Who Likes Sushi?

Who doesn't enjoy great sushi?!

I was with Sarah, a friend of mine Eric, and his girlfriend Rachael, when we began debating the best sushi restaurants in Indianapolis. It is a debate that has raged among a variety of my circles of friends. In any case, I challenged Eric that the northside of Indy had better sushi restaurants than the southside of Indy -- and would undoubtedly have the very best single sushi restaurant as well. Eric strongly disagreed and pointed to several great options on the southside of Indy.

Thus was born The Great Sushi Showdown of 2010-2011.

The Challenge:

Each group of contestants (Eric/Rachael and Ryan/Sarah) must come up with five sushi restaurants in their respective area of town (defined in this competition as northside for Ryan/Sarah and southside for Eric/Rachael.) These ten sushi restaurants will battle to help declare their area of town as the best for sushi...and will also determine the overall title for Best Sushi Restaurant in Indy (declared by us).

The Rules:

• North/South dividing line is Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis with a latitude line drawn East/West from it. This marks the northside/southside dividing line.
• Each team selects five restaurants
• Each team will rank their sushi restaurants honestly from their perceived best (1) to moderate (5).
• Restaurants will be judged in Rounds that consist of one northside and one southside sushi restaurant visited within 10 days of one another and on similar types of days (weekday/weekend) for consistency.
• One round will be conducted per month.
  
• Rounds will pit evenly ranked restaurants against each other in the following order: 5, 3, 4, 2, 1.
• The rounds will rotate starting restaurants (it has been determined that #5 northside will be visited first, then within 10 days the #5 southside restaurant. The next round will rotate such that the #3 southside restaurant will be first followed by the #3 northside within 10 days.)
• Each team selects a rotating couple to accompany and assist as unbiased judges. (Total of eight people involved each time.)
• At the end, the side of town with the highest average rating will be declared the best side of town.
• To determine the best sushi restaurant, we will pit the highest rated restaurant from each side of town against one another in a Final Round Championship. To be eligible for the final round, the highest rated restaurant from the northside and southside will be selected so that each restaurant must be the highest rated sushi restaurant that also won its round. Tie breakers include: Must win their round, then best Overall category rating, best Food category rating, best Service category rating, best Value category rating, best Atmosphere/Presentation rating, best Food>subcategory Taste rating, then a coin toss. (See rating rules for more details.)
• Final Round Championship tie-breaker will follow the same rules noted above.
• Restaurants will be judged by traditional, specialty and sashimi rolls, as well as other factors. (See rating rules.)

Rating Scorecard:

Sushi restaurants will be rated on a five point scale, (1 is worst, 5 is best) among five key categories:

• Atmosphere/Presentation
• Service
• Value
• Food*
• Traditional Rolls (at least two = spicy tuna, rainbow)
• Specialty Rolls (four)
• Sashimi (four)
• Freshness
• Taste
• Overall
  

*(The Food category will have five subcategories that will average together to determine the Food category rating.) The final rating score of each restaurant will be based on the average of the five categories.

The Ranked Contenders:

Northside

1. Taki
2. Tomo
3. Sakura
4. Naked Tchopstix
5. H2O Sushi

Southside

1. Yokohama
2. Mikado
3. Fujiyama
4. Kabuto
5. Ichiban

The Start:

The competition begins on September 11, 2010 with H2O Sushi, followed on September 17th by Ichiban on the southside of town to finish the first round.

One thing is for certain -- we are going to taste some great sushi during the next several months! Best of luck to everyone! I will provide updates on our experiences through this blog, as well as guest articles authored from the other contestants.

Life List Update

So, I thought I would update the Life List. This year, I finally and officially crossed off the final item from the original list -- Mardi Gras. It was a fun trip that I don't need to repeat given the crazy crowds...but it was a good time. As you know, I created a new list a couple of years ago as the original was being finalized. And, I am starting the new list by crossing off one that probably belonged on the original anyway...Oktoberfest. I am going this year to the 200th anniversary and also to visit a good friend, Tobi, who lives in Munich. It is one that really belonged more in the original list.

