Member since: 2008
Last activity date: 03/27/2009
Beginning balance:10,973
Miles deposited:0
Ending balance: 10,973
To keep your account active, earn miles before 09/29/2010.
_________________________________________________Miles deposited:0
Ending balance: 10,973
To keep your account active, earn miles before 09/29/2010.
Dear US Airways,
If your flights weren't so damn expensive all the time, I would fly with you more frequently and therefore earn frequent flier miles. Now you are threatening to take away my hard earned Las Vegas
and San Francisco miles? 
How is that fair? It's like encouraging me to never fly with you again.Sincerely,
Daisy
All jokes aside. I'm in dire need to keep my account active. Luckily I am a member of US Airways Dividend Miles Dining Program. There are actually a lot of restaurants in the area that I can dine at to redeem miles. They even have a special going on this month: "Change of Scenery Bonus: Spend $30 at a restaurant, bar, or club where you've never earned miles before and become 500 miles richer."
I purchased a $30 Groupon t0 OSushi some weeks ago, which just so happens to be on the Dividend Miles Dining list. This means I need to "spend" $60 on lunch! $30 to cover the Groupon, and the other $30 on my credit card so I can become 500 miles richer, ensuring I don't loose the hard earned 10k in the bank.
Lets do Lunch
OSushi is located at 10 Huntington Avenue, inside the Westin Hotel, Copley Plaza.
I was greeted right away by the woman who would end up being my waitress. She sat me in the corner next to the sake case and presented me with both a drink and lunch menu.
History: I have been to OSushi before. Twice in fact, both times for dinner. The first time when My Mom, sister, Aunt Cheryl and cousin Cayla were visiting in the summer of 2005. Fun fact: I didn't technically move to Boston until 2006, however that summer I lived 4 days out of the week in Allston because I was completing an internship at what is presently the company I work for. The other 3 days of the week were spent on Cape Cod. Gosh, that was an awesome summer. I digress. The second time was a date night way back when Adam and I first got together. As a result of these two outings, I believe their sushi to be exceptional. Some of the best I've had in the city, for sure.
I guess it has a lot to live up to today! They have an extensive wine list by the bottle and a fun martini menu too, which I debated over.
In the end I chose to start my afternoon with a carafe of cold Nigori Sake.
It was lighter in color and taste compared to my previous experiences with unfiltered Nigori sake. It drank light and smooth with subtle hints of juicy pear and apple and lent a dry finish that left you wanting more. I appreciated the waitress letting me know upfront that my Groupon did not cover alcoholic beverages, even thought it made no difference in this situation. Wait staff transparency is highly appreciated and goes a long way in my book.
Originally I was not going to indulge in a bowl of Miso Soup ($3), but it was quite chilly in the restaurant. Not uncomfortably so, but the perfect temperature to sip on a warm bowl of soup indeed.
If you're a longtime reader you know I evaluate all Japanese restaurants first on the quality of their Miso. Piping hot, full of salty soybean flavor and plenty of scallions, thick strips of seaweed and tofu chunks, Osushi does a great job on this staple starter. They even add baby mushrooms to the mix earning them extra credit. 
I took in the atmosphere while I waited. After all, it is my first time here in almost three years, and first time ever in broad daylight. The small single room interior is stylish and sexy with modern red and black decor. I appreciate the minimalist approach from a sleek sushi bar to pristine tables adorned with nothing but red cloth napkins and chopsticks.
Large floor to ceiling, wall to wall windows provide the only natural light, looking down from the second story over Dartmouth Street. Come dinner time, the restaurant is almost completely dark, which makes for a romantic setting, especially when nestled in those high suede booths. It was pretty busy considering the lunch hour. I counted two other single female diners. It's always nice to not stick out like a sore thumb in these situations. (But I do anyways, I'm taking pictures, remember?!)
Lunch.is.served. I'm ecstatic and boy do I have my work cut out for me. I'll start with the actual sushi, the stars of that plate. I loved the maki rolls, don't get me wrong, however this was some of the freshest most texturally pleasing sushi ever.
Tako ($4) octopus. From experience, octopus is not a sushi lovers favorite. For me - it has a taste and consistency unlike any other. Ok, so the texture is described by most as rubbery, tough, and rather mild in flavor. What is so appealing about eating octopus anyways? 
Looking past the tough rubbery repute, it has a delicateness about it. A smooth, glistening, thin slice of firm octopus sits fastened by a belt of nori atop a block of compact sushi rice. There is a remarkable chewiness and a burst of fresh clean flavors which linger on the palate.
In stark contrast to the Tako, I couldn't pass up a longstanding favorite in the form of another scare worthy sea creature - Unagi ($6) eel. It is delicate as opposed to firm, soft as opposed to chewy, sweet and melt in your mouth messy as opposed to mild and clean. 
Unagi is everything the Tako is not, besides the inherently fresh and palate pleasing qualities. I savored the sushi in between bites of my almost-too-pretty-to-eat lunch rolls.
Hamachi Hako ($12) yellowtail, garlic, scallions, shiso, topped with daikon and jalapeno served on top of pressed rice. Pealry pink and super smooth yellowtail tops a block of sticky rice where the strong flavors of garlic and jalapeno give off just the right touch of heat.
Ideally I would have enjoyed a larger sushi to rice ratio on some of the other blocks. That being said, I did love this roll. The plentiful marinated daikon added a nice crunch and the thin layer of shiso atop the fish did not to unnoticed. This hako was a well conceived bite executed with attention to detail.
The blocks of rice are supposed to be large and in charge, giving this sushi style a different appeal. I was thinking as I ate - this would be a good bite for a beginner sushi eater! Someone who can handle a mild heat and is open to but still somewhat intimidated by raw fish.
It is just so beautiful. How could you not want to eat here, after seeing this?! You better believe I was feeling pretty full right around now:
Don't worry, I ate it all, even though this was easily a lunch for two. So was that never ending carafe of sake. It's fine. I enjoy and am completely OK with getting buzzed by myself at 1:30 on a weekday. It's good for me.
But alas, the roll that's been hiding behind the likes of all the others. The roll that gave me my obligatory avocado fix. The TNT Maki ($8.5) is baked spicy salmon, avocado and cucumber served atop a homemade hot sesame oil. This roll kicked things up a notch. The spice was powerful, the salmon was soft and warm, the avocado, cucumber and even those beautiful stalks of lettuce added cool contrasting elements. And once again, the detail with the sesame oil and those crunchy black sesame seeds added another layer by which to impress.
Speaking of impress, OSushi did just that. I was reminded why this has been one of the longstanding, reputable Boston Japanese restaurants in my eyes. Though I know just as well as any, there is plenty of room for debate when it comes to sushi! I rate Haru (Prudential) and Douzo (Back Bay) high up on my list. I have yet to try the acclaimed O Ya, or Oishii (what is it with these O names!?) or the newly opened Basho. I've definitely had my fare share of pretty good to just mediocre at the likes of Billy Tse's (North End), Ma Soba (Beacon Hill), Zen (Beacon Hill) and others. It takes a lot to stand out, and sometimes it all depends on what you order....
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