Haiku

I'd like to present the following haiku, inspired by all-you-can-eat sushi:

Delightful treasures
Gifts from land and boundless sea
Furled conveniently

This poem is but a humble offering when considering the majesty of my muse, Ajia Japanese Fusion in University City. Indeed, the meal I got could have been, in better hands, muse enough for an epic bunraku play or a sublime woodblock print. Perhaps even a manga series.

While the service was poor--borderline negligent, really--the sushi was great. And offering a $30-ish all-you-can-eat option, Ajia's value is unparalleled.

I doubt their chef was prepared the workout he received when my friends and I began placing our orders. We ordered practically every roll and sashami on the menu. And for several items, such as their fried sweet potato roll, many duplicates.

The waitress, when she wasn't gabbing on her cell phone, brought us tray after porcelain tray of beautifully presented rolls, as vibrant in color as in flavor.

But it was more than mere quantity that made this experience memorable. The food was definitely a cut above. Even their Philadelphia roll, a commonplace, humdrum morsel elsewhere, was fantastic here.

I left feeling content, stuffed to the gills and brimming with creative vitality. So much so that I'll leave you with another sushi haiku to ponder:

Flavors hot and sweet
Pop like a blazing sunset
Dancing on my tongue