We went to Calhoun’s Sports Bar and Grill to watch the game in HD on one of their NINE TVs. Calhoun’s is one of the best places to watch sports in the city, but be prepared for the smoky smell in your hair and clothes when you leave. It is also not the best place to eat if you try to eat healthy, like me… But you cannot beat it for satellite TV, the best bartenders and service in the city, and a fun time with friends.
The bar was crowded, but we were lucky enough to scrounge up some stools to sit at the back rail. Three and half hours, two Diet Cokes, and two Miller Lites later (yes, only 2 – it was still early…), we left disappointed, sad, and hopeful for next season. A change of clothes, food, and a night out drinking were definitely in order.
Sissy and I were craving sushi, so we decided on Blue Fin for dinner. She even had a coupon for $15 off dinner, so that was definitely a bonus. Of course, I tried to call for a reservation, but they only take them 2 hours in advance. Since we wanted to go in about 45 minutes, we had to just show up and hope for a short wait.
30 minutes was our quote time. Not bad I suppose, for 8:00 on a Saturday night. Since we were pretty hungry, we decided to order a beer and a seaweed salad at the bar while we waited. At $7, the seaweed salad may at first look expensive on the menu. However, when it arrives (fairly quickly), you can see why it is a bit pricey. It comes a deep bowl with a heap of cucumbers on the bottom. The seaweed itself is plentiful and fresh. It is marinated in just the right amount of sweet & salty ponzu sauce. Although I know I could eat the entire thing by myself, it is a great dish to be shared if eating as an appetizer.
Once seated at the table, we quickly decided on the sushi dinner entrée as one of our options. For the second, we were deciding between a second sushi dinner, a red snapper, beef tenderloin, and seared tuna. I remember seeing someone order the tuna last time I ate there, so we finally settled on that dish. Our server mentioned the sushi chefs were backed up and asked if it was okay that the tuna came out first. We okay’ed this option, as we were still hungry. However, had we not been sharing, there could have been an issue with the timing of food.
When the tuna arrived, I will honestly say I thought there had been a mistake. It came on a long skinny plate with 6 pieces of tuna, already cut and seared. There was a stack of 4 eggplant slices and a small mound of greens on the side. For $26, I would have expected a bit larger dish.
The tuna was good, yet very typical. There was a “spicy lemon soy” on the side with roasted cashews. It was more of a thick, fruity-tasting sauce – not at all what I expected from the description, but it was excellent when combined with the thick, slightly grilled texture of the tuna.
The sides were definitely the stand-out of this dish. The grilled eggplant was tender, with the true flavor shining through. The warm mustard greens were sautéed to perfection and retained just the right amount of the original bitterness that you would expect.
This dish was consumed fairly quickly, as we were very hungry by time, plus the dish was small, even by sharing comparisons. We then had to wait a bit for the sushi to come. Again, we were basically eating in courses since we were sharing, but the timing seemed to be off for the night.
When the sushi dinner came, we were pleasantly surprised to see that it looked big enough to actually share. While we both love sushi and could eat probably two helpings each, we were able to briefly satisfy our sushi craving.
The shrimp tempura roll was one of the better-tasting ones I have had. Only the shrimp were fried, rather than the entire roll, which really allows you to taste the rice, seaweed, and shrimp individually and combined in flavor. There was also a second kind of fish, providing a softer texture against the crispiness of the tempura, which only heightened the combination of flavors and textures.
Four pieces of nigiri lined the long side of the plate – one each of shrimp, tuna, yellowtail, and salmon. Twelve pieces of sashimi were piled up on the short side – 3 each of tuna, yellowtail, salmon, and octopus. Sissy and I cut each piece of nigiri in half to share and tried one each of the fish sashimi.
My favorite sashimi was confirmed once again in the selection of yellowtail. There is something about the soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture, with the slight fishy taste that I cannot get enough of. The octopus was nice and chewy, the salmon was butter-like and fatty (in the good way), and the tuna was… well, tuna. We divided up the remaining up pieces and savored our last bites of our favorites.
After a stop by the Saucer for a few beers, some pool, and socializing, we decided we wanted dessert. Sissy had never had the skillet cookie from Kooky Canuck (formerly Big Foot Lodge), so that is where we decided to go. Although we were seated quickly, it did take a while for our order to come out. We were eventually told that they were making them all fresh, so we did not mind too much.
When it did arrive, we were not disappointed. The cookie was obviously made-when –ordered and not just reheated in a microwave or stove. It has just the right amount of half-cooked cookie in the middle, surrounded by just-right-cooked on the outside. Topped with ice cream and chocolate bars, a full bite even included melted chocolate chips on the bottom. It was the perfect sweet treat to a good night, even if the Titans did lose.
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