Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Secret sushi
Our friends Michael & Susan had been raving about this Japanese restaurant they'd been frequenting. Oh, I remarked, maybe we can all go there sometime. They proceeded to inform me that would not be possible, as this restaurant refuses to seat parties larger than three.

That made no sense to me. Don't most eateries want to maximize the number of patrons they serve? Several times, I've had to seek out restaurants that will seat a party of 10-15 people, and I understand perfectly why a lot of them aren't equipped to do that. But four? I had a vague memory from my Japanese-language classes that the word for "four" sounds like the word for "death," so it's considered extremely bad form to give a Japanese person a set of four objects. Still, forbidding parties of four seemed to be taking that to an extreme.

I went on Yelp.com and searched for the restaurant. It got rapturous reviews: "This is the best sushi outside of Japan"... "this place is phenonemal"... "Simply incredible!" OK, I had to check it out. To avoid the dreaded party-of-four, Joe stayed behind. I felt a little bad about that but I figured he and I could go back someday.

The restaurant is conveniently located a 15-minute walk away from my house; you go through an inconspicuous door between a nail salon and an upscale card & gift shop, and up a steep flight of stairs. Once inside, the place turned out to be about the size of our guest bedroom. There's a sushi bar with eight seats and two tiny round tables with two chairs apiece. We arrived at 5:15 and were the first customers. (No reservations are accepted.) Instead of barging into the restaurant, the protocol seems to be that you sit down on the chairs in the tiny lobby and wait to be acknowledged. It didn't take long. The chef and his wife, the sole employees, seemed unfazed by our party of three, luckily (some Yelpers have claimed they've only been able to get service as a party of two; maybe our early arrival helped. Plus I would guess that if you tried moving a chair to create a table for three, you'd be in a world of trouble).

It was great fun to watch all the food being made in front of us; the chef has a tiny toaster oven, several plastic containers of vegetables and garnishes, and, of course, lots and lots of fish in a glass case. Everything was exquisitely fresh. We ordered omakase, which means the chef just makes whatever he feels like making and serves it to you. After a short while, a young couple came in, followed a few minutes later by a single guy, who amused us gaijin by ordering a natto hand roll. (Luckily, the chef didn't include anything natto-based in our omakase.)

At one point, two middle-aged women came in. One of them was disabled and using those short crutches that Jimmy on "South Park" has. The women were welcomed until it became clear that they would soon be joined by -- two other people! The female proprietor, the "bad cop" in the husband-wife duo, politely but firmly informed them that would not be acceptable. "What if we sit at separate tables?" one of the women asked. Ha! You think you can get around the rules that way? Nope. I suppose it's theoretically possible that your party of four could get in if you came two by two at least 15 minutes apart, and pretended you had "just happened" to run into each other. But these folks were obviously not acquainted with the rules (which are posted on a small sign by the door), and were shown to the exit. The disabled woman moaned loudly about having to walk all the way back downstairs (there's no elevator). Shortly thereafter, the natto eater was kicked out when he took a call on his cell phone (he was allowed back in, though, once he was off the phone).

Apparently the other big rule, which I did not see demonstrated, is that no children are allowed. You should probably have at least a learner's permit before you set foot inside the place.

The Soup Nazi episode of "Seinfeld" proved that the harder something is to get, the more some people want it; part of the mystique of the French Laundry, after all, is that it's virtually impossible to get a reservation. Some people would no doubt prefer not to worry about a list of rules (some spoken, some not) when they go out to eat; they just want to kick back and unwind. If you're looking for something more, an experience that is about as far as you can get from the usual mass-produced, cookie-cutter cuisine most places serve these days, sometimes you have to be willing to wait, not bring too many friends, turn your cell phone off and leave the kids at home.
posted by 125records @ 4:35 PM  
9 Comments:
  • At 1:59 PM, Anonymous James said…

    I know this sounds icy cold, but I wish more places would turn away children. I love kids, but there are some environments in which they do not belong. A sushi restaurant would certainly be one (show me a kid who loves sushi). A movie theater full of adults is another. At last night's screening of NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS, a family came in with a howling 2-year-old who obviously had not had her nap that day. "This'll be GREAT!" the guy next to me groaned as they sat down. Sure enough, 10 minutes into the movie the toddler was drowning out even the loudest sound effects and people began grumbling. After a few more minutes, the mom took the child out to the lobby -- thank you -- but that was small compensation for having to put up with a needless distraction (and I'm sure the little girl was inconvenienced as well). I couldn't care less how much babysitters cost. If you can't afford one, you can't afford to go out -- period. If it's after 6 p.m. a 2-year-old should be at home, winding down, not gearing up for a night on the town.

     
  • At 2:08 PM, Blogger 125records said…

    I agree for the most part, but I have seen many extremely well behaved kids in nice restaurants like Rivoli in Berkeley. I like to think that most parents wouldn't take their child to an upscale place unless they're sure the kid won't embarrass them... that's what Pasta Pomodoro and Applebee's are for.

    As for movies, I agree, 2 is probably too young to see ANY film unless it's Baby Brigade night.

     
  • At 4:58 PM, Anonymous James said…

    Baby Brigade Night sounds like exactly the ticket for families like the one I ran into last night. By the way, did I tell you about the noble clan that sat a few rows in front of me at the screening of SUPERBAD? They had three kids (the oldest looked about 8) and when the movie got underway with a lively discussion of porn production values, my friend's wife said, "I bet they'll be getting out of here shortly!" She couldn't have been more wrong: Their plump derrieres did not rise from the seats until midway through the end credits.