In any case, I have a new one, but I may not cross off all these items. And I may yet add new ones. Mostly, it is a reminder of the bigger picture in life. It's not just about the adventures, but a daily reminder to enjoy life, to always learn and grow, and to enjoy the company of those around you. These items are ones that can take a lifetime to conquer. In fact, I can see one or two that I may well already have covered. But, it seems that moving forward, my adventures will be more travel, growth and relationship related and less adrenaline focused. I'm glad to have conquered the original list.

Here is a new one to consider and modify as life demands:

• Go to Oktoberfest in Munchen (Munich)
• Find the right woman to conquer the world with! 
• Visit all 50 U.S. states
• Participate in the Antarctica Marathon (safer than the Ice Marathon)
• Which may lead to a desire to become part of the Seven Continents Club
• Visit all 7 continents
• Advance oneself with integrity: never seek to advance at the misfortune of others
• Learn to read music and play the piano comfortably (getting closer...)
• Always remember that life is short; make the most of each day
• Travel to Everest Base Camp via either Tibet or Nepal
• Write a book
• Continue to learn, grow and push oneself forward; be bold
• Maintain creativity: inspire and be inspired
• Participate in a triathlon
• Visit the Great Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Denali, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu in Peru, Petra in Jordan, Angkor in Cambodia, Acropolis of Athens in Greece, Old City of Jerusalem and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe (and maybe swim in the Devil's Pool).
• Get a master's degree
• Go race car driving on a closed-circuit track
• Go on an African safari
• Live abroad
• Enjoy the outdoors
• Forever in life: work hard and play hard
• Participate in other endurance races (100 mile bike ride?, 30+ mile trail run?, etc) before my knees go bad.
• Learn to speak another language near fluently (Hmm, I should really be farther along with French after all this time)
• Visit Rio de Janeiro, perhaps to attend Carnival.
• Read at least six books per year
• Go to a place of worship or spirituality at least once a month
• Get an interesting and meaningful tattoo
• Take better care of the environment
• Exercise regularly
• Save money in daily life; don't get caught up in consumerism
• Be better about remembering people's names
• Do a single day, rim-to-rim crossing of the Grand Canyon

[Below from the original "Bachelor List"]

• Party at least once for Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• Run with the Bulls in Pamplona
• Hang Glide
• Horseback Riding
• Paintball
• Caving
• Skydiving
• Snorkeling
• Bungee Jump
• Canyoning
• Paragliding (over the Alps, not the same as parasailing in ocean)
• Glacier Ice Climbing
• Rock Climbing
• Crowd Surfing
• Alpine Rock Climbing
• Kayaking
• Mountain Biking
• Party in Times Square NYC for the Millenium
• Downhill Ski Slope Mtn Biking
• Night-time Drunken Mtn Biking (one of the dumber things)
• Highway Hood Surfing (this is the dumbest thing I've done -- back in high school)
• Whitewater rafting
• Mini-Marathon
• Marathon
• Multisport Races - Duathlons, etc
• Snowboarding
• Skiing
• Water Skiing
• Cliff jumping
• Jet Skiing
• Boogie Boarding
• Sledding
• Start a pirate radio station
• Start a Business
• Travel Extensively Outside the U.S.
• And more

Concerts

In the past two years, I've been fortunate in many ways. Musically, I have attended a lot of great concerts. I attended Lolla again in 2010, but no other festivals. (I was pumped to finally see Soundgarden absolutely blow up Chicago on the stage in Lolla '10.) However, mostly, I have attended a lot of single concerts. Some of these include the following (in no particular order):

* Mickey Avalon
* The Killers
* U2 -- epic concert!
* David Gray
* Kings of Leon
* Blind Pilot
* Coldplay
* Pearl Jam
* Silversun Pickups
* Here We Go Magic
* Day Job Blues -- a local favorite
* Band of Horses
* NIN/JA (Nine Inch Nails and Janes Addiction)
* Maroon 5
* Counting Crows
* Blitzen Trapper

These are the few that I can recall at the moment. Check out some picture samples below:

Lollapalooza 2009

Last festival of 2009: Lollapalooza. The classic. Set in my favorite urban environment of Chicago. What a great festival. There are soooo many bands here. It was hot as is typically the case for August in Chicago. This festival would be a lot better in September. We did have one day of rain that made it hard to bear, but it was still great. Performances I remember:

• The Knux -- they really rocked it here at Lolla
• The Gaslight Anthem -- ehh. Not into the new Bruce Springsteen.
• White Lies -- now these guys rock.
  
