I Can Make Better Sushi for Less

A few blocks from where I live, there is a busy Japanese restaurant next to the cable car line on Hyde Street — "Sushi Groove." However, I have never been there before until couple days ago. Although the food was not bad, but nothing is extraordinary, and nothing begs me to return. The first thing I noticed about the place is loud — loud music and louder (young) patrons. Everyone is shouting, because that’s the only way people can hear each other. I almost left the place right I walked in, but I thought I would stick with my plan and give this place a try. As always, I sat at the sushi bar. I wasn’t impressed by the nigiri sampler ($11.95). It was my fault for not telling the chef that I don’t like a piece of shrimp on top of sushi rice. Too late, I got a piece of dead shrimp for $2. Then I had a roll with spicy tuna inside and Hawaii white fish on top (either $12 or $13, I cannot remember). It was good, but the presentation is quite mediocre. On the same plate has two pieces of expensive chūtoro (中とろ) nirigi, $7.50 a piece. They are tasty, but how can anyone get it wrong? With a bowl of miso soup and a bottle of hot sake, I wish my dinner were a little bit more enjoyable. But I was totally annoyed by the loudness, and the portion is too small for the price. I think I could do better than that! I will buy some fish this weekend and make a sushi dinner myself. Too bad that Sushi Groove doesn’t give me any reason to return. I am so proud of myself yesterday because I finally finished my tax return. It has been a long time since I started to work on them. I was determined to stop my procrastination and to finish the tax returns last night. It’s extremely frustrating to go through the tax forms. I don’t know who are those idiots who designed these forms — confusing, redundant, and without any common sense. I am glad that I don’t have deal with tax for another year! I am done! I got very little back from the federal return, but I got more than $360 from the state return. Am I going to spend the money to stimulate the economy? Well, I don’t really need anything besides food. Plus, that tax return is really an interest free loan to the California government, and now the government is broke and I am not even sure if I can get paid back quickly. I shall see. However, I am not going to worry about it. If my money gets lost, I will give the Great Buck Howard a call for help, because he can always find his money in this movie: The Great Buck Howard Loosely based on the life of mentalist George Joseph Kresge Jr., known as "The Amazing Kreskin," director Sean McGinly‘s all-star cast comedy "The Great Buck Howard" (USA 2008 | 87 min.) is not only funny and entertaining, it also brings out fuzzy and warm sentiment. Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) drops out of law school because he wants to find a dream before it’s too late. He becomes the road manager for a hard-to-please stage artist — the Great Buck Howard (John Malkovich). The Great Buck Howard wants to give Troy a "life experience" starting with a clarification to Troy that he is a mentalist, not a magician: "I was a magician when I was 3 years old, but I evolved out of that. Not that I have anything against magicians, as long as they’re dead." After Troy meets a publicist Valerie (Emily Blunt, like Tina Fey‘s twin sister on screen) in Cincinnati, he begins to question his career choice, so does his father Mr. Gable, played by Colin Hanks‘s real life father Tom Hanks. Years later after Troy leaves Buck Howard, Troy realizes the great mentalist’s impact on shaping his path to reach his dream — the Great Buck Howard strides a chord that continues to echo in Troy’s mind. John Malkovich‘s earnest performance as the Great Buck Howard is crucial to the success of this film — his violent handshake makes Jon Stewart beg for a "mental handshake" to replace the real one; his trademark shouting "I love this town!" makes him a memorable and interesting character. Similar as in "For Your Consideration", the satire on the entertainment industry is quite entertaining in this film. Surprising appearances of numerous celebrities adds charming comic reliefs to the story. Like a magic — or a mentalism act — the film transforms a seemingly obnoxious and arrogant aging performer into an charismatic and fascinating performing artist, who loves what he does and loves those towns he travels. "The Great Buck Howard" opens on Friday, March 20, at Bay Area theaters.