     
  • At 5:02 PM, Anonymous James said…

    Oh, by the way, guess what I got in the mail today: an Academy "For Your Consideration" screener of THE GOLDEN COMPASS. As soon as I can wrangle a few temperamental babies to come over, I look forward to putting it on!

     
  • At 10:50 PM, Blogger 2fs said…

    So the place seats, in total, about 12 people. So WTF's the problem if one party of 2 knows another party of 2 and, if the seats are available, joins them at the sushi bar? What, they're going to kick out the second couple for knowing the first couple?

    I despise places that act like a goddamned secret club, that you need the secret handshake to get into, or that you need to know exactly how to order the right things in the right combinations, etc. (Of course, that means I don't want to go to such places...which is probably fine with them, since they wouldn't want me there either.)

    Extra bonus asshole points for turning away a disabled woman, too.

     
  • At 4:21 AM, Blogger yellojkt said…

    Babbo in NY has a no parties bigger than six rule and the internet has stories of people trying to find clever ways around it. It sure seems like a silly rule.

     
  • At 11:09 AM, Anonymous Michael said…

    Alright, as one of those who started all this by raving about the sushi bar in question, I feel obligated to defend the proprietors.

    I am not a fan of "places that act like a goddamned secret club" either. I realize the rules at this establishment seem odd (we thought they were odd, too), but they are not in place to create some kind of mystique of exclusivity or hipness. Far from being precocious or pretentious, I would describe the place and its proprietors as quite down-to-earth. The chef always wears jeans. People trying sushi for the first time are welcomed as warmly as the seasoned connoisseurs. The proprietors are eager to help the customers enjoy and learn more about Japanese food (and even a little language, history, culture, and geography, for those who are interested), without dishing up any attitude.

    However, there is no getting around the fact that it is just the two of them running the entire restaurant, and thanks to their word-of-mouth reputation, they already have all the business they can handle. They have no desire to expand, so the rules are designed to keep everything manageable within the current constraints and still provide the best experience for those who are willing and able to comply with the rules.

    The problem with larger parties is not the available number of seats but rather the timing. If everyone arrives at once, they all order at once, even if they are not sitting together. The "party of three" rule produces staggered arrivals, which keeps the chef and his wife (in addition to waiting tables, she prepares appetizers, restocks the sushi bar, and handles dishes in the back room) from getting overwhelmed.

    As for the woman with crutches who climbed the stairs for nothing, it's worth pointing out that there is a sign at the bottom of the stairs. I suppose the proprietors could have made an exception for her and her party, "just this once," but then were does one draw the line? People get upset enough about the rule as it is, so I can't imagine how ugly things would get if it were selectively and arbitrarily enforced.

    The rest of the rules are much easier to understand. Handling reservations for such a small place run by only two people would hardly be worth the logistical hassle. The "no takeout" rule also keeps the proprietors from being overwhelmed with preparing large orders on short notice; besides, this place is all about quality, and sushi is best enjoyed immediately after preparation. As far as I'm concerned, the "no cell phones" rule is essential to enjoying a fine meal in peace.

    The issue of children is a touchy one, and it's worth pointing out that it's not a hard-and-fast rule. The restaurant does not have any high chairs or booster seats, so if a child cannot sit on a high barstool by him- or herself, the parents are politely turned away. I don't think there would be a problem with a well-behaved older child, except that the menu does not offer any "child-friendly alternatives." Unless your child loves sushi, this is not the place for a family outing.

     
  • At 5:47 PM, Blogger Janet ID said…

    James: My eight-year-old loves sushi. Well, veggie rolls, but the point is, I'd take him to this place. Just him and me. But you're already mad at me because my husband and I attended The Straight Story at the cinema with this child when he was 3 months old. He slept through the movie. Granted, we were lucky - that was our plan, and I hope I'm honest in saying we'd have left if he were awake and fussing.

    And while I'm discussing movies Sue discussed two entries ago, we just took in Enchanted with the kids and some friends today. I found it utterly charming, an undeniably deserved self-celebration by the Big D. I laughed, cried, and renewed my marriage vows during the big Central Park number. But - what is it with the rats-as-domestic-wizards meme? First cooking, now cleaning and couture. It's weird. And there should have been a content warning before the shot of the bathtub drain in the scene about which I'm ranting.

     
  • At 9:10 PM, Anonymous James said…

    Janet, at least THE STRAIGHT STORY was rated G (really!) and didn't involve any of the loud pyrotechnics and shouting that drive youngsters absolutely up the wall. When my niece Megan was little she used to complain that the music in POCAHONTAS and other Disney movies was "too loud"; I would never have dreamed of taking her to a Jerry Bruckheimer extravaganza! By the way, my sister was also disgusted by the "Happy Working Song" number (as well as the rats doing kitchen duty in RATATOUILLE); my three nieces were convulsed with laughter. I have to say when I was scrubbing my own bathroom a couple of weeks ago I found myself wishing some friendly rats, pigeons and cockroaches would drop by to help out. I tried singing a lovely aria in my best Broadway voice, but the local vermin refused to help out. Sad to say ENCHANTED is nothing but fantasy!

     
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