どうもありがとう to the wonderfully chatty sushi chef at Teppan Hibachi Steak House for keeping me company—despite his very broken English and my inability to hear over the din of all the hibachiness going on in the next room—during dinner the other night. I had been on a week-long, solo, semi-cross country road trip (my “journey of self-discovery”) and was craving sushi on my way back east. After driving nearly ten hours, I was thrilled to come across Teppan in a small strip mall called Dorneyville Shopping Center (across from this farkakte monstrosity) in Allentown, PA.

I kept it simple and ordered two pieces of maguro (tuna) and two pieces of sake (salmon) sushi with a side of miso soup. A mini seafood salad was presented to me “on the house” by the chef. The fish was fresh, the rice sticky, and the wasabi hot. The small meal hit the spot and I was glad to have some conversation to keep me from falling asleep in my dish before hitting the road again.

Back in the city, Marc & I enjoyed some light fare at Schiller’s Liquor Bar on the Lower East Side where, again, I kept my meal simple and ordered an arugula salad with roasted butternut squash, pine nuts, and shaved Parmesan cheese as well as a bowl of the tomato-white bean soup of the day (bringing back comfy and aromatic memories of the fall/winter). Marc enjoyed the pan-roasted sea bass served over a tomato and fennel coulis. The portions were actually on the small size, but at least we came away, for once, with room in our bellies for more.