We've Come a Long Way, Baby

The prospect of running an annoying bureaucratic errand to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder in Van Nuys, going to the bank, eating at a sushi bar with the baby, and fitting into my pre-pregnancy Lucky jeans all in the same day would've seemed nearly impossible merely a few weeks ago. 

Yet on the day of his fifth month birthday, all these things were magically doable.  Just as babies grow by leaps and bounds, parents get satisfaction from our own minor personal milestones, too.  I felt good.

The dumb stuff was done.  Time for lunch.  The wait at the Studio City Sushi Katsu-Ya was hardly quick during the lunch rush.  But by the time we were in the perfect seat at the end of the sushi bar, I had a sleeping baby in the sling and a big appetite at the ready.  And a lot of excitement -- I never thought I'd eat at an actual sushi bar with a child, ever. 

The yellowtail sushi was so soft that it hardly needed to be chewed.  And that crispy rice with spicy tuna specialty is popular for a good reason.  But I had to pick out shells out of the blue crab handroll, happy that I didn't crack a tooth before I caught the bits. 

As great as Katsu-ya is, lunch wasn't paced very well considering I ate at the bar instead of a table, and I felt bad interrupting to make requests or ask questions because the staff is so intensely focused on what they're doing.  On second thought, it was lunch -- they assume people want to get in and out fast. 

I plan to bring this new extra confidence to our treasured little Sushi Ike down the street.  (We've been a few times, but always sat at a table.)  Now I'll have to go for lunch during nap time, and enjoy the more personable , leisurely service at the bar.   

Comments

[marissa]

sign me up for lunch at ike with you. name the day*, name the time. I'll bring you back your ipod.

*except wednesdays.

[erin]

Still haven't made it to Sushi Ike, instead Saito's become our neighborhood go-to. Now that we're leaving LA for NYC (grad school), I'm trying to be ruthless about our dining out so we don't leave wishing we'd only tried x. So--what do you think, does Sushi Ike make the cut??

[Jessica]

I've come to like Ike more than Saito's, but also because it's closer and I'm lazy. If you're choosing between say, Urasawa and Ike, and I wouldn't say Ike is the Must Try. However, if I were to leave L.A., I'd miss it, and my sister who lives in NYC really enjoyed our dinner there. And -- surprise! -- excellent quality sushi in New York is a lot more expensive.

Good luck with the move!! I hope you manage to continue your blog.

[MBT Online]

It's so nice to have you do all of the research for us. It makes our decision making so much easier!! Thanks.

[Cheap Air Max]

Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened.
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[Air Max Style]

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