Sushi

That was a good idea.

K and I have noticed a lot of sushi places in the neighborhood just about the time I suddenly wasn't allowed to try it.  I've tried it once or twice before but was fairly "meh" about it.  So we just made a mental note that once my body didn't belong to the girls anymore (pregnancy or breastfeeding), that's something we should try.

Today was the day.  I'm ready to get out of the house but not ready to face how busy it is out there and how many kids are around this time of year.  We took a guess that not many people bundle up their toddlers for a sushi lunch.  McDonalds, yes, but sushi?  Probably not the first place you think of to take your kids.

And as difficult as it is to cook a meal of some sort right now, I also don't want to spend $30 on a meal that I'm only going to eat a few bites of anyway.  And of course at most restaurants, even quickie places, sitting down to eat is usually at least a 1 hour commitment.

Sushi turned out to be a really good balance.

We sat down in front of the carousel of random foods and told the waitress that we don't know how this works.  She gave us the run down, just grab a plate as it goes by, they are priced according to the color of the plate, the pricing chart is over there, and when you're done, we count up the plates. 

Still had no idea what to try though.  We were assisted by the guy we sat next to, very friendly and perfectly happy to tell us what various things are.  And a waiter was also happy to give us suggestions.  So we give them an idea of our tastes (hate spicy, generally like creamy things, but we're up for trying a few risky items) and the waiter chooses 2 different rolls of cooked seafood with a creamier sauce to get us started.  Each plate had either 2 or 3 bites of food on it, perfect for a couple to try.

We spent the next half hour trying bits of this, bits of that, a little raw here, a little cooked there, with the assistance of the guy next to us and the waiter.  The results varied from "meh" to "that's pretty good".  But nothing fell below "meh" so I'd call it a pretty successful meal.

By the end, we'd each had about 6 or 7 significant bites of food.  Real food for a change instead of cookies and ho-hos.  And even eating only that little bit, I feel like I've actually eaten for a change.

So if you're in my situation, you know you need to eat but don't really want to, can only stomach a few bites at a time and you're sick of filling the fridge with leftovers, give the local sushi place a try.  They have tempura if you want something fried, even small bites of cheesecake if you're still in dessert mode, and there's no waiting from the time you're seated to get your food or from the time you're finished and have to wait for the bill.  And what few children were there were a bit older so I'm capable of even smiling at them.  You can walk in, eat 3 bites of actual nutrition, pay your bill and walk back out in 10 minutes if that's all the public face you can muster.  And there's an opportunity to chat with the people around you but no obligation to.  It was also one of the least expensive meals we've gone out for in our lifetimes.  Felt like I actually paid bite by bite rather than paying too much for a plate that I left half the food on.