What Happened to Osaka?

"Did you hear Osaka Sushi closed?" Walt asked.

My jaw dropped open. How could Osaka be gone?

But yes, it's gone. A little internet sleuthing showed that it was apparently abandoned in December and Walt says he read that there was some sort of notice about the abandoned fish in the tank. Someone else said she heard that all of the locations of the restaurant had closed...just walked away from the place(s). Immigration issues may have been to blame. Rumors flying all over the place. "They fled, possibly went into hiding. Their employees didn't even get their final paychecks, right before Christmas too."

Usually when restaurants go, there is a bit of a disappointment, but somehow I feel a real sense of loss with Osaka. I learned to eat sushi in that restaurant, which was a favorite of some of the people who worked at Women's Health. Even now if I were to call RoseMarie she would suggest we meet at Osaka (though, since she lives across the street, she obviously knows it is no more).

The office had a couple of parties there, to welcome a new doctor or midwife to the practice.

Paul loved sushi and whenever Walt was on a business trip, Paul and I would usually go to Osaka at least once for lunch or dinner, sit at the sushi bar and talk about all the problems of either Paul's world or the world in general. I loved those Osaka times with Paul.

I remember shortly after Paul died, I went to Osaka by myself and sat at the sushi bar, pretending that Paul was back with me again, discussing the problems of the world. I still went to Osaka from time to time, but after that first time, I didn't pretend Paul was with me. I just went because I liked the food.

I remember the year when we decided to celebrate his birthday with dinner there. We have a cluster of birthdays at the start of the new year. Paul was 1/28, David was 2/4, I'm 2/17 and Walt is 2/26. Paul and David were the only of our kids living in Davis that year, so the four of us went to Osaka for dinner. Paul flirted with the waitress that night and there seemed to be a spark between them, so when 2/4 rolled around and we were thinking about to do for David's birthday, being a good brother, he suggested we go back to Osaka so Paul could continue flirting with the waitress. But she wasn't there that night.

Being a good Mom, I also suggested that we spend my birthday at Osaka, still hoping to catch the waitress again, but it was obviously hopeless. But by now we had eaten there for three birthdays and decided to be really silly and go there for Walt's birthday too (though by that time I think that we had all switched to cooked food instead of sushi!)

I liked the spicy tuna and the inari, but I had a real fondness for the Maki, of course, since it had a big ol' juicy fried shrimp inside! I always wondered how much avocado there was in Japan (or, in the case of the Philadelphia roll, how much cream cheese!)

On the first anniversary of David's death, we stayed at home and had Kraft dinner (his favorite--we even served a huge bowl of it at his memorial service), but on the first anniversary of Paul's death, we went to Osaka. Over the past several years it has evolved that we eat dinner each year on Paul's birthday and David's birthday, and on the two anniversaries of their deaths at Osaka.

This morning I realized we have to come up with a new routine, since Osaka is dead too, now. Wherever the former owners of Osaka are now, I'm sorry your business fell victim to the economy. I wish you well...and thanks for decades of memories.