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!

I went to the best sushi place in Athens, Utage, with my Jackson Spalding mentor, Ashley, on Friday for lunch.

We thought it would be a relaxing, low-key Friday in downtown Athens, but we were definitely mistaken.  UGA graduation was this past Saturday, so it was packed- even in the sushi joint.

Ashley and I sat at the sushi bar, and we both decided to go with the super duper lunch special.  You can order two choices from their lunch menu, soup and a salad for $7.95- a total steal.

I ordered the daily nigiri and the shrimp cucumber roll.  Ashley got the shrimp cucumber roll and the shrimp tempura roll.

Our soup and salads came out first and very promptly.  I’ve had the same waitress there the past couple of times, and she is fabulous.  My soup had a lot more seaweed in it than usual, but I like it that way.  It was piping hot and definitely a nice little start to the meal.  The salad was fresh, and I love the cucumbers they put on it.

Because it was busy, it took a little while to get our food.  I kept having to remind myself that it takes a little longer to put together a sushi roll than slap some chicken salad on a sandwich.  Ashley and I had some nice convos, though, so it wasn’t too bad.

When it came, my nigiri (tuna and salmon) was very fresh and cold.  Unlike grocery store nigiri, my fish did not come with a pile of rice under it.  It was just plain fish.  I didn’t mind it because it had a fresh, non-fishy taste.  It might freak some people out, though.

My eight-piece shrimp and cucumber roll was perfect.  I managed to eat my entire meal with chopsticks- a huge feat for me.  I’m terrible with chopsticks.

Ashley and I cleaned our plates, so I think our meal was pretty good.  The staff at Utage is always friendly and willing to get you whatever you want.  Utage is a little hidden in between Molly O’Shea’s and Junkman’s, but it’s a wonderful little nook when you find it.

Sushi is something I wish I would have learned to like as a kid.

I’ve become progressively adventurous with my choices, but think what I’d be eating if I had my first California Roll at three!

On Monday, I ate lunch with a friend at Utage Sushi on Clayton Street. Here’s their main information:
Location: downtown Athens at the very end of East Clayton Street. It’s in between Molly O’Shea’s and Junkman’s.
Phone number: 706-227-9339
Web site: Don’t have one.
Reservations: Yes.
Price: It is very reasonably priced for a Sushi Bar. Their lunch combo is wonderful. You get a soup, a salad, and two entrees for $7.95. Total steal.
Best meal: I like Sushi for both lunch and dinner. I’d say you’d be safe with either one.
Group-friendly: I’d like to think so. The restaurant is narrow, but they can definitely squash some tables together.

Mary and I came in around 1:30 p.m. for a late lunch. Our waitress was extremely hospitable and made sure to answer any questions we had about the meal.

We sat at a table for two, but they give you the option of sitting at the Sushi bar. I like that the best.

Even though I prefaced the post with my adventurous Sushi eating, I decided to stay a little traditional with the salmon roll and the cucumber roll. Since I’m not a big fan of soy sauce, I used the ginger dressing from the salad to put on the Sushi. It added a little sweet taste to it, and I thought it was really good!

Mary decided to go all out with the lunch special. Along with the salad and miso soup that came with the meal, she ordered the day’s nigiri and the beef teriyaki. If I can remember it all, the fish that came with the nigiri were red snapper, salmon, flounder, tuna and…my memory fails once again. There were five different kinds of fish, though, and they all looked tasty and fresh!

I love the inside of Utage. I feel like a V.I.P. every time I come in. I like how the front door is a little hidden from the street, and I think I’m going into an exclusive members-only kind of thing.
The restaurant is also very narrow, but it makes for an intimate setting. With dim lights, cool Asian art and flat screen TVs, you can’t go wrong!

I was a slacker once again and forgot my camera. I promise I will have pictures for my next post.

If you’ve been to Utage, let everyone know what you ordered. Most people are hesitant about the menu options, so it might help to have some ideas going in.

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!