c o l l i s i o n b e n d . c o m

I’ve been lamenting the closing of Shinano’s Restaurant in South Euclid, of late. Open in the same place with the same crew (save for two people) since 1991, Shinano’s had just about the best sushi on the upper East Side of Cleveland.

Word is that they are looking for new digs, perhaps near Solon, which doesn’t do me a whole bunch of good: I don’t want to drive 25 miles for sushi — if I’m going to drive that far for sushi, I’ll go a few more and head to Ohashi’s in North Olmsted, which is probably (perhaps easily) the best sushi restaurant in town.

So what’s a guy like me to do? Suffer?

Not quite. Enter Young Lee, the former sushi chef at Lure Bistro in downtown Willoughby. Lee and his wife have recently opened Young’s Sushi on Clark Avenue in downtown Willoughby (old Willoughby). Clark Street runs parallel to Erie Street one block West of Erie.

OK, so I’m not exactly convinced by the location — I think I’d rather be right on Erie Street, but then again, the rent is higher there. Young’s location has its own parking lot, which helps out: parking in Willoughby can be a nightmare, especially during the car show.

Walking in, I was a little amazed at the decor; get this: black and white linoleum tile floor, a pale ash green wainscot-type bottom half and deep purple top half paint scheme on the walls, cantina-style tables with metal-framed plastic chairs, and (oh, wow!) country music playing in the kitchen.

I had my doubts…

…and was well rewarded for my open-mindedness. The sushi was outstanding: their white tuna is on a par with Ohashi’s any day of the week. I had the Fire Bird Roll, which has tuna, salmon, red snapper, white tuna, crab, avocado and cucumber; the Love Roll, which has white tuna, snow crab and avocado; and two pieces of white tuna nigiri. My bride had the Mexican roll (!), which has shrimp, avocado and cucumber; the snow crab roll, which has snow crab, avocado, and cucumber, and another which I can’t remember.

We both also had the Miso Soup and the house salad with ginger dressing. Both of these were excellent. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that both exceed any we’ve had yet (in Cleveland).

But the sushi was, as I said, outstanding: the fish was absolutely fresh, the rice perfectly cooked, the seaweed not too chewy, and the vegetables crisp and flavorful. And the ginger was so fresh it almost burned my tongue!

At first, I was going say that the wasabi was a little weak, but that would be wrong: it’s not weak at all — it’s what you would refer to as a “sleeper”: you get some flavor, but little heat… so you take a little more… then, all of a sudden…

WHAM! Your sinuses are under assault, your eyes can’t hold their water, and your mouth is going hooo-HAH! The wasabi is truly excellent.

I saved the white tuna nigiri for last — white tuna sashimi is one of my all-time favorite foods — and I was not disappointed in the least: it tasted almost like butter, and it melted away on my tongue slowly and evenly — and not a single hint of a sour note, which can happen easily with less-tan-Grade-A white tuna. My only regret here was not ordering two orders of white tuna nigiri (or maybe three — what the hell: when it comes to sushi, what can I say? I’m a pig… <grin>…)

All of this from what you would never think of when you think of a sushi restaurant. I only had one negative to the whole experience: the chop sticks were oval, and were difficult for me to handle. That is something I can definitely get used to, with practice.

I have to wonder about their timing, since opening a restaurant is never easy, especially in bad economic times, but if Young can develop and keep a loyal clientele (and with food like his, I see no reason he can’t do it), you’re going to be hearing a lot about this restaurant in the future.

The hours are 11-9 daily, and 1-8 Sundays; the restaurant is located at 4082 Clark Avenue in downtown Willoughby, about two blocks from the Willoughby Brewing Company (the other side of Erie Street), right next to the convenience store.

If you’re out and about on the East side, and you have a taste for sushi, try this place — you’ll be glad you did.

Spurred by a Twitter post by Dave Shea, I found out tonight that whole milk contains 98mg of sodium.

The serving size is listed at 245 grams, or little more than 8 ounces.

Also in that nutritional data: 146 calories (71 from fat), 24mg cholesterol, 13g carbohydrates, and 13g of sugar.

Non-fat milk, on the other hand, weighs in at 86 calories (only 4 from fat), 5mg cholesterol, 12g sugar, and a whopping 127mg of sodium — also for an 8-ounce serving.

WeightWatchers will tell you that non-fat milk is better for you — and from a fat and calorie standpoint it is. All else being equal, this is not a surprise.

But sodium? I know that 127mg of sodium is not going to give someone on a low-sodium diet (2,000mg/day) an instant blood pressure spike, and over the course of a day, that 127mg of sodium really won’t make that much of a difference — as long as you’re watching everything else: which means take it easy on those low-fat frozen foods, which are generally really high in sodium; I’ve seen some of these entrees come in at 1,300mg of sodium — or more.