• Bon Iver -- I really like the band, but Justin didn't have the same energy at Lolla...mainly because he played to a rain soaked audience.
• Crystal Castles -- another band that was solid, but just way better at Sasquatch
• Thievery Corporation -- Soooo glad I got to see them here. A favorite I always wanted to see live.
  
• Peter Bjorn - solid and I hope to see again
• Of Montreal -- solid, but stronger at Sasquatch
• Depeche Mode -- Oh man, great stage effects and killer sound. Blew me away! A highlight for me.
  
• Kings of Leon -- What's not to like?!! Great band.
• MoneyPenny -- played a really fun DJ set
• Atmosphere -- can't even recall
• Gomez -- dug it, but not remarkable
• Chairlift -- solid rock.
  
• Arctic Monkeys -- great set. Hard rock to the core.
• Rise Against -- Dig 'em. Solid set
• Lykke Li -- don't recall
• Ben Harper -- relaxing and good set. Not spectacular, but solid.
  
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- fun and solid, but I ditched out to hear...
  
• Tool -- Man they can really rock. Another super impressive band. The stage was amazing and the sound rocked. A highlight of the festival.
• Ra Ra Riot -- finally got to see them and was happy to check out their set
• Bat For Lashes -- I really liked her. Great stage presence, strong sound. Liked it.
• Portugal. The Man -- so glad Ben talked me into this one. Festival highlight for certain!
• Car Stereo (Wars) -- can't recall. (It was a year ago!)
• Cage the Elephant -- Feast and famine. One minute you can't believe how much they rock, then next you are getting ready to leave. Their album is the same though.
• Kaiser Chiefs -- fun and solid
• Dan Deacon -- harder than I thought. Not bad.
• Gang Gang Dance -- can't recall
• Vampire Weekend -- great sound!
• Cold War Kids -- Fantastic! Check them out!
• Snoop Dogg -- how can you miss Snoop? I enjoyed it, but cut out halfway to watch...
• Silversun Pickups -- best performance yet on their part! They tore it up. They were gracious to the crowd and raved about the city. They loved the city backdrop and you could tell they didn't want to leave the stage. Wonderful energy.
• Deerhunter -- ehhh
• The Killers -- Great performance!

Pitchfork Music Festival 2009

Next up, I went with a special someone to a smaller music festival in Chicago, the Pitchfork Music Festival. It's a great mid-size festival that is run by the musical geniuses at Pitchfork Magazine. (Okay, they probably hire a group to run it, but you know what I mean.)

Some good ones we missed: Beirut, Cymbals Eat Guitars.

I will give some brief highlights:

• The National - solid, but not remarkable.
  
• The Black Lips - can't recall
• Matt and Kim - oh man, they were good. Unexpectedly good. Is that really just two people on stage? Yeah, we were blown away.
• Yeasayer -- Loved it, loved it, loved it. Killer energy. I bought their most recent album afterward.
• Final Fantasy -- I've never seen anything like it. I haven't bought the music, and probably wouldn't because I'm not certain how it would translate, but check this guy out if you ever have a chance. Do it. He plays violin and constructs entire songs in front of you with his violin, keyboard, loops and pedals. It's unique and great artistry.
• The Dutchess & The Duke -- Great folksy rock sound. A surprise we stumbled upon and were glad we did.
• Mew -- solid
• Grizzly Bears -- a better venue for them than Sasquatch...or at least a more solid performance.
• M83 -- whereas M83 was better suited for Sasquatch, and played better there. Still solid though.
• Japandroids -- loud and unspectacular
• The Walkmen -- solid
• The Thermals -- simply a blast. They really outperformed my expectations of them. Super fun.
• Vivian Girls -- ehhh
  
• Pharoahe Monch -- very fun vibe and I would see them again.
• The Killer Whales -- another fun one.
• Blitzen Trapper -- do these guys ever get old? (Hint: no.)
• Frightened Rabbit -- strong performance
• Dianogah -- can't recall
• The Mae Shi -- impressive and fun
  
• The Flaming Lips -- trippy. Loved the performance, but they were overshadowed by...
• The Very Best -- the reason you go to music festivals is due to the sampler platter effect. You get to try lots of bands out in a short time...with the hopes of discovering a gem. The Very Best were that gem. Fantastic international rap-esque sound. They brought such energy that we were disappointed when we broke away to check out The Flaming Lips. I immediately bought there album afterward and listen to it frequently still. I rave about this group to everyone I meet!

