oysy

date: february 2, 2006
bet: can mason successfully throw friend's hat to him frisbee-style across the bar?
stakes: lunch
winner: olive
loser(s): mason
location: oysy (50 east grand)
cost: $30

olive: i love bets that require a physical challenge. in this case, mason had to toss his friend's hat across the bar into the hands of said friend. i conjectured there was no way he'd make it, and so a bet was born. we even had a crowd (if two pals standing beside us counts as a crowd) cheering us on. mason made the toss and the hat veered right, landing on the pool table. though this bet may sound boring in blog format, i think it was one of the more exciting challenges.

mason: exciting indeed. but i'm not sure olive's description of the bet was quite complete. now you might be thinking that by now olive and i would have learned that before solidifying a bet we should make absolute sure that the parameters of said bet are completely understood by both parties to the point of misunderstanding extinction. i hear it at least 8 times every day at the office -- it's called "being on the same page". but for some reason, the page manages to allude us every so often and a controversy is born in place of an undeniable winner/loser appropriation. and this was one of those cases. the bet, as i remember it, was that i had to throw my friend's hat to him and he had to catch it before it touched the ground. as olive mentioned already, the hat landed on the pool table, where my friend picked it up and placed it on his head. now i'm not sure what category the pool table falls under in other countries, but in america, if you wiki "pool table" i'm almost certain that you won't find the word "floor" anywhere. luckily for olive, there were witnesses, and the witnesses ruled in her favor. i would like to note, however, that both witnesses were boys and they were both very drunk. oh, and olive is very cute.

olive: another classic tale of mason trying to cheat the system when the bet results fall in my favor. anyway, for the winning lunch, mason took me to oysy ("oi-ee-shee"), a pleasant little sushi spot bustling with business-types and sushi-enthusiasts alike. we both ordered the $12 lunch special (that's right, $12), and were delivered a compartmentalized tray featuring tempura, mixed greens with ginger dressing, a frittata-type patty of mystery ingredients and a bunch of tasty rolls. i'll let mason describe the rolls, as he is our resident sushi expert.

mason: when i first heard that there was a new sushi restaurant that offered five nice pieces of sushi, a larger-than-usual california roll, three nice chunks of tempura, miso soup, salad, and mystery patty all for $12, i was almost positive i was going to be disappointed. but color me surprised and delighted, this meal was great. all of the sushi was incredibly fresh and the side items were darn tasty as well. the presentation, service and atmosphere were also top-notch, and as is rarely the case when i have sushi for lunch, i actually left the restaurant full. granted i had to polish off each and every item i was given plus a couple of olive's, but i was full nonetheless. i should also mention that this lunch special is great not only for the sushi enthusiast, but also for the novice or even a first-timer. in my opinion, there's no better way to lose your sushi virginity that with a california roll, and the pieces are tame enough to keep a first-timer from cringing.

olive: the verdict -- excellent. the service was fast and friendly, the food was fresh and flavorful, and the price was quite right. future visits are a must.

mason: so we know what some of you might be thinking. "geez, it sure has been awhile since your last entry, olive and mason. what the hell have you been doing?" well, we think we've got an answer that will please you.

we'd like to introduce "one minute more", which will accompany each of our posts from now on. it doesn't take much explaining to understand just what "one minute more" is, just some clicking. oh, it also requires quicktime to view, so if you don't have that on your computer (shame on you), you can download it here for mac and here for pc. so without further ado, we present our inaugural offering:

One Minute More - Episode 1: Oysy


and for those of you who would like to carry olive and mason around with you in your pocket, we also offer "one minute more" in podcast format. we're working to get future episodes into itunes so you can subscribe and have them automatically downloaded to your library, so stand by for that.

olive: thank you to friends zaid maxwell and mrs. meow styer for creating this nifty o&m jingle. and thank you to oysy for letting us sneak some footage.

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