The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day,

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I.

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

So I've had a lot of time to think about the direction of my life and my future. I'm always looking for new ways to improve myself and I'm always up for advice for those who can objectively offer it to me. The recent thought I had was deciding which road do I take. The secure one with a guarantee to reach the promise land; or the less secure one that could have adverse consequences with the fear of the unknown outcome definately present. After careful consideration and much input from friends and co-workers, I've decided to take the road less traveled. And while not everyone would agree with me and my decision, it really comes down to what makes me happy and what will make me happy in the future. Right now, it's the road less traveled. So thus being, said, my bags are packed & I'm on my way!

Sushi

Everyone who knows me knows that I absolutely L.O.V.E. sushi. It's the one food, that if I had a choice of food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be that and nothing else. The great thing about sushi is that I consider it the most creative food. You can have fun making it, and it will still taste exceptional while maintaining your healthy lifestyle. I find that the more intricate and artistic it is, the more better it tastes. I preferably like different sauces drizzled over the rolls. A good sushi roll with great sauce should be so pleasing to your palate, that you don't need to add soy sauce. I have been to many sushi restaurants (some good, some bad) and each one is unique in the way they present and prepare their sushi; right down to the freshness of the fish.

Usually, I have one favorite sushi restaurant in Chico that I love to go to... Gen Kai. This restaurant is easy on the wallet and they provide excellent service with a great menu. The fact that they know me well from being in there all the time, makes no difference. :)

Yesterday, I decided to venture out and try a new place. I was never that fond of the sushi at the Rice Bowl restaurant. I felt is was sort of boring and unimaginative when it came to their rolls. It seemed to me that it catered to more of a beginner level sushi buff. In any case, I hadn't had been there for a while now (7-8 months, or so), when I had decided to give it one more shot. I mean, hey, everyone needs a second chance, right? So when I walked in yesterday, to my surprise the owner remembered me. Now that's GREAT customer service right there! Now usually I don't stray to far off their menu because I had been previously disappointed with the selection. I would only stick with one or two kinds of rolls because it was almost fool proof. When I opened the menu, I noticed that they had added a couple new rolls, and they displayed 5-6 new rolls on the day's special menu.

One roll in which they called the "Lion King" (sounds cheesy), looked pretty tasty. It was just a plain California Roll with a piece of Salmon on top, drizzled with a spicy mayonnaise sauce and baked until golden brown. I decided to try that and my usual "Rainbow Roll". I thought it would best not to jump off the cliff head first without a parachute by ordering a bunch of stuff I wasn't sure would taste good.

While waiting for my food, the owner and I chatted about how his old head sushi chef ended up having to leave the restaurant due to family illnesses and move to L.A. Since then, he had brought in a new head Sushi chef from the Bay Area where he worked at various successful sushi restaurants.

As the owner and I chatted a little more about his new chef, he allowed me to sample a roll from the special menu. I took one look at it, and was like, "Wow, um...not sure about this one". As I tried it, I was just about floored. It was the Salmon Pesto Roll, and it was priced at $15.00 per roll, which is only fare considering what you're getting. In my years of being an avid sushi consumer, I have never had a roll quite like this one. I can't quite put it into the right words the taste, but I can best describe it as 3 different tastes in one roll. It's like eating spicy tuna with a spicy pesto sauce. Now I know it sounds kinda fishy, :) but it really left me saying "Wow" for about 5 minutes after I tried it. My favorite part was the lingering taste it left in my mouth. I was in such awe about this roll, that I had to call back to find out what was in it.

"Salmon Pesto Roll" - shrimp tempura, ahi tuna, and sarachi sauce rolled inside out, then topped with salmon, a spicy mayonnaise sauce, pesto sauce and a sliver of green olive.