Cha-cha-cha-changes... and my favorite Sushi restaurant

I had nothing to better to do on a Thursday night than get on the computer and change the look of my blog. I am giving you permission to mock my pathetic-ness (I believe that is not an actual word). I guess I should work on my final for my stats class, but that's not due until next Wednesday. I live on the edge.

In honor of the change, I give you David Bowie's "Changes."

MY FAVORITE SUSHI RESTAURANT IN SACRAMENTO


Tonight I had dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant in Sacramento called Nagato Sukiyaki. I discovered this place from my friend Justin who did a business project about this restaurant back in college. Justin, Jennifer (his girlfriend/my friend) and I have been going to this place since. It's typically just the three of us and we sit at the bar and mingle with the chef/owner, Don Kawano. He is a great guy. He is friendly, funny and not bad to look at. He is a Sacramento native and he took over the restaurant after his parents.


About the restaurant

Nagato Sukiyaki is Japanese owned and operated since 1970. This humble restaurant is tucked into the shopping center on Fulton across the street from Town & Country. The restaurant is family run. The cooks and the servers are all somehow related or connected to the chef/owner. I remember one night we were there pretty late, most of the customers had left and the older ladies working there (the moms and aunts) were finally off duty so they arranged a table and helped themselves to a feast-- food that you won't see on the menu. Japanese chatter clamored from that table and I could only assume they were telling each other funny stories because of the outbursts of laughter. That moment, that interaction is exactly what this restaurant is like. It's warm, it's friendly and you see a lot of the same faces. The people who go to this restaurant are regulars and they all want to sit at the bar, because they (including myself) feel like we are special friends of the chef.


The food is excellent. The rolls are simple: No gigantic rolls stuffed to the size of a burrito, no french fries in the rolls (ahem.. Guy Fieri), and the rolls aren't smothered in sauce. I have never eaten a dish I did not like and I visit this place a lot. This place is not hip (like Mikunis) and they don't spend a lot of money on advertising. Their loyal customers (like myself) do the marketing for them by word of mouth, or in this case, by blog.


So... if you're looking to eat just plain old good food (no fancy shmancy sushi) and don't care about the "scene," then Nagato Sukiyaki is the place for you. I urge you to try it next time and if you need company, I'm always up for visiting Don :) and I'm sure so are Jennifer and Justin.


Here's the website: http://www.nagatosukiyaki.com/
2874 Fulton Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95821
(916) 489-8230

P.S. I had blowfish (the poisonous one you have to cut a certain way to not get poisoned) at this restaurant. The chef had just gotten back from Japan and somehow smuggled some in (or he brought it frozen) and served it to us to try. He put some type of mustard sauce on top and it was dee-licious! It was  sweet and mild. This dish wasn't on the menu, he just gave it to us to try for free at the end of the night.