Newest Member of the Sushi Club

Chris had to attend Traffic Court this afternoon, so he took the day off with us. We were starving for sushi and decided to visit Nippon Tei, our favorite restaurant. We took along Evie's sushi play set and sushi book to keep her busy before the food came.

Evie has been to Nippon Tei many times before. But she's never had sushi, only mashed rice and avocado. Today we introduced her to this magnificent cuisine, and let me tell you, she is a big fan.

We started out with wakame salad, and Evie didn't hesitate to dig right in. She was determined to use chopsticks, and refused all help we offered. I was amazed at her dexterity. She used one chopstick to scoop up a few strands of seaweed at a time, and managed to slurp them into her mouth. She did allow a spoon for the white rice, which she gobbled up like a starving child. She probably was starving, too, because for every bite of rice that made it to her mouth there was another that fell to the floor.

Then I made a mistake. Our meals came with miso soup and a big, flat spoon with high sides. That kind of spoon should be easy for a baby to use, right? WRONG! She kept tilting the spoon back and the soup dribbled down her hand. And she refused to let me help. The worst part was once she had a taste for the soup, she wanted more. Frustrating, huh? You love the food, but can't get the utensil to work so you can eat it. There was whining and a little crying, and then a lot of crying when I took it away.

I distracted her with the rice again, and it kept her occupied until the sushi came. A LOT of sushi... We are regular patrons at Nippon Tei so the chef sent double of some items, on the house. Double the egg tamago, double the spicy tuna hand rolls, and double the California rolls. We also had vegetable tempura, which added to the gluttony.

Evie loved the egg tamago - she shoveled it into her mouth like nothing I've seen. I swear, her fist was so full of egg that I couldn't believe it fit into her mouth! She ate and ate and ate! She ate egg tamago. She ate avocado roll. She ate green beans and asparagus that she dipped into the sauce that came with the tempura. She couldn't get enough of the tempura sauce! She licked it from the veggies, dipped her chopsticks in, and finally stuck her fingers in it. She even let me feed it to her from the dreaded miso soup spoon!

Chris and I finished eating long before Evie's tummy pooched out and made her stop feasting. Two women a few tables over laughed and said "I hope you know this is a Kodak moment." Yes, yes we do.

P.S. Chris' tickets were dismissed. We only have to pay court costs. He came home and said "I fought the law, and I won!"