I still don’t understand the social phenomenon of karaoke.  What IS it that makes us fearless, despite our nasty singing voices, horrible dance moves, and blatant “you!” points at all of our friends.

Seriously.

Despite my misunderstanding, I. LOVE. KARAOKE. 

So, last night, my friend Jenny and I decided to host a Disney-themed karaoke party for all of our friends in the Arch Society at Shokitini.

Shokitini, a local sushi restaurant on West Clayton, has three karaoke rooms: small, medium and large.  A note: if you want to reserve a room, SERIOUSLY listen to the lady when she tells you how many people the room can sit.  I thought the room was going to be big with a karaoke stage, but it’s so much better.

They are small, but they have huge booths for everyone to sit in and TVs on the front and back of the rooms.  That way, you don’t have to turn around and look at the screen when you want to face your friends.

It makes you look more like a karaoke baller.

Apparently, karaoke is really big in Asia, too.  I think I knew that before, but I guess I forgot.  Three-fourths of the song book had Korean songs.  Of course, we stuck to the small English section, but the TVs would show Korean music videos/soap operas/something like that in the background when our songs would play.  At one point, a bride was trying to drive off a cliff. It was interesting.

I actually forgot to order sushi, but many of my friends decided to order.  It was awesome.  The waitress came to our room, and gave us menus.  You write your name on your menu and then give it to her.  She brings your sushi up to you, and you don’t even have to pause your song!

Now, I know you’re wondering what we sang.  Here is just a sample of the musical delights (sorry if these choices make some of you feel old).

-KC and Jojo: All my Life

-Backstreet Boys: I want it that way

-Celine Dion: It’s all coming back to me now (This was sung by all the girls in the hiz-ouse.  We all agreed it was the most therapeutic thing we’ve ever done.)

-Dixie Chicks: Goodbye, Earl

-Lynrd Skynrd: Sweet Home Alabama

-Neil Diamond: Sweet Caroline

-Mariah Carey: All I want for Christmas

-Britney Spears: Oops! I did it again.

If these don’t make you happy, I encourage you to go to Shokitini and see what kinds of songs you can find and BELT as loud as you can.

We left karaoke feeling like we’d been to a concert.  Our voices were gone; our adrenaline was rushing, and we were TIRED.

The medium sized room was only $40 an hour, so we ended up paying around $115 for a two hour rental with tip.  It was a pretty dang good deal for how much fun we had.

Here’s the reservation line if you want to call: 706-206-6800.  Dianne will answer the phone, and she can hook you up.

Has anyone else been to karaoke at Shokitini?  Tell us about your experience!

For all my new “Edelpeeps” and Athens visitors, I know many of you are looking for places to eat either tonight or tomorrow.

So, I decided to give you a few suggestions!

If you aren’t going to the reception at East West Bistro, here are some fun dinner places downtown:

• For pizza/Italian: Little Italy, Amici, Transmetropolitan, Basil Press (a little more expensive), La Dolce Vita (around $15 for dinner at least), Mellow Mushroom, DePalma’s
• For steak and yummyness: Porterhouse Grill
• For tapas: Casa Mia, Speakeasy, The National
• For soul food: 5 Star Day Cafe, Clocked
• For vegetarian: Farm 255, The Bluebird Cafe
• Sushi: Utage, Shokitini

If you’re looking for breakfast, these are good, too!

• Mom and Pop breakfast: The Mayflower, The Grill
• Fabulous brunch: The Last Resort, The Globe
• Vegetarian awesomeness: The Bluebird Cafe
• Coffee: Starbucks, Espresso Royale, Walker’s Pub

I hope everyone’s having a good time in Athens! Follow me on Twitter (katlady), and ask me a question if you want.

Onward, social media!

This is the part when I play doctor (I think I’d be a lot more convincing if I was Meredith Grey.).

No, this post is not about a restaurant.
It’s about eating smart.

On Nov. 29, I heard a report on ABC’s World News Tonight about how the American Medical Association (AMA) is, “urging the FDA to take direct action by cutting in half the amount of salt allowed in processed foods and food served in restaurants.”

Half.

Lately, I’ve been paying more attention to the sodium in my food every day, and it’s made me aware of how much sodium, salt, MSG, baking soda, baking powder or disodium phosphate (many names, same thing) I’m eating.

So, (mostly) college kids, we are constantly learning about food. What to eat. What not to eat. How to cook. How NOT to cook. What’s cheap. What’s not.

