Food Glut! All-U-Can-Eat Sushi at Kyoto

Hai! This article might be a little biased. I was so excited by the mere idea of all-you-can-eat sushi that I would've probably loved this meal regardless. Or maybe not...I'm not that easy going (see post previous-my new title is Ms.Snarky).

mmmm...USB drives http://www.gizmodo.com/

The Family had some friends in town from MN so before they started their 6 hour commute back home we opted for a final lunch outing on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I heard from a rather picky foodie that Kyoto, a sushi joint in a prestigious strip mall in South Milwaukee, runs a special on Sunday's & Monday's. Where some sushi places in Milwaukee have failed at sushi specials (Izumi's short lived but wonderful 1/2 prices Happy Hour) Kyoto has a loyal following of sushi worshippers that don't seem to mind the strict regulations on food consumption.

(picky foodie-two words that don't commonly work together but if you knew this chick, you'd completely understand. Loves good food, loves to pick it apart too, literally.)

It's 1:30pm on a really dreary day and the place is quite busy; Good Sign # 1. We get a table with faux Shoji walls for privacy, GS # 2. There are bustling Japanese men rolling enormous maki rolls and knocking out lovely little pieces of nigiri sushi. OK, I've seen enough let's eat please before I start chewing on my daughter.
poyoyon on http://www.craftster.org/

As a fair warning, there are rules to the all-you-can-eat at Kyoto, and the waitresses apparently stick to them quite rigidly. On the menu, the diners are reminded that they cannot share with those not ordering from the all-you-can-eat menu. This menu is a stripped down version of the leather-like menu the other diners are ordering from (you know the ones, the Too Proud to Pound). Gone is the tuna (good thing, note the jsonline.com article from last week about overfishing), salmon, yellow tail, scallops and many other standard staples. They do, however, include many luscious & phat (yes, phat) maki rolls such as the Sunshine Roll (smoked & raw salmon & spicy mayo), Rainbow Roll (sort of a catch of the day thing), Spider Roll (soft shell crab), and the not-so-fabulous Mango Roll (too gooey full of sauce). Others include kappa, oshinko, avocado and several more veggie maki and cooked and uncooked mixed rolls.

So...for $22.95, the overwhelmed diner can choose from any of about 10 appetizers. Sea weed salad, chicken yakitori, agedofu, gyoza, shumai. Order a miso soup or a small side salad, any of 12+ varieties of nigiri sushi such as unagi (eel), ebi (shrimp), red snapper, roe, tako (octapus), ika (squid), tamago (egg), oh my. Then, my engorged friends, you can treat yourself to rolls filled to the hilt with any of the above in so many concoctions I can not mention them all and get a desert of green tea or red bean ice cream. Whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it all.

Just remember - if you don't clean your plate, you must pay full price for that dish. So make sure to order small, working your way up to your eyeballs in raw fish a little at a time or you too will be left with extra Mango Roll as I was. (Thanks to a dining companion for finishing off that mess.)

I should, obviously, mention that this place is fairly kid friendly in the most typical of ways. We didn't wait a minute for our table, they have high chairs and it's non smoking. Little ones are allowed to watch while men cook up the goods in front of the sushi bar with polite smiles. They don't have a kids menu, but there are plenty of small plate appetizers, and if Yours are like Mine, the greasy, meat filled gyoza dumplings or the simple chicken yakitori will work just fine. Just don't let them catch you sneaking your kid bits of food under the table or you'll will be warned! Order something separate for them, off the regular menu. The children's small version of the special is $15.00 and not worth it if they drop most of it on the floor or don't appreciate the qualities of smoked eel. Kyoto also has that weird/wonderful invention called Bubble Tea in several varieties. They do bother to warn you that it's a choking hazard, that was kind of them.

If you have a tendency to dine during the rush of the dinner hour, you may have to let Jr. run laps around the parking lot cause there's not a lot of room in this dive. Letting them chew their way through a bowl of salty edamame might be a wise idea. Or just bring a snack while you wait for your boatload of sushi. It's a good deal, the food is still fresh even though it's the week's end and the staff doesn't snub you even though you're cheap. Enjoy!

KYOTO JAPANESE RESTAURANT 7453 W LAYTON AVE 414.325.1000

KID RATING: 2

PARENT RATING: 4

BETTY BON VIVANT RATING SYSTEM: 1-5

1 = ABSOLUTELY NOT WORTH THE EFFORT, SAVE YOUR $ FOR GIN

5 = WOW, I WOULD STRIP NAKED AND ROLL IN THIS CHOW IF I WAS A DOG