Baby A Rolls On

Baby A, possibly jealous of his brother, rolled from his belly to his back today. My two exceptional boys.

Just Rolling Around

Baby B rolled over from his back to his belly today. I thought this might be early for a baby, and Baby A has shown no interest in rolling over (he has managed to learn that he can get me to do just about anything, including sashay). It turns out the timing is about right for a baby to roll from belly to back, but from back to belly doesn't usually happen until 5 or 6 months. I don't know if this is true, but I'll just take it as gospel and say my baby is ready to go. He'll be walking by 5 months -- for better and worse.

Sagano Redux

Tonight I, and some others, returned to Sagano to eat on the "sushi" side. It's quieter and we could face each other. It took a while for us to be seated, which had never really happened before. It was an omen. Service was slow all night, and I knew things were bad when our server was also the owner. Normally, she hovers around the front desk, serving as hostess and making sure everyone was happy. Tonight she was dressed in more "server" garb and seemed a bit harried. To her credit, she took our large order verbally and only made one small mistake -- the wrong salad dressing on one salad.

The restaurant was busy, a good sign, but it seemed a bit crazier than usual. The table behind us was full, at least 8 people, who were waiting to go into the steakhouse side of the restaurant. The increased traffic made the place feel busy, and the service suffered.

The sushi was delicious, as usual, but I realized how important the service was to me at Sagano. I like sushi, but I find Sagano's selection slim given I don't really eat sashimi. So, I left with a full belly, but somehow dissatisfied.

Maybe going on a Friday night wasn't the best choice, though the only time available for our group. We went at 6, a bit early for the Friday night dinner crowd. Still, it may have been the wrong day and time.

We learned (true or not) that two of the servers had to return to Japan temporarily. We didn't ask why. I know the steakhouse is new, but I hope they work out the kinks and don't lose me from both sides of the restaurant.

Sagano Brings in Entertainment

On Friday I went to Sagano's new steakhouse for someone's birthday. I went with family and friends, kids included. This is no typical steakhouse like Outback or Logan's. This is the kind of steakhouse like Benehana, where a chef/performer comes and makes food on a large grill right in front of you.

The performance was wonderful. Our chef was skilled and funny. I swear he was flirting with our single, female friend who was with us. There was fantastic knifework, flames, jokes -- even food acrobatics. In fact, my brother-in-law caught two flying pieces of shrimp. Baby B was fascinated with the performance, distracted only when he decided to spit up his entire meal.

Though pricey, the entertainment was great and the food was well above average. I had steak, another in our party had filet minion, two had tuna, and three had chicken. Each part of the meal is a course. We started with rice, had noodles, and had vegetables. Then we had the main course -- my steak. All of the food was good, but I prefer to have all parts of my meal together. Otherwise I feel like I'm just eating a plate of meat. Maybe I'm a bit too bound up in Western food traditions. Sure I could have left the food sit on my plate until the meat came, but the food just wouldn't seem as appealing cold.

The atmosphere was nice, but it was loud with all of the chefs making noise at the tables. I was impressed that Baby A did as well as he did with the loud noises. He tends to startle a bit, particularly in new environments. And speaking of Baby B, he beckons me.

I'd go back, but I still prefer the sushi side of Sagano, where conversation and exceptional food reigns.