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| - Maybe I'm just spoiled by all the AYCE sushi places now? This used to be THE place to go, and now I remember why I go there MAYBE once a year, lol.
I decided to go here for lunch on Saturday ($18.95). I was a little more in the mood for some regular Japanese food than sushi, but once we sat down to eat we realized we should've just gone to Umiya instead.
Nothing really stands out anymore which makes me sad :[ On the hot side I had the fried noodles, beef sukiyaki, calamari, gyoza, green mussels and shrimp/vegetable tempura. All were ALRIGHT. A couple years back the sukiyaki would melt in your mouth, but now it was just okay. If I were to say something stood out, it would definitely be the calamari. If it was there the first round I went, I would've gotten half a plate's worth! What can I say? I love squid.
They have a decent variety for lunch, including ramen, an udon station and of course the whole sushi side. One half of it is rolls and the other is nigiri. The cuts of fish were nice and large on the nigiri, but the amount of rice matched it. So much that you couldn't really taste the fish... at all. Why would you eat sushi that you couldn't really taste?
Speaking of barely tasting something, I would save my money and just order water instead of iced green tea. At first I was convincing myself that the flavor wasn't that strong because of the food I was eating, but when my boyfriend tried it he pretty much said I paid $1.75 for green water, lol.
I know it's a buffet, but it's the same price as the AYCE sushi bars for lunch, so really, if you're craving sushi opt for Sakana (for nigiri), Goyemon (for rolls) or Umiya (for a ton of appetizers). There's nothing wrong with the service here. I would say they could space the tables out a little more so it felt less like "community seating". Luckily when we got there it was towards the late end of the lunch service so it was starting to empty out, but I've had experiences in the past where I was practically bumping elbows with strangers while eating.
Honestly, I think I'm done with Makino for now, at least until I decide to give it my annual pilgrimage for old time's sake, haha.
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