We went to Sakura (AKA Sushi Train) at 75th and Nieman last night. We went a bit later in the evening, and the oval-shaped bar was less crowded than usual.
We sat down to a train full of plates, which got us off to a good start. However, the train emptied rather quickly, and owing to the small crowd, it took a while before the chef made more food.
When he returned, he asked us if we had any requests. We asked for eel (unagi), and he obliged a few moments later with two healthy plates of food.
In response, we placed a few bucks in his tip glass.
We then received our bill, and realized we needed to tip our waitress as well. But what's the breakdown? Between the chef and the waitress, who gets what?
Well, I'm glad I asked.
The hostess/manager explained it thusly:
The money that is placed in the tip glasses at the sushi bar itself goes to the chefs only. The money that is left as a tip upon paying the bill (i.e. anything that doesn't go into the tip glass) is distributed to the servers AND the chefs.
Additionally, the servers are paid by the hour (similar to pretty much any other restaurant) while the chefs are paid a set salary.
Good to know. I'm happy that she was forthcoming with the information. This may not apply unilaterally to all sushi restaurants, but I'd imagine most of them have a similar arrangement.
It's always confusing when there are multiple entities providing service, so it feels good to clear this one up.
P.S. - In related sushi news, the short-lived Asian Breeze at 61st and Nieman is now Sushi Mido. The sign says "All You Can Eat". Should be interesting...we were going to stop there last night, but they're closed on Mondays. Let me know how it is if you check it out before we do.
Showing posts with label sushi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sushi. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Drunken Fish Sushi: A Detailed Account
A group of seven of us got together last night for a friend’s birthday dinner. The spot selected was Drunken Fish, the new outpost of the St. Louis-based trendy sushi restaurant. It’s located in the Power & Light District.
First, the opinion portion of the review:
The sushi was underwhelming. There was nothing wrong with it, but there was also nothing memorable about it. It’s probably a 4 on a 10-point scale.
It didn’t help that the wasabi was nearly flavorless and without heat. That is, except for one person’s plate; we sampled his green stuff and it had an almost-acceptable horseradish kick. I ate a huge glob of mine straight, and it was less pungent than fresh-ground black pepper. When we pointed out this discrepancy, our waitress explained that it depends on how much you mix into your soy sauce, as if we couldn’t comprehend the concept of dilution.
It was somewhat expensive, but probably not out of line with what you’d expect to pay at an establishment in your favorite KCMO-taxpayer-subsidized district.
The atmosphere was pretty noisy, and I think that’s by design. Places with drinks called the “Asian Fetish” and “Dirty Kimono” typically aren’t known for being relaxing. And that’s fine—it is what it is.
Now, the timetable portion of the review:
7:35pm We were seated.
7:40pm Drinks were ordered.
7:58pm Drinks were finally received.
8:05pm Our food order was finally taken.
8:30pm My blood sugar tumbles into negative integers and I become very crabby.
8:30:01pm My wife asks about our food.
8:35pm Our waitress says our food is on its way.
8:43pm A manager apologizes for our wait (finally) and says our food is on its way.
8:50pm Our waitress says our food is being plated and will be right out.
8:57pm Food finally arrives. We devour it quickly, thanks to hunger and our desire to get the hell out. Yeah…read on.
9:15pm We request our checks.
9:22pm We receive a round of Key Lime Pie shots from the manager as an apology. Um…okay, thanks, but we’re trying to leave.
9:31pm A birthday dessert is brought out for us to share. Thanks, but really? Now?
9:36pm Now it gets really bizarre. The waitress brings out COMMENT CARDS and jokes that you can use them to say “how awesome she was”. NOW she apologizes for everything taking so long, and this is their “soft opening”, and look over there—the general manager is making sushi, and we should come back for happy hour and their grand opening and all this other stuff. Also at this time, she delivers our checks, which we shove our cards in and immediately hand back.
9:51pm We are finally cashed out.
The first two timestamps are approximate within a few minutes (I had no reason to check my watch at that time). Everything else is actual time.
Really. Just check the intervals between some of those items and consider how long they really are.
A couple more things:
-“Soft opening” is bullshit. According to the Pitch's Fat City blog, they opened their doors 3 weeks ago. Also, this is the 4th Drunken Fish location—not some first-time restaurateur’s maiden voyage. They should be way better than this.
