Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Mio Sushi (NW)


In an attempt to tread the serious material presented within this posting with utmost care, as though it were an endangered tundra filled with small vulnerable life forms and we were wearing Doc Martens, Michelle and I are going to present The Facts, and only The Facts, of our meal last night at Mio Sushi on NW Johnson. Well I mean, there might be a few opinions/embellishments that pop up here and there, but nothing that would obscure The Facts.

10 Facts About Our Meal Last Night At Mio Sushi

1. Michelle and I went to Mio Sushi last night. It is located at 2271 NW Johnson Street, just off NW 23rd Ave. Michelle was wearing a black pantsuit, and I was wearing jeans and a black sweatshirt. We looked pretty cute.

2. We were seated promptly at the sushi bar, which was the only spot open because the bustling little dining room was full to capacity. We commented on the lively atmosphere of the restaurant, and how popular it was. We felt happy, and excited about our sushi experience to come.

3. We ordered the Sushi & Sashimi Combination Plate. It cost $14.95. It had sushi and sashimi on it. It was incredibly good sushi and sashimi--fresh, well presented, a good value. It came with a bowl of miso soup but Michelle hogged that one, so I had to order an extra, which cost $1. The soup was very good--hot and flavorful, with just the right amount of diced tofu in the bottom.



4. We also ordered the Rainbow Roll. It was beautiful, and a great value at $7.95. We discussed at length how pleased we were with the amount of rice wrapped around the innards of the roll--it was perfectly balanced and didn't leave you with the sensation of chewing a glue ball. Michelle did feel the nori was a little tough. She kept biting into her rolls and tugging at the nori and her rolls without fail fell apart and the contents splattered all over her lap, napkin, plate, mat, and the bar. Michelle ate whatever dropped, wherever it dropped, and commented that she hoped she didn't get hepatitis. We agreed that as much as we eat out, perhaps it's time for us to get vaccinated.


5. The service was very good and the sushi chef smiled broadly each time he handed our order over the sushi bar and into our waiting hands. We smiled back.

6. We had a glass of Plum Wine. It was $5. Michelle complained that it was too sweet, then drank most of it.

7. We had nice conversation. Michelle bragged about all the premium tequila tastings she did during her vacation in Mexico and said she'd missed me. I said I missed her too and admired her tan, then admitted that while she was gone I'd snuck into her house, drank her entire stash of Perrier-Jouet, accidentally broke her satellite radio system so that it only plays very loud polka music, planted her barren flower beds up with 400 rows of cilantro (Michelle hates cilantro--WEIRD.), flirted with her hot neighbor when he came over to complain about the loud polka music, and forgotten to feed her goldfish. I said I was sorry.

8. Michelle said she felt upset about all that, but my was this good sushi!

9. I agreed and asked her if she wanted to get gelato at Alotto Gelato because even though Mio Gelato was closer, I do not appreciate how they only allow one flavor of gelato in their small cup--and Alotto kindly lets you have two.

10. Michelle said yes, she'd like gelato and we asked for the check. While we were waiting for the check, a bug crawled out from the vicinity of the sushi bar and towards my empty plate. I did not notice initially, I was too busy talking/confessing. (See Fact #7) I did notice Michelle's face changing though, from a look of irritated concern for her goldfish to abject, unfiltered horror, and just as I thought her head was going to explode she gasped "AN EARWIG! AN EARWIG!" I'm no fan of earwigs, so this got my attention. I looked down and saw a small fat bug and I yelled, "That's no earwig, sis! You just got back from Mexico, don't you recognize a cockroach when you see one??!" Michelle's response was to smash the bug with her napkin and begin trembling and itching uncontrollably. I handed her the rest of the Plum Wine and carefully examined the insect's corpse.
"I am nearly certain that is a cockroach," I said, then burst into an uncontrollable giggle fit. This is how I handle crisis.
"Get. The. Bill." Michelle said through clenched teeth and Plum-wine-shiny lips.
"Okee-doke," I said.
We paid it, and prepared to leave, but before we did, we took a picture of the dead bug. It seemed like a good idea.

