The Synergistic Pen

ok, so this is actually a couple of days late, but I was hustled up to a Japanese buffet in Schaumburg Friday afternoon.  It was pretty nice.  Hadn't been in Woodfield in a while so wandering around what used to be this extremely exclusive mall turned just another place to shop was interesting. 

I keep forgetting there are a lot of Japanese people in the north suburbs.  I wonder who they all work for actually.  Anyway... sitting in Todai with hubby, son and adopted son, I noticed something.  Japanese Americans work really hard to remain Japanese.  Not that this is a bad thing; I think its beautiful, I love the way older women sit and talk quietly while eating and how the children are mannerable, and how the teens express their rebellion against the establishment by dressing like white kids (the really rebellious ones were goth or hip hop, that was cute).

For a restaurant at the height of the rush, the joint was quiet. There was a baseball game on the flat screen, and the older men watched and commented.  My boys sat practicing their Japanese on each other (I think they were insulting me there at one point) and hubby made sure I enjoyed my meal (I'm the lone person in our household that doesn't fall all over herself concerning all things Japanese).  It was a nice meal.

We stopped at the other Japanese place that I do love, Mitsuwa Marketplace: a Japanese grocery store with a mini mall attached to it.  Bookstores, travel agencies, liquor store, import shop, etc.  I DO love that place.  I bought some sardines and tea.  Gotta have tea.  Oh yeah, there was a Teavana store at Woodfield!  Paradise man!!

What a lovely way to start summer vacation.  Thank you boys for taking me out, even if the traffic was hell getting home!