Girls Just Need a Night Out

The evening was coming on fast, and I was desperate for some tasty goodness. Specifically, sushi. And when one craves sushi, there is no arguing. It starts as a cry in the stomach and becomes an obsession of the mind. Following the will of the inner sushi caller, I dialed one of my girl friends Micah and told her to get cute and to get ready fast because we were going out that night for some fancy sushi. Needless to say on the other end of the line, I heard a squeal before a note of assent; within half an hour, we were off.

Jinsei Sushi in Homewood, AL

Banner from restaurant website

Looped arm in arm, we made our way into this modern hot spot of Homewood, AL, and were seated in the dim restaurant lounge, an eating area alive with urban music. We were comfortably seated side by side on a cushioned bench before breaking out in nervous giggles at the trendy vibes. The miniature table in front of us would adorably be the platter supporting our upcoming meal.

Having had steamed edamame in the past, I wanted a bit of adventure. Micah had never had edamame at all and generally had an aversion to the texture of any bean. But with a mission for her and myself to try something foreignly familiar, I ordered a starter of grilled edamame. I love edamame, but the introduction to a char-grilled, sea-salted version of this firm soybean left me licking my fingers. Not one was left in the bowl.

For the star of the show of course, we settled on two rolls of sushi: the ginger albacore roll made with maguro and hamachi (both Japanese names for bluefin tuna and amberjack) and the suteki roll made with smoked salmon. The waiter expected the prize winner to be the ginger albacore roll, and although it was absolutely delicious, the cream cheese in the suteki roll had us ladies hooked. Serious life discussions mixed with light-hearted comments found its way through our girlish evening banter; although the noise level was higher in this chic atmosphere, the intimacy of seating still allowed for close conversation.

We finished off our dining experience with baby bites, small bite-size cake pops with caramel and red velvet cake dough. The portion size was perfect - we were not looking for too much sweetness to overpower those salty and fishy flavors we had just savored.

The night was fabulous. Great company, a unique restaurant experience for the Birmingham area. It is definitely a place to which we will be returning. In fact, Micah has already made her birthday plans!

If an opportunity arises for a visit in the future, I hope the reader finds this place to be equally as memorable. Feel encouraged to comment and share those experiences with me.