Rating: 💋💋💋💋😘
To set the scene: it is a warm but incredibly windy afternoon in Lower Manhattan. The sun is beating down, but the breeze is threatening to blow away anything in its path.
The shot zeros in on Mary Kate, located directly in the aforementioned wind's way. She wrestles a suitcase that is at least as large as she is, arguably her rival, on a trek from TriBeCa to FiDi. It may not be a far walk, but with every step her travel buddy, the oversized suitcase, starts to feel less like her companion and more like an enemy she is going to drop-kick into the Hudson.
Additionally, she is wearing new shoes. When I say new, I mean she bought these boots back in April 2020, but had never gotten to wear them. This is their first outing. So exciting! Wearing these new shoes feels, to her, like a sign of healing from the pandemic. The spiffy new kicks are taking no hate from the suitcase. This is their moment. They would not let a gargantuan suitcase spoil their moment!
The weary traveler needs to find a seat. She wanders the waterfront, a growing appetite teething its way through her stomach.
Suddenly, she receives a magical text from her sister Shannon, "Would you be in the mood for sushi tonight?"
My dear readers, I think we all know that I am the Mary Kate in this story, so let me just break the fourth wall to ask you the real question:
When am I ever not in the mood for sushi?
Shannon's co-worker told her about this place, Koto Sushi, in Brooklyn. She did not just tell her, she raved about the place, so we had to get in on the action. We quickly fell in love.
They put our rolls all into one box, so we were a little confused for a second. Fortunately, I added a little here and there to my order, so that helped us differentiate. Shannon got spicy salmon & spicy shrimp rolls. I got spicy salmon with spicy mayo added, as well as spicy yellowtail with avocado squeezed in.
They packed the fish snugly into the seaweed and the rice was tight around it - not a single roll crumbled or unraveled. That is really important to me. Sushi in pieces always makes the experience a little sadder, but Koto Sushi was not messing around with that. The sushi was soooo freaking good. They mixed the crispy onion into the fish, rather than having it sprinkled on top, and I loved how that crunchy texture melted into each bite. The delicate flavors of the fish were delightful, and the spicy sauce and creamy avocado added a plus to that A grade. I really could not pick a favorite roll. They were both just so tasty.
Also, usually sushi is pretty expensive and therefore not something to order in on the regular, but Koto Sushi was pretty fair about their prices. Granted, we did not get a large amount of food, but I did not walk away from the table hungry. The ache in my hungry stomach was soothed. All memory of what that trek with the suitcase really felt like was wiped from my mind and replaced with happy sushi thoughts. Thank you, Shannon and her co-worker, for this brilliant welcome back to the city!
Each mouthwatering bite was so worth it.
Afterwards, Shannon and I chilled out with a throwback: Napoleon Dynamite. Truly what a bizarre, random movie. That film is big nostalgia for us, because we used to love to watch it with our cousins. One of my cousins bought a 'Vote for Pedro' sweatshirt on the boardwalk one summer and we thought that was the greatest thing ever. It is impossible for me to watch the movie and separate it from the memory of being eight years old and thinking Napoleon's dance scene was incredible. I also fondly recall that I was cool for a minute in second grade because, when some of the guys in school were joking about "tots," I understood the reference. Pedro was always my favorite character and, upon rewatching, I stand by that. What interests me most though is Tina. What is her story? She might be one of the most complex characters to grace cinema.
Overall, it was a great night. Highly recommend.
I hope you are all doing well and enjoying little (or big) wins along the route of life!
XX,
MK
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