It's in this matrix that I would position our venue this week, the fabulously named and generally fabulous Midori's Floating World Café. Midori's is the best Japanese exemplar locally of the seemingly paradoxical elegant-homey juxtaposition, with great food to boot. One of the most endearing features of the place to me is the communication problems that often arise. Of the three or four staff you'll see on any visit, only one, perhaps two will speak English well enough that you can have an efficient conversation about the menu, or anything else for that matter.

The lunch menu is small compared to what's available for dinner, but it is more than adequate. Tempura dishes, grilled fish, soba and udon noodle soups, don buris (rice bowls), onigiri (rice balls), a couple of salads and a few sandwiches provide plenty of variety. Plus there's the sushi menu, a relatively modest selection, especially in the nigiri, but the standards are all there and some "exotic" items are included, tongue-in-cheek I suppose, such as Spam nigiri.

On the beverage front, wine and beer (including Sapporo Premium, Kirin Ichiban, and Isahi Super Dry) are available but it's Midori's tea selection that's worth highlighting: black teas from China, India, and Sri Lanka, Chinese and Japanese Green Teas, herbal tea infusions, and specialty tea beverages (with optional shots of Monin flavors). I had the Light Oolong, which the menu quite aptly described as full-roasted with a nutty flavor.

We did sushi as an appetizer—hotate (scallops), unagi (freshwater eel), and yellow tail, all as nigiri orders, and a toro roll. I was quite impressed with the sushi; the hotate and the maki were excellent in particular. Somehow one expects raw scallops to be squishy or slimy, but when served fresh at the right temperature there's nothing to be squeamish about. As for the toro maki, the rich butteriness of the diced fatty tuna came through the package even though the amount of this high-end part of the tuna in each piece was modest.

My main course was don buri with tuna. Shreds of seaweed and sesame seeds were arrayed over the rice, and the tuna came as raw slices laid on top, with one artfully arranged as a blood-red rose. This was another outstanding dish. The tuna was deliciously clean and fresh, lean (no toro cut here), without any stringiness. B's udon order was also tasty I thought, the noodles chewy and slurpable.

Our entrées came with miso soup and side salads. The miso was more substantial than the light-broth versions you'll generally find around town, with generous amounts of scallions, seaweed, and tofu included. The green salad might be just a concession to American dining habits, but the tangy sesame dressing gave it some interest too.

Midori's décor is quite striking and artistic, with a purple, green, and black color theme. Decorative elements include paper umbrellas dangling upside down from the high ceiling, small reed mats on walls, some of them with embedded tiles featuring Japanese scenes and text, and a tall paper-and-wood screen at one end of the room. Yet, despite the elegance, the place retains its homey, comfortable feel—it's partly the friendly, family-run atmosphere; partly the few down-toearth elements, such as the small deli-like glass display case and the intrusion of a pantrylike area into the visible space; ... and partly just indefinable.

In my travels I had the opportunity to eat sushi but decided not to risk my vacation by eating dodgy sushi in old Bratislava! So when A suggested Midori's Floating World Café I jumped at the opportunity to eat one of my favorite foods. Regular readers will remember the horrible experience we had at Ikasu Sushi Bar & Lounge but let me put your minds to rest: there are no such problems at Midori’s! The riches of the title refer to the fine sushi restaurants that we already had in the Cities (Origami, Nami, and Sushi Tango) to which you can now add Midori’s.

Midori's Floating World Café is a cute name and so is the restaurant. The location (on East Lake Street) doesn’t make for an easy lunch run from downtown but trust me it’s well worth the effort even if parking is on the street and not always readily available. The décor features dark colors and umbrellas dangling upside down from the ceiling. Reed matting runs along the walls, and on it are Japanese characters and scenes. All this speaks of a casual, uncontrived elegance.

The menu’s drink section is remarkable not only for the standard Japanese beers on offer but also the extensive teas available. There is Japanese green tea, Chinese green tea, Chinese black tea, East India tea, Sri Lanka tea, Oolong tea, etc. I ordered a Lapsang Souchong tea, being on the wagon temporarily

—You don’t travel through Eastern Europe without imbibing more than what’s good for you! The lunch menu is not extensive but does cover most Japanese options: sushi, tempura, grilled fish, soba and udon noodle soups, don buris , and onigiri. The sushi selection is not large but most of the popular items are to be found. We decided to have sushi as an appetizer (hotate (raw scallop), yellowtail tuna, unagi (freshwater eel) prepared nigri style and a toro maki roll) which was excellent. The scallops were fresh and melted like butter in the mouth and the tuna in the rolls was delicious. For my main course I ordered the udon noodles, the broth was fragrant and the noodles were deliciously crunchy. A had a don buri with slices of tuna, which was also very good.

Our meals came with large bowls of miso soup that were full of scallions and pieces of tofu. The only complaint I have is that the service was too prompt. Our entrées arrived before we were done with the soup (and salad) and in consequence our table became quite crowded. But that’s a small price to pay for such a delightful little restaurant. Our bill came to $47.00, which is cheaper than at almost any other sushi restaurant. My local—and A will vehemently protest—sushi restaurant is Sushi Tango where I manage to eat a few times a week but now I’ll have reason to continue driving down Lake Street to Midori's Floating World Café.

B