Oh my it's been a few days. I should fill you in on my latest shenanigans! This weekend, my father drove all the way to Pittsburgh to visit me, and we had a grand ole time. One of the adventures included the purchase of a new camera, which I have used to document our various adventures. This one I especially want to share with you, because it was a trip to one of the best restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of dining at.
"Umi"means sea in Japanese, and it is from this meaning that the fare of this restaurant is derived from. Located on Ellsworth Ave, practically in Bloomfield, Umi is a part of the "shi-shi" scene that Ellsworth is working towards.
You could dine at Umi for traditional Japanese dishes, but that would make you a punk. Even the waiter judged me for ordering california rolls because at Umi, sashimi is king. And I know what you're thinking, because yes, I thought that too. Sashimi is the rawest of raw. It is sushi without all the fluff of rice and vegetables, really its just raw fish. But this isn't the sashimi your gay uncle wanted you to try at that weird wished-it-was-a-fusion-restaurant-but-fell-short-Chinese place out in Moon, this is ART.
I have never been a fan of sashimi and never dreamed I would eat something that had been alive not very long ago, and was completely uncooked but the food at Umi is completely magnificent. It made a believer out of me.
The sushi chef at Umi prepares each dish with its own set of special sauces, paring flavors together that blow the old soy sauce standard out of the water. I had slices of yellowtail with a jalapeno on top, a Spanish mackerel stuck with a big ol' piece of garlic, and a tempura that had a delicious tangy sauce that I couldn't even begin to describe.
We ordered, as suggested by our waiter, mostly off the Specials menu and this was one of the better decisions in my life. The Rock Shrimp Tempura was one of the more brilliant dishes, but don't get me wrong everything was fabulous. It just happens we ended up ordering an extra plate of the Tempura.
My companions also ended up ordering some stuff a la carte, which also was incredibly delicious.
I actually didn't get too many photos of the food, because it disappeared almost as quickly as it came!
There are some things to know before you go however. Make reservations, especially if you're going later in the evening. We got there around 7 and the place was emptier, but by the time we left it was filling up rapidly.
It is also very pricey. Not exactly the budget of a college student. Or most people.
One last thing, it's not so handicapped friendly. The door is creepy and there are two very dark, very narrow flights of stairs leading to the actual restaurant. Don't be alarmed, but it took almost all of my courage to continue up.
The bottom line is that this place is simply superb, and my dad rated it as the best sushi house he's enjoyed in the United States. Now that's something to write home about.
Remember my last post about the shopping I did at Anthropologie? Well on that trip I had also picked up some Lollia Handcreme, and loved it so much I wanted to save it for it's own post. (You may note that the website has photos that are a whole lot better than mine...)
To be honest, one of the main sells of this particular "Handcreme" was the packaging - yes, it is a very high quality lotion, and yes all the smells are awesome, but here are my facts: There was a scent I preferred more. However, I had just bought that one in a Victoria's Secret incarnation, and this box/tube was way more gorgeous. Love. It. Good work Lollia, who I had never heard of until now.
On top of that, it's an excellent product. I'm at a stage in my life where I'm moving beyond "Bath and Bodyworks" and this is definitely a much higher quality replacement.
