Out and About Dining: Haru Broadway

Nothing like killing two birds with one night out. The monthly adventure to a new restaurant and my overdue resolution to try sushi could both be addressed by going to Haru Broadway. As an added bonus, for a veritable trifecta for an evening out, we could bring a friend who happens to be visiting the city. I hear corroborating witnesses are key when trying food for the first time.

It also is smart to bring along someone with a good appetite for sushi, since Conny was only going to help so much. I wanted to sample a variety, and I suspected I wouldn't be eating much quantity. I was right on both counts.

Frankly, I didn't notice much about Haru, since I was mildly anxious about my first sushi encounter. The service was fine, and the decor and lighting are well done. We picked Haru because it looked nice, had a decent write up, and was very convenient for us.

We got a sushi and sashimi platter for two, which to my sushi-virgin eyes seemed like quite a large pile of raw fish. I opted not to worry about identifying anything, and just work my way around the plate. First I tried one of everything without any wasabi in the soy sauce, then I started another round with some wasabi. What I was eating, I have no idea. California rolls, tuna rolls, eel, and something that had roe on it. That's itty bitty fish eggs for you non-sushi folks like I once was.

Mostly I was overwhelmed with the size of the mouthfuls. Sushi isn't something you can have a little bite of. You pretty much are in it for the whole deal. That was the first challenge. Even though I have a pretty big mouth (just ask anyone who knows me) I generally don't fill it full of food, lest my ability to blather on be compromised. Sushi doesn't give me such a demure option. Because of the mass, there's a fair amount of chewing involved. And where there's lots of chewing, there's lots of tasting.

And that's the second challenge: that cool, uncooked fish flavor. It certainly wasn't bad but I'd be lying if I told you anything I had made me want to have more. But I didn't like my first beer either. Or my second. Much like beer, I suspect sushi takes a little getting used to.

So now I can at least say I won't shun or turn away sushi, but I'm not ready to go seeking it out. Yet.

Labels: dining, reviews

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