-Our waitress, while certainly not unpleasant, was somewhat…I think “tone-deaf” is the word. She never apologized during our painful wait for nourishment. Instead, after we sat foodless for quite some time (it was sometime after my blood sugar crash) she came over and asked how everyone was doing as if we were in the middle of our meal. Then the comment cards came out, and joking that we should say she was awesome when we clearly wanted to leave??? What would have been awesome would be to get our checks. There was just no empathy whatsoever; it was rather obvious that we hadn’t had a good experience and wanted to leave but she just never saw that.
-The staff was nice enough and meant well. The manager giving us shots wasn’t really what I wanted (especially at the time he gave them to us), but he was at least trying. And the water guy kept my glass full all night.
Bottom line? I was already a bit wary of a place whose spokesperson says, “It’s not just about eating sushi. It’s about the experience.” When the pedestrian Japanese fare is the best part of the “experience”, you’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do.
First, the opinion portion of the review:
The sushi was underwhelming. There was nothing wrong with it, but there was also nothing memorable about it. It’s probably a 4 on a 10-point scale.
It didn’t help that the wasabi was nearly flavorless and without heat. That is, except for one person’s plate; we sampled his green stuff and it had an almost-acceptable horseradish kick. I ate a huge glob of mine straight, and it was less pungent than fresh-ground black pepper. When we pointed out this discrepancy, our waitress explained that it depends on how much you mix into your soy sauce, as if we couldn’t comprehend the concept of dilution.
It was somewhat expensive, but probably not out of line with what you’d expect to pay at an establishment in your favorite KCMO-taxpayer-subsidized district.
The atmosphere was pretty noisy, and I think that’s by design. Places with drinks called the “Asian Fetish” and “Dirty Kimono” typically aren’t known for being relaxing. And that’s fine—it is what it is.
Now, the timetable portion of the review:
7:35pm We were seated.
7:40pm Drinks were ordered.
7:58pm Drinks were finally received.
8:05pm Our food order was finally taken.
8:30pm My blood sugar tumbles into negative integers and I become very crabby.
8:30:01pm My wife asks about our food.
8:35pm Our waitress says our food is on its way.
8:43pm A manager apologizes for our wait (finally) and says our food is on its way.
8:50pm Our waitress says our food is being plated and will be right out.
8:57pm Food finally arrives. We devour it quickly, thanks to hunger and our desire to get the hell out. Yeah…read on.
9:15pm We request our checks.
9:22pm We receive a round of Key Lime Pie shots from the manager as an apology. Um…okay, thanks, but we’re trying to leave.
9:31pm A birthday dessert is brought out for us to share. Thanks, but really? Now?
9:36pm Now it gets really bizarre. The waitress brings out COMMENT CARDS and jokes that you can use them to say “how awesome she was”. NOW she apologizes for everything taking so long, and this is their “soft opening”, and look over there—the general manager is making sushi, and we should come back for happy hour and their grand opening and all this other stuff. Also at this time, she delivers our checks, which we shove our cards in and immediately hand back.
9:51pm We are finally cashed out.
The first two timestamps are approximate within a few minutes (I had no reason to check my watch at that time). Everything else is actual time.
Really. Just check the intervals between some of those items and consider how long they really are.
A couple more things:
-“Soft opening” is bullshit. According to the Pitch's Fat City blog, they opened their doors 3 weeks ago. Also, this is the 4th Drunken Fish location—not some first-time restaurateur’s maiden voyage. They should be way better than this.
-Our waitress, while certainly not unpleasant, was somewhat…I think “tone-deaf” is the word. She never apologized during our painful wait for nourishment. Instead, after we sat foodless for quite some time (it was sometime after my blood sugar crash) she came over and asked how everyone was doing as if we were in the middle of our meal. Then the comment cards came out, and joking that we should say she was awesome when we clearly wanted to leave??? What would have been awesome would be to get our checks. There was just no empathy whatsoever; it was rather obvious that we hadn’t had a good experience and wanted to leave but she just never saw that.
-The staff was nice enough and meant well. The manager giving us shots wasn’t really what I wanted (especially at the time he gave them to us), but he was at least trying. And the water guy kept my glass full all night.
Bottom line? I was already a bit wary of a place whose spokesperson says, “It’s not just about eating sushi. It’s about the experience.” When the pedestrian Japanese fare is the best part of the “experience”, you’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sakura: The Sushi Train
After a visit to the gym, my fiancee and I needed to get some food. But what to eat? Just about anything sounds good after a workout, but there's something about spending an hour sweating that tends to guide you away from the world of deep-fried temptation.
We ended up at Sakura at 75th and Nieman in Shawnee. This is a typical Japanese restaurant in the sense that there are booths and tables on one side (the "steakhouse") and a sushi bar on the other.