Sasquatch Music Festival 2009

Here are but a sample of the many pictures that were taken at the Sasquatch Music Festival. The crowds were fun, the bands amazing and views spectacular! (Some of the pics include Silversun Pickups, Explosions in the Sky, Blitzen Trapper, Bon Iver, Ben Harper and Crystal Castles.) The festival is held at The Gorge Amphitheater, which leads to a stunning backdrop to the stage.

I will say that the area is dry and hot. I recall no reprieve from the sun -- it's basically a desert. At one point, a small cloud covered the sun for a brief moment at the end of a performer's song. The crowd erupted into excitement and cheers and the band must have thought they really rocked it. They were good, but even the sun worshipers appreciated a bit of cloud cover at that moment.

You can still access the 2009 Sasquatch Lineup, but I will give a quick review of who I saw. But first, the misses: Hockey, Blind Pilot, Beach House, Owl City, The Doves, Avett Brothers, Walkmen, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, St. Vincent, The Dutchess and the Duke, Janes Addiction & NIN (later toured as part of the NIN/JA tour that I caught). It just didn't happen, but I have at least seen Hockey, Passion Pit, Blind Pilot, Ra Ra Riot, The Dutchess and the Duke, Janes Addiction & NIN since and all rocked in their respective genres.

Bands I caught:

• Kings of Leon -- they continually rock of course.
  
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- strong set.
  
• The Decemberists -- chill, but solid
• Animal Collective -- great tunes, but didn't fit the festival, or at least a day time, main stage slot. It seemed like a weird fit and most didn't appreciate them.
• M. Ward -- dug him
• Devotchka -- interesting and fun
• Bon Iver -- one of my favorite acts here. He tore down the site. Played in a passionate trance, and nearly set his acoustic guitar on fire with his fingers. It was a raw and beautiful performance and the audience reflected that energy back at him. Simply put, it was awesome.
• Crystal Castles -- man, this was fun, but why couldn't they plan deeper into the morning?
• TV on the Radio -- solid but unspectacular
• Street Sweeper -- sucked. Don't pay to see them. Worst band I caught there.
  
• Of Montreal -- they blew up the stage. It was killer. One of the highlights of the festival.
  
• M83 -- great show
• Airborne Toxic Event -- I really enjoyed this act
• Deadmau5 -- great DJ set
• Ben Harper -- typically a huge fan, but helluva show and I would see him again
• Erykah Badu -- same as above
• Silversun Pickups -- one of the main reasons I attended and they didn't disappoint. A solid, electric, smashmouth success. I loved it, loved it. Great band.
• Fleet Foxes -- smoooth and beautiful. Chirag partied with them in the campground. How cool is it that the band hung out with the campers throughout the weekend?
• Gogol Bordello -- crazy internationals! Amazing and fun show.
• Santigold -- or is that Santogold? In any case, she put on a funky and fun show.
• Grizzly Bear -- Not as good as I had hoped, but solid.
• The Wrens -- left no impression on me
  
• Monotonix -- Okay, these guys...they are not amazing to hear. In fact, I would never buy a CD, but I will see them again for certain! They threw instruments into the audience and dove in to play them. Climbed the stage. It was mayhem. Great entertainers.
• Explosions in the Sky -- It's like two young Jeff Becks. Killer guitars, no vocals. Solid.
• The Knux -- they were better later in the year at Lolla.
• Blitzen Trapper -- another one of the highlights as far as I was concerned.
• Girl Talk -- stumbled upon them for a last couple of songs. I was blown away by how much the audience loved it. I felt like I was at an outdoor house party. Very entertaining.
• Chromeo -- my favorite DJ of the festival.

As with any festival, you really have to play it one of two ways: run around catching half acts, etc. Or picking solid ones to watch. I had a few that I picked to watch fully: Silversun, Bon Iver, etc. Mostly, though, the venue is small enough to run between sets and catch lots of music. As I look back at the lineup, it was even more incredible than I realized at the time. I saw some amazing bands at a spectacular venue, but still missed some really good ones.

After the festival, Chirag and I drove around through the Cascades and enjoyed the scenery before returning home.