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Random meals

Another typhoon came and went. We caught the eastern most edge of this storm and barely felt the disturbance, yet the sky was packed with the kind of clouds that make me wish I am a better painter.

We ate out at a little restaurant the other night that had the feel of a mountain drinking lodge. Lots of wood paneling, warm lights and mugs of beer. Of course, this isn’t Telluride, this is Nishinomiya. So, of course we couldn’t read a single word on the menu. Every item was pictured. The place specialized in Yakitori – which is like shish kabobs. The pictures were small and somewhat blurry. Matt and I did our best to search out the pork, beef and chicken from the bunch and pointed , Kore, kore, kore (this, this and this).

The waiter asked us about ten more questions in lightening fast Japanese and we answered as we always do when we haven’t a clue. Hai.

The first dish came – teriyaki Chicken. Score!
The second dish arrived – gizzard. Doh!
The final dish arrived – crusty, salty long things on a stick. Hmm. We had no idea what the final item was. We made some guesses, but none were palatable. Whatever it was, it was thoroughly deep fried and came with a lemon slices to add some kick. We ate it quickly and pretended it was a crispy fish stick.

We walked home in the dark, full and content. The weather has cooled, but the nights are still warm enough to wander without jackets. We took our time on the way back, winding through narrow alleys filled with windows and plants. We happened upon an ice cream shop, still open, and treated ourselves to giant cones of soft sweet strawberry ice cream. It took Kiomye the entire climb up the hill to our house to finish hers, and she walked at the pace of a cheetah on Dramamine. Pink sticky stuff covered her face, hands and clothes. She went directly from our doorstep to warm bath.

posted by Scribbler @ Sunday, October 10, 2004