Sometimes, it's more about the experience at a restaurant as opposed to the actual food. Of course, ideally, both would be incredible. But when I selected Teharu, all I was excited about was trying conveyor belt sushi.



What does that mean? Well, there is a literal conveyor belt, running through the restaurant, where you can pluck plates of prepared food as you see them rolling by.



Each plate has a particular color, which indicates the price. If you think about it, it is more like a cafeteria style restaurant, as opposed to a made-to-order restaurant. Except, in this case, the variety of food comes to you.



To me, there's a level of excitement in seeing what options are passing by you next. And, you don't have to narrow down a menu to pick the one item that looks best. Instead, you can try a little bit of everything that the chef has prepared that day.



There was everything from nigiri and simple maki rolls to fried appetizers, and I tried a little of everything.



I enjoyed the philly roll - salmon and cream cheese - and a spicy crab and shrimp roll, which was topped with sriracha.



I also had inari here for the first time, which is sushi rice, which is seasoned with vinegar, inside a deep fry tofu pocket. I didn't get a ton of flavor from this other than a slight little vinegar flavor from the rice.



Takoyaki is a fried octopus ball, which I definitely enjoy. I wish this had some sauces or other accoutrements to spice it up, but I love octopus.



At the end of the meal, your total is calculated by the empty plates that you have at your station. Yellow plates are one price, blue plates, or another, green, yet another, etc. It is impressive yet embarrassing to see the stack that I was able to put away.



These experiences are one benefit to visiting a larger city. And, it was cool to experience. I don't know that the sushi itself was any better than other places I've enjoyed. I'm considering there's potential for the role to make its rounds on the conveyor belt several times, it's likely to not be quite as fresh as some other places.



Overall, a good time with a good friend and some good food. I can't really ask for more.



Grade: A

Mochinut is a brand of Mochi donuts I found that delivered to my location when I was out west.



"Mochi donut is a donut that originated from Hawaii which is a combination of American doughnuts and Japanese mochi. Mochinut is gaining popularity owing to its unique shape and wonderful texture; light crispy coating with a soft chewy inside."



"Mochi Donuts are made with rice flour. The rice flour makes Mochi Donuts stretchy and chewy. There is a sticky addictiveness to each bite, a textural element that is completely different from yeast or cake donuts." The 8 dough balls came in regular, fruity pebble and taro. These were light and airy and delicious. I love the texture variation with the dough balls; it's kinda like both donuts and donut holes mashed together in a different way. Fun.

Grade: B