THE UNIDENTIFIED BUG

Ten minutes later, from the safe and bug-free (believe me, there was some serious inspection before we sat down) premises of Alotto Gelato, we interviewed three individuals via cell phone as to what we should do. All three asked why we paid the bill, instead of bringing the dead bug to the attention of the restaurant staff so they could be horrified and comp our sushi and apologize profusely for the strain on Michelle's heart rate. "We have no idea," we said. "We panicked." We were advised to present you, our readers, with The Facts.

So there you have them-- The Hard Facts of our bittersweet meal at Mio Sushi last night, with only slight embellishments-like, most of Fact #7. We have included the disclaimer that we do not know for sure if the mutant non-earwig was a cockroach, and the picture for your examination. Personally, I'm going back to Mio Sushi. I thought it was great and it's a block from my apartment. I might have to wait a few days though, until I get all my vaccinations.

-J

Mio Sushi * 2271 NW Johnson St * www.miosushi.com * Mon - Thurs:11:30AM ~ 9:30PM, Friday: 11:30AM ~ 10:00PM, Saturday:12:00AM ~ 10:00PM, Sunday:Closed * yes, really great sushi, yes, bugs

6 comments:

  1. Sis,

    I cannot believe that you are going back there! Unless you want some roach roll... I will NEVER go back!

    -M

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oy Sis,
    Remember when I went to that sleepy little town in Mexico last fall, when I almost died falling off a cliff and left you to write this blog alone? Well, not only were the cockroaches dancing on my food and probably a major source of protein within, but I woke up one night and caught one particularly massive one crawling over my head, so maybe that's why the Mio roach roll just somehow doesn't faze me. It probably should, but it doesn't.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have been Mio Sushi eater for years.
    I started going 23rd location back in 1995 when I was having an internship in Portland.
    First impression I had was, “very clean”. It has changed the cleanness
    I asked them how they were keeping the place clean. The owner said that
    they constantly stress about sanitation and cleanness to the employees and have pest control service regularly. I am surprised that Jen and Michelle found a bug there.
    But it happens. I am positive that you go to any top restaurants in Portland would have some kind of bugs but probably we don’t see them. Bugs like food too~

    It is unfortunate that Michelle and Jen found a bug.
    But I don’t think that I could find any sushi restaurant that has very inexpensive and high quality food like Mio Sushi. I love Mio Sushi food !!!

    -W-

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry that I did not edit my commnets (some words were missing~). Here is a correct one.


    I have been Mio Sushi eater for years.
    I started going 23rd location back in 1995 when I was having an internship in Portland.
    First impression I had was, “very clean”. They have been keeping cleanness all these years.
    I asked them how they were keeping the place clean. The owner said that
    they constantly stress about sanitation and cleanness to the employees and have pest control service regularly. I am surprised that Jen and Michelle found a bug there.
    But it happens. I am positive that all the top restaurants in Portland have some kind of bugs but probably we don’t see them. Food attracts bugs!

    It is unfortunate that Michelle and Jen found a bug.
    But I don’t think that I could find any sushi restaurant that has very inexpensive and high quality food like Mio Sushi. I love Mio Sushi food !!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree, W, Mio has great sushi and like I said in the posting, I'll be going back. Everybody's got bugs. I didn't want to say anything, but I noticed last time I was over at Michelle's that she has weevils in her steel cut oats jar.

    -J

    ReplyDelete
  6. I've eaten at Mio Sushi a bunch of times and have enjoyed it. The bug thing can be hard to get over though...especially when its that close. Maybe next time....draw a wasabi line around the table - I wonder if that would stop him.

    Cheers... and see you syun
    if that sheds any light on it

    :)BF

    ReplyDelete