I'd been looking forward all week to what I hoped would end up being a lonely--oh, I mean, lovely--Saturday night of fancy sushi and wine. I really love fancy sushi, and what I mean by that is sushi that is not from a refrigerated case in Dominick's or from Todai, but rather a more refined establishment that requires a paper transaction of what you mean to order.
I had been to Wakamono one time before with my roommates Abby and Meghan, and good Lord, people. It was delicious. Expensive, yes, but definitely worth it.
Now, keep in mind I ordered take out, and in hindsight I should have at least put it on a plate for photogenic reasons, but that's why it's called hindsight.
On the left is the yo la mango roll with mango wrapped spicy salmon, grilled asparagus, tamago, cucumber, tempura crumbs, and shichimi pepper flakes. That sounded good to me, but it ultimately was just a bit too sweet. The mango also gave it a bit of a slimy quality, and since the asparagus is grilled, there was no crunch or bite factor in the roll, which made it just a bit too soft and, in the end, monotone for my taste. Also, I'm assuming that yellow goo on top is tamago, and let's add that to the list of things I think don't belong on/in sushi rolls along with cream cheese.
That lovely roll on the right is the classic maki roll I ordered, white tuna jalapeno maki. It was good, but I also think it'd be pretty hard to go wrong with just tuna and diced jalapeno. On a sidenote, I wanted it spicier, so I added a giant gob of wasabi. I'm pretty sure everyone has a wasabi story, so I won't bore anyone with details, but I really thought my nose was going to explode for about 45 seconds.
Since my carry out experience with Wakamono didn't exactly live up to what I was expecting, I at least want to mention what I thought were absolutely stellar rolls from when Abby, Meg, and I went before. I had the fire dragon roll: spicy tuna wrapped with freshwater eel, avocado, topped with red tobiko, and unagi sauce. I wish I had thought of this blog (yes, it was ME) three months ago because a picture is warranted for that roll. It looked awesome. Like a real dragon, you guys! Meg had the maki mexicano, which is yellowtail, cilantro, jalapeno, spicy sauce, avocado, and lime. It was good and I thought it was really unique, but I have no idea how that girl ate the whole plate because that spicy sauce was just slightly bearable for me. Abby had what I wish I had gotten this past time because I consider it the best roll I've tried there: kani chung roll. That's king crab, tempura crumbs over spicy albacore tuna, asparagus, unagi sauce, and toasted sesame. Maybe I just really like tempura crumbs, because that and the red pepper flakes were the highlights of the mango roll for me.
I did think it noteworthy to mention the adorable mini soy sauce bottle I got too. I love things in novelty size!
Also noteworthy (possibly only funny to Drew and me): I didn't want to go through the hassle of spelling my first or last name to the person over the phone, so I placed the order under "Morgan." Then the host didn't want to give me my food because (shock of shocks) my name's not Morgan! That was remedied though when I said, "umm, that's my boyfriend's name." Does it really make a difference? Tell me, Wakamono host, who also sarcastically told me not to break the wine bottles the time before, does it matter what name the order is under?
That reminds me, though, the place is BYOB with only a $5 corking fee per bottle, which I think is awesome. It's definitely a place I would consider only going to sit-down in the future, not only because I guess fancy sushi belongs in a fancy setting and not my living room while I'm watching House Hunters International and trying to place a roommate ad on craigslist, but also because just the way they present the food on the plate when you're actually there is great in and of itself.
FIN
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