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| - Quick reminder that 3-stars is not a bad thing. "A-OK" is what it says. And that's what Pacific East was last night. The food was 4 stars and the overall experience was 2.
My first impression upon walking in was "what a dump." I was really disappointed in this. We were led without greeting by a host that seemed to be under an exceptional amount of stress (despite the fact that the restaurant was nearly empty at 6:30pm on NYE) to a table on a nondescript wall. Not just nondescript, but in bad shape. There were huge gouges in the wall, and they were not fresh. There wasn't a single thing on the wall other than orange paint. I felt like I was in a warehouse. A poorly maintained warehouse.
Our food came relatively quickly, and for the most part, it was delicious. I had two complaints on the food. One, in the Empire Roll, which is 3 different kinds of fish and 4 different kinds of sauce, the fish was a paste. Maybe I should've known this because it was "spicy X, Y and Z" as in "spicy tuna" but what is the point of having 3 kinds of fish if they're going into a blender? Also, the futomaki are just too big. Sushi etiquitte demands popping the whole thing in or biting it clean in two, and neither is really possible. I ate them whole, but I looked ridiculous and felt ridiculous. The flavors were all good to great. The fish quality was very good. The "steak" in the Land and Sea roll is not steak. It is roast beef from the grocery deli. FYI.
My other huge complaint was the gaggle of teenaged girls at the table next to us. Two of them were dressed like whores. One was showing 2 inches of thong out of her ridiculous and inappropriate outfit, and the other had a skirt that had a half inch inseam. The others were way too done up for 16 year olds, and they were obnoxious. Loud conversations about which ones of them had had sex. Lots of high fiving. One of their daddies must be a regular because they had several things delivered on the house. This is the future of our country.
Unfortunately, the other clientele is part of the experience. And this experience was merely A-OK. I'll stick with Shuhei where the decor, if a bit aged, is at least well kempt, and where most of the futomaki is better composed and manageable to eat.
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