Sarah Blaskovich

I did something I don't normally do when I visited Vapiano last night -- I didn't read about it beforehand. So let's give my unpreparedness a positive spin and say I had "fresh eyes."

The concept of this place is cool: There are hip picnic tables (of sorts) throughout the restaurant, all the same size. You consult your tiny handheld menu and then order up at the counter, swiping your little card so they can tally up your meal. It's a good thing they explained all that as I walked in, since I was expecting to have a waiter at this pizza/pasta place.

We made the healthy mistake of ordering whole wheat pasta, which by no fault of theirs tasted too grainy. I chose a white cream sauce with mushrooms, which was light but not spectacular. Since I was going just to gab with a girlfriend, the meal was fine.

The salads were OK, too -- but again not spectacular. I did find their house dressing of homemade mustard arugula to be delicious.

Next time I go, I'd rather sit in their hip little bar and have a cocktail and a pizza. But I can't really complain. For $20 (which included two salads and a pasta dish), I say not bad.

The Fish has a $2 special every Tuesday. It's a bit misleading -- it's $2 for a single piece of sushi instead of the usual two-pieces-per-order. But still, I came out spending less than I would've at another sushi restaurant without the special. The sushi wasn't anything amazing, but it's probably worth a Tuesday trip every once in awhile.

I find that the sushi here is pretty good, as is their pad thai. No surprise there. But after visiting this evening, we were rudely asked to leave just after finishing our dinner. Apparently there was a reservation that popped up, and though we were not finished with our drinks, "others were waiting." I was not impressed that as loyal, paying customers, I was asked to leave before I was finished with my meal. It'll be awhile before I come back.