian #2, hamachi and saba nigiri, spider roll, ikura, and something-else-that-was-good-and-i-forgot. plus there was a crowd gathering around the famous mr. s.e. and we had to leave before the paparazzi showed up. just kidding. the place is tiny, it gets crowded, and you're gonna wait: for a table, for your food, for a clean glass. maybe 15-20 people can fit at a time, and there's only one sushi chef, one dishwasher, one server.

price: excellent. our total was around $40--very reasonable and appropriate, in my book, and manageable for the cash-only limitations.

flirtability: definite potential. s and i were deep in conversation and i really wasn't too tapped in to the crowd, but he described it as gourmet central for the hipsters. and hipsters are hot, what with their leftover olympic torch protest stickers and rolled up pants legs.

i'll definitely be back, pulling an early-bird senior special arrival time on a weekday and bringing my drinking appetite when i'm back on that horse.

itadakimasu!