I used to write negative reviews with wild, cathartic abandon. Maybe I had something suppressed that need to be purged; maybe it felt like a relief to unload, to pour every bit of my negativity into a shoddy establishment. Maybe I thought I was doing others a favor by exposing the sketchy service.
One day, a friend described my review as "eviscerating", and suddenly I stopped. I had forgotten how much curses can singe and sting and sear; how easily the right words at the right time can break everything someone built.
I've tried to be more objective since then, honest but more descriptive than damming. And when I looked into the eyes of the staff at Casa Arigato, I was glad to be making the effort.
Because they are adorably mom n' pop: great decor, minimalist and clean, with a super-chill for beachy PCH.
But then we order, and "mom" pops our Dynamite into the oven, and I watch it all blow up in my face. The scallops taste old, burnt by age and an unforgiving freezer. The mushrooms are greasy, and the inadequate dynamite sauce is an attempt at spicy mayo that turned out to be just colored mayo.
The dynamite is a prequel to the Salmon Spicy Scallop Roll disaster that followed. The first bite has me confused, but soon the truth is clear. The scallops had such a fishy aftertaste that it makes the salmon taste like lox. I actually like lox, but this roll is all kinds of wrong.
I'm relieved to see the Eel Special Roll. No more scallops, no more raw food with varying degrees of freshness. This roll is mostly exactly what it says it is, but special it is not. Just a California roll wrapped with grocery-quality eel.
They bow when we leave, all sunshine and smiles. If only the food could reflect their sweetness, if only their work ethic and dedication could come through. I so appreciate these people that it pains me to write this review.
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