Published in Buzz Weekly
Overcast skies and excessive paperwork left me with a void that needed to be filled--a void in my stomach that could easily be satisfied with food. Expanding my cultural boundaries eastward for the week, I decided to head west: to Champaign’s Sushi County. Despite an obviously poor choice in the restaurant’s naming process, I was motivated by an intense yearning for cheap Japanese food in walking distance.
This week I was joined by Sevinc Turkkan, a Comparative Literature graduate student who currently works as a teaching assistant in Allen Hall. I had received a couple of friendly e-mails from her expressing interest in accompanying me for the column. Surprised and delighted, she seemed to have qualities that would make for a great date: intelligent, worldly, an adventurous spirit for pseudo-exotic cuisine, and lacked stingy wallet syndrome, unlike my last e-mail inquiry.
I arrived a few minutes early and grabbed a photo copied menu at the front counter to read over as I waited. The interior of Sushi County had a noticeably authentic appearance of quaint halogen lighting, cozy, gray Formica tables and empty walls to match. It quickly occurred to me that this restaurant was more probably more popular for its convenient, take away service than a date restaurant. Ordering is walkup/checklist style complete with a very bored cashier, staring vacantly into space. Items on the menu are either a la carte or box style, ranging from $3.25 to $8.95.
Within moments, the restaurant began filling up with people, including the much anticipated Sevinc. A petite woman with long, curly brown hair and a big smile, she cordially introduced herself with the enthusiasm of an old friend. I immediately picked up on a charming accent, which she attributed to years as a citizen to the world. Born in Budapest, and raised in Turkey, Sevinc has inhabited several countries, and experienced the romanticized vision I barely touch in my dreams. I quickly glanced out the window at a prosaic-looking Green Street and sighed. Extraordinary experiences such as hers could produce an air of pretension, but Sevinc was very genuine. She seemed pretty non-judgmental about the bland decor surrounding us and shared my interest in deciding on an entree.
Unable to decide amongst the tantalizing options on the menu, we settled with the economically-friendly County Combo A: a maki combination platter consisting of 6 California rolls, 6 tuna rolls, and 6 spicy salmon rolls for only $7.95. The 18 pieces of sushi would be more than enough to share between two people, and would only cost each one of us a quarter more than the a la carte menu. As we paid for our items, we learned that miso soup was a complementary item for any entree purchased, and tea was only a quarter. So that was why the restaurant was so busy with college students!
The miso soup was self serve from a crock pot on the counter and the tea was self serve from a broken water cooler just beside it. Considering it lacked any actual chunks of miso, the soup wasn’t anything to complain about. After all, it was a free item. Combined with an engaging conversation about literature and my deficient immune system, the soup lasted until our entree arrived. Presented on a classy Styrofoam plate, we picked up our sushi from the front counter and divided the pieces amongst ourselves. Immediately, I noticed that the pieces were not very tight, making it difficult to grasp with my chopsticks. The sushi was pretty uninspiring, though the ginger and wasabi weren’t half bad. It wasn’t the best sushi I had ever eaten, but it wasn’t the worst either. Overall, it was filling and just what I would have expected from a place called Sushi County.
After thinking it through a bit, it occurred to me that the restaurant’s corny name was not a poor choice, but rather a fitting title for the atmosphere and quality of sushi served there. Sushi County is a great addition to the campus town restaurants because it offers cheap, mediocre sushi to poor, undemanding college students. Though dining with an interesting companion makes the experience a bit better, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for a romantic date restaurant. My expectations were met: I ate at a filling sushi dinner for an extremely generous price and met an interesting local as well. Sevinc’s expectations for the restaurant were the same as mine, so neither one of us felt disappointed. As a fellow poor college student, I will say that I am no different from others who are willing to sacrifice flair for price and you will most likely find me dining at Sushi County again when I need a mild cultural dining experience.