Kiku Sushi, Boerum Hill

Sushi and Sashimi Combo, Yellowtail Scallion Roll, Softshell Crab Roll, House Salad + Zombie

Kiku is one of those hilariously over-designed apparently Asian restaurants on Smith Street that you probably have walked by countless times.  We were looking for a place where we would ostensibly have a few drinks and "nibble" on some random appetizers.  Random appetizers turned into a giant platter of sushi and sashimi, and you can see where we went from there.  This place is ridiculously large and more than borrows from high end hotel lobby design from five years ago.  I just love that there is a glass-covered pit with scattered river rocks.  Just cause.  Oh, and if you were looking for no fewer than six hues of accent lighting, you would not have been disappointed.  As for the food, I can't really comment since I'm far from a sushi expert.  Years of $6 generic bodega rolls has surely ruined my pallet.  What I can comment on is the plating, which is as hilariously over-designed as the restaurant's decor.  The best part was when the waiter made sure we knew the flower-shaped apex of the chopstick pyramid was made of fish.  Yah, we got that.  Also of note was the "Zombie" cocktail, which for me was maybe a little too Koolaid + Bacardi 151.  Still, with all of the colored lighting going on, it somehow fit.  I mean, let's be honest for a second.  When was the last time you were served something in a glass such as this one that was meant to be taken seriously?  Good times.