And that much sodium per meal will spike your blood pressure — guaranteed.

I have to admit that I am just as surprised at the amount of sodium in milk as Mr. Shea is. My bet is that the increased sodium in the low-fat variety is to make it taste better — God knows it needs something. ;-)

It happened again tonight. Some idiot wearing at least a bottle and a half of cologne simply *had* to stand in my immediate vicinity (shoulder-to-shoulder). I wanted to puke — I almost did.

I couldn’t breathe.

Seriously: my chest started tightening up, painfully, almost cramping; my breathing became labored and short; my stomach turned inside-out; I got real dizzy real fast; I almost passed out.

And I came seriously close to vomiting.

Next time (and this is fair warning to you guys who think that cologne is “cool”), I will puke — all over the guy wearing the cologne. It serves them right: be offensive to people who are allergic to the stuff and get your clothes ruined. And why not? The Old Testament says: “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” right?

Make me sick, cost me my dinner, ruin my night, and I’ll ruin your outfit — regardless of how much it cost.

Now, to make this legal and legit:

Be it hereby publicly known: People (men or women): if you wear an excessive amount of perfume or cologne in my presence (whether you know me or not, or are aware of this statement or not), please be advised that I am allergic to your potions, and they make me gravely ill. Should I become gravely ill in your presence, and end up regurgitating on you and your clothes, I AM NOT LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY AND ALL LOSSES INCURRED BY YOUR STUPIDITY. I will try to give fair warning, but this will not always be possible. If, all of a sudden, I puke on you, and you are wearing cologne, hey: you made me sick, OK, pal? You made me sick — you pay for it.

I didn’t choose this.

You make me sick — you clean up the mess, OK?

Now I will repeat:

The Rule of Thumb for perfume and/or cologne:
wear only enough that your girlfriend (or boyfriend) can smell it only when they hug you.

‘Nuff said.

(Watch for the first “puke post” — coming soon to a theater near you!)

OK, so here’s the plot: I received a check from a client in the mail today. Ya-hoo!

So, in partial celebration, I purchased a six of GLBC Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from a local store, which I plan to save for tomorrow night, when I will sit back and enjoy it, slow sip by slow, aggravating sip. Pure heaven in every tilt.

No other way there, sorry.

Anyway, I went over to the Time Out Grille at Shoregate after the bank, unfortunately, to have a beer. I went home after two, which got me into a whole peck of trouble. I don’t think I have to tell you why, OK?

So: what did I do?

I made soup. Not just any soup, mind you, but my current favorite: Cauliflower-Gorgonzola soup. Here’s the recipe:

Cauliflower-Gorgonzola Soup

1 cauliflower

1 Tsp unsalted butter

1 large onion, peeled and diced

4 or 5 thyme sprigs

2 bay leaves

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

4 cups chicken stock (vegetable stock is OK)

4oz Gorgonzola cheese — or so

1/3 cup milk

parsley for garnish

Clean the cauliflower properly into florets. Leave the stalk in the mix for flavor. Set aside. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan large enough to handle this whole mess over medium heat. Add the onions and sweat gently for about 5 minutes, until translucent.

Add the cauliflower, thyme and bay leaves. Give it a little salt and pepper — but just a touch: let this mixture find its feet, as it were. Pour in the stock, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so — until the cauliflower is very soft.

Crumble in the gorgonzola and stir over low heat until the cheese is absorbed completely. Add the milk and stir to combine. Pick out the bay leaves and thyme stalks (if you used the entire stalk — don’t bother to pick it out if you didn’t, it’s no matter), then use an immersible blender (as Emeril calls it, a “boat motor”) to blend until reasonably smooth.

Ladle into warm bowls and serve with chopped parsley. Supposedly, this serves 4.

Sorry, but it serves 8.

Seriously: use a large cauliflower, and add a little minced garlic when you sweat the onions; use your discretion with the milk, as you might just need a touch more — that’s OK, it’ll pay off in the end — an ounce or two more won’t effect the end result for you WeightWatchers.

This soup kicks some serious ass — and for WeightWatchers, it’s only 2 points, as cooked above.

Hopefully, this will get me invited back to Eric’s bread and soup party next year… (just kidding!)

Kirstie Alley showed off her new body on Oprah today.

She lost 75 pounds.

I’m wondering… whom do I know that has lost 75 pounds… could it be? Perhaps??

ME??????

You’ll never see me showing off like that in a bikini, though. Although, I must admit that the idea of something slinky, something lacey, has an appeal….

JUST KIDDING!!

Congrats, Kirstie, it ain’t easy: been there; done that; redesigned the t-shirt.