December 2, 2009

Dining Ethnic on a Budget

Now and days who can say they go out every weekend to tryout new menus the way the economy is going.  I know I am having difficulties, with the little disposable income I have...not much of it is going out to dining.  Until, that is, I decided to snoop around a restaurant that recently opened on E. Washington Ave, Oysy Sushi & Seafood Buffet.  Many times before it opened, I saw signs of the all you can eat sushi and seafood buffet and thought they read my mind.  Though I started to wonder if that was a good idea.  I was a bit skeptical which is why it took me about a month or two to go check this place out.  I imagined sushi sitting out all day and the raw ones stinking up the place or going bad before someone decides to eat it.  And the seafood be low quality, because who can afford to have all you can eat seafood all day everyday?

To tell you the truth, Oysy wasn't bad, it was actually good.  You have about 5 different buffet island to choose from and they all vary culturally.  There a mix of Asian and American deserts, fruits, culturally different salads, and many different flavors of food.  They served dumplings and egg rolls just to mention some of the things different from the Japan cuisine, KimChee (Koren), and many Japan dishes.  The seafood are cooked such as mussels, baby octopus, and crab imitations, nothing here to be scared about.  The sushi is made every second.  A chef prepares the sushi from behind the counter and refills the trays as they become more visable.  There are both cooked and raw sushi rolls though all are pretty good.  Don't imagine it as the sushi you find in Chinese buffet restaurants (where the sushi sit on a tray over ice), the sushi at Oysy are made by the chef who keeps an eye on them so they rarely sit out at all.  Also, don't expect it to be the same quality of other sushi restaurant, there is only one chef who preps them all day.

For those who are afraid to try sushi, you should go Oysy, the sushi choices are very safe and not too extreme, also you reduce the chance of wasting your money.  If you do discover you are not a sushi fan at least there are still other options for the buffet.  And for those who like sushi but can't afford it, this would be the place to go also, for only $11.00 for lunch and $22.00 for dinner this is almost a third of the price you would pay at any sushi restaurant.  This post is not about authenthicity but about budgeting and still trying something new.



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