Many of you have heard me lament about how I would miss my sushi and my Mexican food after leaving California. I had very, very low expectations going in that Tennessee would be able to bring it to the table for me. I mean, come on - we now live in a state that screams catfish is king and wouldn't know machaca if it hit 'em in the head.

Well, this week I've been playing the whole, "I've been unpacking boxes all day, don't make me cook in this tiny kitchen" card. This has allowed us to try a few restaurants in the area to see if there's anything worth sharing with all the visitors we'll be having this year (hint, hint). We already found a great BBQ and Catfish place when we came to visit last year, although I'm sure there are some secret speak-easy type dives that we've yet to hear about. But, after being away from CA for more than 2 months, our pallets were yearning for Japanese and Mexican cuisine.

First of all - let me tell you....last year when we visited TN we ate at a place called Don Pablo's. All I'm going to say about this place is that at least they can spell "tater tots" correctly. That meal began my concern regarding the food of the Tennesseans and what they actually considered "Mexican" to be (let alone Sushi).

So let me break it down for you Amaro style:

1. Mexican
We hit up a little eatery called, "Cozumel" around the corner from the pad. The first good sign was that the place was actually called something authentic (fyi, Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula)...seriously.....there's a place here called, "Mexican Restaurant". The second good sign was that actual Mexican people were working there. I'm not saying that white people can't cook Mexican (I like to think that I can whip up a few good Mexi dishes), it just adds to the overall authenticity of the place, you know? The third good sign was that the decor was muy authentico...it had more than a big lame poster of 3 Corona chicks and a few blow up Dos Equis beer bottles hanging from the ceiling. The fourth good sign was the chips and salsa TOTALLY ROCKED. The menu was a little boring - everything was pretty straight forward American Mexican with a few "especials de la casa". Abby got her standard chicken enchilada kids plate (which got 93 million 20 thumbs up), I went for a chicken chimmy and Mike did a combo plate. As Aunt Jan would say, "It wuh good." After dinner, we went up to the counter to pay for our meal and the man running the register had that, "I own the place" aura about him, so I chatted him up a bit. He was in fact the owner and after we told him that we just moved from CA, he let it fly about the locals. He said Tennesseans don't want anything but burritos and tacos, man. They tried introducing authentic Mex food but nobody would even try it! We had a hearty chuckle over that and told him that we'd be back and he could make us something especial. Not to mention, the food was relatively inexpensive....mama like.

2. Sushi
I can't tell you how much raw fish I ate before leaving California...I had a feeling I would never hold a pair of chopsticks again...that my lips would never taste the saltiness of the soy...that my brain would not get another wasabe sting. Ok, you get my drift. So tonight we took a chance on a restaurant called, "Fin". The first bad sign was that there was one car in the parking lot...it was 6pm and we figured on a Friday that a good eatery in Murfreesboro would be packed. Well, we pressed on. Fortunately, that was the only bad sign. We walked into the place, which was nicely appointed with proper Japenese accoutrement's. We were greeted by - YES! - a Japanese lady!!! My heart was filling up with hope and continued to overflow as my eyes came into contact with - YES! - a Japanese man behind the sushi counter. The cherry on the pie was that he was wearing one of those little bandannas around his head....oh yes, it takes a real sushi chef to wear one of those things. It turns out that the restaurant opened just yesterday and they don't have their kitchen chef yet - so they were only serving sushi. (Oh, bummer!) No worries - we explained that we just moved into town from CA and that we were curious to see what raw fish Murfreesboro had to offer. Well, that was it - just like our guy over at Cozumel, our sweet little lady let fly about the people of the area. "They don't know sushi...they don't get it....I have to explain everything. Yes, you from California...you know sushi." Oh yes, we know sushi. When all is said and done, it was actually pretty good...not the best I've ever had, but it far exceeded my expectations. My complaint was the portions of fish were on the smallish side. But, the rolls were creative and the sushi chef served it himself. And, as soon as we put our order in, the place began to fill up...

So there you have it...a few more restaurant reviews from the cook at Club Amaro. The future may not bring too many more reviews since we are almost unpacked - which means....yes, I must start cooking. Maybe I can get a job at Cozumel ;)

love and dinner mints,
k