Here are the facts about sodium:

1. Tighter restrictions, or personal decreases, on salt could potentially save 150,000 lives annually
   • High sodium levels in a person’s body helps contribute to severe heart problems
   • “One in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, and almost 1 billion people worldwide. Hypertension in turn is a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. And while being overweight and inactive raises blood pressure, too much salt is a big culprit as well.“
2. The recommended daily amount of sodium for adults is around 1,500 mg- about one teaspoon of salt
   • The average American consumes about 3,000-4,000 mg of salt every day.
   • Over a year, that adds up to three pounds of salt.

This is the fact that relates to my blog:
3. A lot of sodium people eat comes from food from restaurants.

• • “The grande Starbucks java chip Frappuccino® light blended coffee has 350 milligrams of sodium.“
  • “One Krispy Kreme chocolate iced cake doughnut has 320 mg.”
  • “One cup of Cheerios — frequently advertised as heart healthy — has 300 milligrams of salt.”
    

The question is: what are we to do?

I have a game plan.

If you’re watching your sodium, and you want to eat out, stay away from these kinds of places:

1. Mexican- a lot of the canned beans, rice, meat and spices are extremely high in salt.
2. Chinese- I found a good article on alternatives when you go to a Chinese restaurant. Here are some tips:
   • Look for dishes that feature vegetables instead of meat or noodles. Ask for extra broccoli, snow peas or other veggies.
   • Steer clear of deep-fried meat, seafood or tofu. Order it stir-fried or braised.
   • Hold the sauce, and eat with a fork or chopsticks to leave more sauce behind.
   • Avoid salt, which means avoiding duck sauce, hot mustard, hoisin sauce and soy sauce.
   • Share your meal or take half home for later.
   • Ask for brown rice instead of white rice.
3. Italian- pasta, pasta, pasta. It’ll get you every time.
   • Try ordering a salad or a light fish dish for a change.
   • You can also ask the waiter to see if they can cut out some salt.

Here are some restaurants I’ve remembered that might be a good alternative- in Athens, of course.

1. Farm 255- Everything is organic, free range whatever. I’m sure they would be open to suggestions or any special requests.
2. Shokitini, Rusans or Utage- Any good sushi place would be alright. Just don’t order a bunch of fried rice and then dip it in soy sauce. That would defeat the purpose.
3. Jason’s Deli- Their salad bar is great. You can’t go wrong with fresh veggies NOT from a can.

So, while I’m not saying you’re going to die of a heart attack tomorrow, I’m challenging you to be more aware of what you’re eating.

What’s coming from a bottle? A can? A box? A package? A deep fryer?

I’ll be interested to hear what you have to say.

P.S. Here’s what some other people had to say, too.
ABC News
Good Morning America
Lowsodium.blogspot.com
ehow.com

This past Saturday was awesome. The Dawgs won, and I got to eat sushi- all in the same day!

Shokitini, the new sushi joint on West Clayton Street, was the dinner choice of me and a few friends. We wanted somewhere to watch the game, and we discovered Shokitini has a huge projector screen. It seemed like the perfect set-up!

The inside of the restaurant is modern and swanky, but it also has the Asian-Athens feel. We were immediately seated by the hostess, and she took us to one of the booths in the back. It was a 3-sided booth, so the five of us definitely had room to spread out.

I think I’m going to skip to the eating part. I ordered their seaweed salad for an appetizer, and I asked for the Kani Su Roll for my main course. The seaweed salad was amazing. Even though I wasn’t sure what to expect, it had a very light, almost citrus taste. The seaweed was pleasantly slimy, but it wasn’t salty! It almost had the consistency of angel hair pasta.

My Kani Su Roll was pretty basic: crabmeat and shrimp wrapped in cucumber. If you go in without an appetite, this is the way to go.

My friends ordered the squid salad, and I tried some of that. I had eaten calamari, so I expected the texture of the squid. It tasted very fresh and cold. Two thumbs way up!

Some of the other choices at the table were Edamame, the Georgia Roll, and the Double Punch. Everyone left filled and happy.

As if the food isn’t enough, Shokitini has karaoke rooms that individuals can rent for private events. There are three rooms upstairs: a small, medium, and large one.

Basically, if you need a night out with the girls, a date place, or an awesome restaurant to eat sushi, this is it. They don’t have a website, yet, but I’m hoping one will pop up soon!