Lacey's Post-Baby Sushi Extravaganza

My friend Lacey and I have a ritual of regularly getting our hair cut together and then going for sushi afterward. I really cherish this time with her because we both have children and very busy schedules, especially her, that make getting togther difficult. These evenings are pretty much the only time we have to see each other so we make a point to make it special.

Lacey recently had a baby so we had been finding dinner alternatives throughout her entire pregnancy and often ended up at Depalma's, an Italian restaurant, which is good, but just not the same. We were really excited to be back haunting our favorite spot, Utage: Athens Sushi Bar.



Lacey

 Near the end of her pregnancy Lacey started having intense sushi cravings so we decided that for our first hair appointment after her baby was born we were going to our sushi place to get all of our favorite dishes, cost and calories be damned.

We each ordered a cosmo, obviously, and planned to get two ika sansi appetizers (marinated squid salad) because we love it and Lacey wanted her own because she missed it so much, but they only had one left. We shared it like we usually do along with some complimentary seaweed salad they gave us as an apology for not having two ika sansi left. Neither of us had ever had seaweed salad before, which is acutally an interesting fact considering how much sushi we eat. The verdict: Meh.

Then we ordered all this food:

This includes:

Miami Vice Roll: crab, cucumber, smoked salmon, and avocado. Always refreshing with the cripsy cucumber.

Rollercoaster Roll: crab, shrimp, avocado, tempura flakes, masago, tobiko, and special sauce on top. Lacey prefers this to the Miami Vice Roll because she is not as much of a cucumber fan as I am.

Rainforest Roll: this was a special roll suggested by our waitress and I'm not sure what it was, but it had a lot going on. Each piece was HUGE with fish and flaky stuff and roe on top. It also had some kick, of which I am quite a fan.

Utage Special Roll: deep fried tuna roll with special sauce. Our favorite roll. I like to eat a piece of this last so the taste lingers in my mouth. It is so rich, almost like dessert except not sweet.

This lone little piece is all that was left in the end.

 Do you have any beloved rituals you share with your friends? Do you like sushi?