Bluefin

Bluefin Edge Cuisine and Sushi Lounge
135 S. Main
528-1010

I'm a big fan of Bluefin. I've eaten lunch there a million times and even written up their Spicy Tuna Pizza for the Memphis Flyer. (Twice.) I've taken Warren a couple of times for dinner and we have been impressed with the fancy offerings on the menu. Six months ago Bluefin was featured on Memphis for Less and I snatched up a $50 gift certificate. Warren and I had planned to use it last week before the Tom Waits concert, but in our drunken stupor, forgot. So with just days to go before it expired, we decided to take the monkeys (Satchel, 4, and Jiro, 2) there before the Wizard of Oz show at the Orpheum.

I definitely think Bluefin is the fanciest/hippest place we have ever dined with the monkeys. We waltzed in at 6pm and I could see the terror in the eyes of the bartender, hostess, manager, and head waiter. I thought for sure we'd be given a table waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back of the restaurant, but to my surprise we were seated in a booth right up front next to the sushi bar. As we passed the fancy tables with the sleek sofas and loungers, Satchel yelped, "I want to sit THERE!" He was sorley disappointed with our very average seating arrangements.

I lucked out and got to sit next to Satchel and Warren was left with Jiro. This lasted for about two minutes, then Jiro crawled under the table to sit with me. Warren and I were both a bit edgy. The water boy came over and looked at us like a deer in headlights. "Should I go ahead and give them water?" he asked. I took a look at their giant water glasses and said, "Sure, but just half way." He filled Jiro's up about three quarters and I stopped him and then poured half of that in Satchel's glass. The water boy gave me a sheepish look and ran away from the table as fast as he could.

"What are we going to feed them?" Warren asked. Having been there several times, I was prepared. A quick scan of the menu verified that the monkey staples of miso soup and edamame were available (albeit for a much higher price than at a plain ol' Sekisui). I also knew I could get them a cheese pizza for $10.

The waiter came over and before I could put in my plea for miso soup, Warren said, "I'll take a Kirin."

"Should I just order us a bunch of sushi?" I asked Warren, who was busy doing damage control as Satchel and Jiro precariously took big gulps of water.

"Sure."

I quickly marked off a Spicy Tuna roll, a California roll, a Jacksonville roll (our favorite), and then decided to splurge on the pressed eel roll which was $10. I did some quick math in my head and figured we were right at $50.

Satchel and Jiro were in full squirm. Jiro was doing his best to heave himself over the wall separating him from the sushi bar and Satchel was plotting a way to get to the sofas.

"I need to go pee pee," he said.

"I'll take him," I quickly said as I too had to go. I felt a little bad leaving Warren alone with Jiro, but only for a minute. He did have a beer afterall.

As we walked back to the bathrooms, Satchel had a big bounce in his step. "Cool!" he said as he pointed to the sofas, the neon lights, and the pool tables. "Can we come back here when we are done?" he asked.

"Maybe," I said.

Once inside the bathroom we were enveloped by really loud disco music. "Is this the girl's bathroom?" Satchel asked.

"Yep."

"Is there a boy singing in the boy's bathroom?

"Uh, I don't know."

Satchel did more bouncing on the way back to the table and even managed a quick leap and two step on one of the sofas despite me gripping one of his hands. At the table, Jiro and Warren were still in one piece. The waiter brought the miso soup over in a big ceramic bowl and quickly turned to leave. "Can we have an extra bowl?" I asked before he could get away. (I said it like I hadn't already asked once.) He quickly came back with one and Warren and I divvied up the $5 miso soup between the two monkeys. (I couldn't quite figure out why they charged so much considering it barely had any tofu or seaweed in it, but kept my mouth shut.) Luckily the novelty of the new bowl was enough to keep the monkeys interested in it until the sushi started to arrive.



(Satchel of course, spilt half of his on the table with a big crash. Warren and I cursed under our breath as we scrambled to wipe it up. Our waiter rushed over immediately and breathlessly asked, "Is everything ok?" It was kind of funny actually. Luckily the spill was mostly contained on the table and we were able to salvage enough for Satchel to eat.)



Our first roll to arrive was the pressed eel. It was quite impressive--big juicy servings of eel laying on top of one inch thick squares of rice dotted with cream cheese and avocado. Jiro immediately reached for one, but decided he just wanted the rice part. We told Satchel that the eel was barbeque salmon and he pretty much inhaled it after that. Before we could finish them all the other three rolls came. Jiro ate three pieces of the California roll while Warren and I ate the rest. (Satchel was still busy with the eel.)

When all the sushi was gone, the pizza showed up. Satchel and Jiro were both extremely excited and surprised--they had never once had a pizza at a Japanese restaurant. They each had a piece and a half and Warren had some too. "I like this crust," he said. "I wish Memphis Pizza Cafe had a crust this good." (He says this about pretty much every pizza he eats just to annoy me.)

Even though the monkeys were still busy eating I asked for the check so that we wouldn't have to deal with a long wait between the end of the food and the beginning of the payment. The waiter came right back with it and our total was $50.10. I slipped him our gift certificate and a $10 tip. Once the monkeys declared themselves done, I got up and we made a break for it. (Warren lagged behind desperately trying to rid his beer glass of every drop.)

On our way out, Jiro broke free and started scaling the railing that separates the restaurant from the bar/entry way and Satchel snuck in a few bounces on a sofa. They both ran towards the water wall and squawked briefly before being scooped up by me and Warren. We had to walk past the hostess, manager, bar tender, and waiter again and I was scared to make eye contact, but you know what? We did pretty good.