Takumi with Ms. Laura

After a failed attempt to hit JCPenney's optical center, Laura and I decided to indulge in Takumi. I've blogged about this place before, but I still can't get over how great the food is and how affordable the prices. Don't be deterred by the fact that it's plunked in a strip mall out by the mall. Inside, it's tastefully decorated, and you'll feel right at home.

Who are those gorgeous grrrrls?

Laura started with fried tofu, and I started with a warming miso soup. We both had cups of their green tea, which is so unusual. It's unlike any green tea I've had before in that it has a sort of toasted barley taste to it. It's a wonderful addition. Next time, I'll ask the waitress or waiter about it.

Seaweed salad

I really need to learn how to make seaweed salad. Do you need fresh seaweed? And what type? Must do some research. It seems rather simple once you have the right ingredients, but perhaps it's deceptively complex. Dunno.

Spicy tuna roll

 My spicy tuna roll has a marvelous slight crispness to the tuna that was marvelous.

Dragon roll

Laura's July Visit

Laura tore herself away from her little Penny for a few days recently. As a special treat, we indulged in Muramoto, choosing à la carte items from the Restaurant Week menu, as well as favorites from the regular menu.

Seaweed salad

Chilled oyster trio

We started with the seaweed salad and the chilled oyster trio. From the left is the Thai relish, the cucumber granita, and the red wine mignonette threads. Our favorite by a far cry was the Thai relish. The other two were bland by comparison, but the Thai relish had the just right amount of garlic and spice. I wish we could've had all three with the Thai relish topping.

Noshing in Phoenix

Mmm...pho

Fair readers: I have been neglecting you. I'm so sorry. What can I say? It's summer.

These picks are from a few of the places I ate during my last visit to Phoenix in May...I think.

Read It and Weep

I've landed in Phoenix and am settling into the desert sun and heat, and the relative languor of vacation. This morning, I picked oranges, grapefruits, and lemons from the backyard and did my physical therapy exercises and some strength work on my legs and abs.

I've spent most of the rest of the day reading Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief outside (in the shade, of course) and consuming massive quantities of sun tea and water. Riordan's book is an entertaining young adult read that postulates that titans, gods, and demigods walk among us in the contemporary world.

After the pool cools down (we washed and removed the insulating cover a bit ago), I'll take a swim.

Let's see. What else? Last night we went to RA, a sushi joint up the street, for happy hour, played with the Wii (according to which, by the way, I suck at most physical tasks :)), and watched a movie.

I also wanted to mentioned the book I read right before this one. It's called The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and I was so enthralled that I burned through it in about four days. It's set in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi and is told through the voice of two African-American maids and one white woman. The white woman is writing a book about the maids' experiences, which was a dangerous and subversive act during this volatile period. Read it and weep, literally. It will make you cry, it will make you laugh, and above all, it will make you think.