Return to NYC

I know I haven't posted in a while. Thanks to those who checked in on me! All is well, I've simply been on holiday (with limited computer access). Late last night we got back from a week of vacationing and visiting family in Vancouver, and I have decided it is time to move. To Vancouver. Yes it's a beautiful city of friendly Canadians, right on the coast, surrounded by emerald hills and snow-capped peaks, and so on and so on, but the real reason for this abrupt replacement of New York as my favorite North American city can be summed up in five little words: all you can eat sushi.

Okay, maybe that's an overstatement. There are many reasons to fall in love with Vancouver, and I'll share a few in coming posts, but the sushi experience was so life-altering I'm starting with that.

Upon arriving in Vancouver we went straight from the airport to a little Japanese place for lunch. The restaurant looked like nothing special, but it was some of the tastiest sushi I have eaten. There were five of us and for one low (oh so low) price per person we gorged ourselves, ordering whatever struck our fancy, and we actually finished every bite. The fish was so fresh it literally almost melted in my mouth. Our final count ran something like this: 55 pieces of salmon sashimi, 40 pieces of tuna sashimi, 10 pieces of toro sashimi, 5 hand rolls, 70 pieces of maki, 8 miso soups, gyoza, sunomono, vegetable tempura, shrimp tempura, fried rice, and the list goes on...and on.... For days afterwards I kept saying "I cannot believe we had all you can eat sushi for so cheap and it was so amazing!" Finally everyone got the hint and we went there again. That time I was more prepared. I skipped breakfast.