Lunch date #14, May 4, 2012
Now we are very official. We have had
sushi. We know what we are doing. Mom is no longer afraid or intimidated by the
idea of going to a sushi restaurant. This is especially true since she declared:
"I don't have to eat sushi again, I already tried it." She was
victorious! Our original game-plan was that she would try new things. We never
said anything about having to try them again! She planned on something
cooked-perhaps a teriyaki sort of dish. I thought we'd give Tomo Sushi a
try (Tomo Sushi, Bar and Grill, 724 Main Street, tomosushibarandgrill.com). After all, tomo means "friend" in
Japanese (or so it is stated all over their literature, menus, placards), so it
seemed a friendly place to try!
Location: 5 points. Sort of at the lonely end of the north section of
downtown, nestled between a bike shop and hair salon….but as per our scheme,
still rates as downtown. Former site of Cabana Daves, and I can't
remember what was in that location before, but they do have a small parking lot
which is nice.
Ambiance: 3 points. Very small inside dining: 6 tables and a sushi bar.
There are two tables on the sidewalk out front, and they do have the patio in
back (but honestly, we didn't look at it). There was only one other dining
table occupied, and since it wasn't all that warm that day, we took a table
inside. Overall the décor was rather plain—not as cute as Main Sushi…since
we ARE comparing!
Menu offering: 4 points. Lots of choices. We were very interested in the bento
boxes. Of course, if you're into it, there is a long list of sushi and sashimi
choices—not that even with our vast experience, we'd know much about the
choices. As I said, Mom had rather been there/done that with the sushi, so she
went with the bento box including teriyaki chicken and Gyoza dumplings. The
boxes also contained white rice, edamame and were served with miso soup and
tea. For $1 extra, you can offer a few different maki rolls in addition to the
box. I, being the brave sushi eater, went with the bento and added a California
maki.
Service: 4 points. Our server was very courteous and attentive. She
spoke Japanese with us…at least lots of "hai" and "domo arigatogozaimashita".
All very proper and polite. Since my one great trip to Japan, I knew very few
words of Japanese—but was certain to use them often! She was quick to bring tea
and kept trying to refill it, but we didn't drink very much of it. Mom asked
for a knife, and she promptly brought a full set of American-style cutlery for
each of us. Of course, Mom had brought her chop stick pincher-cheaters with her
and was doing a great job with them.
Value: 4 points. The bento boxes were $8.50 each. Quite a deal! Lots
of food; don't need to also order the roll. Much better priced than the other
downtown restaurants, and more economical than Main Sushi. Would have
scored a perfect 5 points if that sushi roll had been more to my liking.
Overall score for Tomo Sushi: 3.8
points. Not as good as Main Sushi, I'm afraid…but overall OK. I'm thinking we
must have caught a bad-seaweed day. I just don't remember sushi tasting that salty. We will have to pay attention next time we visit a sushi restaurant—there
are a lot of them in Pleasanton and we aim to try them all!
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