This is an atypical Japanese restaurant in the sense that the sushi is served by train.
We actually had to wait about 10 minutes for a seat at the bar because it was packed. Even on a weeknight, Sakura is a popular place--and rightly so: the food is tasty, the atmosphere is lively, and the train provides a whole different dining experience.
It works like this: a model train runs a loop around the sizable free-standing bar. The many flatbed "cars" are loaded with plates holding nigiri, rolls, and tempura vegetables as the chefs finish making them. Most plates contained two pieces of sushi. As the train goes by, diners are welcome to grab whatever they like.
The train is a novelty at first, but it really does add fun to the experience. How so?
1. The sheer variety will let you try lots of things in small quantities. There will be some stuff that comes around...and you will have no idea what it is. Do you grab it? DO YOU? You've only got a couple seconds to make your decision. Oh, the humanity!
2. My fiancee especially liked the fact that the train and its cargo lent itself to discussion and conversation with the people surrounding us. We got to talking to a guy who remarked how many laps a lonely plate of shrimp and vegetables had made, and we almost cheered when some newcomer, oblivious to their travels, scooped them right up.
3. Say you're craving salmon. As the train approaches, you see a plate of salmon coming around the corner oh-so-deliberately. Will it make it, or will that bastard take it first? The suspense is palpable!
4. You can be that bastard.
Apparently there are lots of restaurants in other cities who serve sushi this way, but this is the only one I know of in Kansas City and we had a great time.
Our tab was $36 including soft drinks and tax (before tip). I felt the value here was good--I usually spend more and leave less full when I go out for sushi.
You are billed by the plate; when you decide you're done the server simply counts your plates (some are $1.95, some are $2.50).
Go check it out!
We ended up at Sakura at 75th and Nieman in Shawnee. This is a typical Japanese restaurant in the sense that there are booths and tables on one side (the "steakhouse") and a sushi bar on the other.
This is an atypical Japanese restaurant in the sense that the sushi is served by train.
We actually had to wait about 10 minutes for a seat at the bar because it was packed. Even on a weeknight, Sakura is a popular place--and rightly so: the food is tasty, the atmosphere is lively, and the train provides a whole different dining experience.
It works like this: a model train runs a loop around the sizable free-standing bar. The many flatbed "cars" are loaded with plates holding nigiri, rolls, and tempura vegetables as the chefs finish making them. Most plates contained two pieces of sushi. As the train goes by, diners are welcome to grab whatever they like.
The train is a novelty at first, but it really does add fun to the experience. How so?
1. The sheer variety will let you try lots of things in small quantities. There will be some stuff that comes around...and you will have no idea what it is. Do you grab it? DO YOU? You've only got a couple seconds to make your decision. Oh, the humanity!
2. My fiancee especially liked the fact that the train and its cargo lent itself to discussion and conversation with the people surrounding us. We got to talking to a guy who remarked how many laps a lonely plate of shrimp and vegetables had made, and we almost cheered when some newcomer, oblivious to their travels, scooped them right up.
3. Say you're craving salmon. As the train approaches, you see a plate of salmon coming around the corner oh-so-deliberately. Will it make it, or will that bastard take it first? The suspense is palpable!
4. You can be that bastard.
Apparently there are lots of restaurants in other cities who serve sushi this way, but this is the only one I know of in Kansas City and we had a great time.
Our tab was $36 including soft drinks and tax (before tip). I felt the value here was good--I usually spend more and leave less full when I go out for sushi.
You are billed by the plate; when you decide you're done the server simply counts your plates (some are $1.95, some are $2.50).
Go check it out!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Sushi Happy
As the “last leg” in her birthday tour, I surprised her with a sushi preparation class at the KC Culinary Center. The class was well-taught and we both had lots of fun. Sushi is one of those foods which require far more preparation ahead of time than in making the actual food. We got to do just the fun stuff, which included rolling and eating. A lot.
When I eat things like sushi, I always reflect back to my extreme pickiness as a child. How did I come this far? Did my palate actually evolve, did I simply start giving “strange” foods a fair shake, or is it something else?
After so many hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches as a kid, I’m sure my mom just shakes her head when she hears me say I ate eel.
When I eat things like sushi, I always reflect back to my extreme pickiness as a child. How did I come this far? Did my palate actually evolve, did I simply start giving “strange” foods a fair shake, or is it something else?
After so many hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches as a kid, I’m sure my mom just shakes her head when she hears me say I ate eel.
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