Minako Sushi and Old Friends

You know how being with old friends can bring out parts of yourself that you might have forgotten about?  Well, this weekend my friend Hannah was in town from NYC and being with her really brought me back to the time when she was still living in San Francisco.  When deciding where to go out for dinner, we were both craving raw fish, and I suddenly remembered Minako, an organic sushi restaurant that we had gone to frequently when she was living in San Francisco.  It is one of my favorite sushi places ever, but I had not been there in years.  In fact the last time I went there was four years ago with Hannah when she was still living in SF!  So for old time's sake, we went to Minako for dinner and indulged in the most delicious meal.  We started with the sweet and crunchy almond encrusted shrimp, followed by gorgeous pieces of salmon and tuna sashimi. Then we had the most amazing salad with mixed greens, salmon and an umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum) dressing that was to die for!  The waitress said the umeboshi plums were made by her own mother in 2000.  Then we had two delicious rolls filled with octopus and cucumber and more umeboshi plums, and the other with cucumber, avocado, tobiko, and the biggest chunks of fresh salmon - it was heavenly.  I was so grateful to have remembered how amazing Minako is!

Also on this visit, my friend was staying at her old apartment in San Francisco. On Sunday I came over for a fabulous brunch, including her killer salad made with cabbage, mango, jalepenos, cilantro, mint, lime and red onion.  As we cooked and talked about education and politics in her old kitchen, I felt warm waves of nostalgia come over me.  Soft and blurry images of my old self and my old life floated around the periphery of my awareness.  Being with my friend reopened parts of myself that had become burried and lost.  After we ate, I said good-bye to my friend and walked home, up the hill in the sunshine.  I felt refueled, not only with delicious healthy food, but also with a stronger sense of where I've come from and where I'm heading.