Maki Fresh and Yogurt Mountain: Restaurant Showcase

As I sat down at Maki Fresh, Dan, the publisher, looked at me and nicely said, “Just the facts. Less fluff; more facts.” With that in mind, I must tell you that the Seared Ahi Tuna brown rice Maki bowl was absolutely exquisite.

When he first suggested, less fluff, I was sitting and eating my Edamame. I thought to myself, “I can do this; it should be relatively easy to get to the facts at a Japanese Grill; how special can a dinner here really be?” So, I pondered over the Edamame and started writing my piece in my head. I was going to express that the Edamame was fresh and crisp and a wonderful beginning to a meal.

Shortly after, an art piece was placed in front of me. I had never seen anything like it. I suddenly was presented with a brown rice bowl decorated with an array of colors. The greens and yellows and reds distracted me from the fact that this was my dinner. The rice was covered with golden raisins, cucumbers, sliced avocados, and slices of Tuna. The taste was as magnificent as the appearance. I couldn’t believe that this masterpiece was less than $10.

Maki Fresh also offers a variety of sushi rolls. This evening Dan chose the Crunch Crunch and the Spicy Tuna. The sushi rolls were great. But to be honest, I know that from him and from past visits. This time, I didn’t eat any of his sushi because I had no desire to share my Maki bowl.

Now for facts… As we were sitting and eating dinner, I couldn’t help but stare at some of the selections that were being delivered around us. The table behind us had a cup filled with something fried. We stopped the waiter because we just had to know what they were eating. They had ordered fried green beans. The waiter explained that they weren’t on the menu, but they could be prepared upon request. The girl to the left of us had ordered a Maki salmon sandwich that looked like it would be a definite must on a future visit.

After our dinner, we walked across the parking lot to visit Yogurt Mountain. In Yogurt Mountain, the right side of the wall is filled with a row of various frozen yogurt flavors. The left wall is filled with all of the toppings: candies, cereals, syrups, nuts, fruits, granola…If you can imagine it, they probably have it.

So, here’s how it works, you choose your yogurt flavor or flavors, fill your cup with as much as you would like and then circle around to the toppings. Choose your pleasure; you can make it sinfully decadent or as low fat as possible; make it big or make it small… just know that you weigh and pay at the end.

Dan chose sinful with an assortment of chocolate candies and chocolate syrups topping his vanilla yogurt. It tasted wonderful. I chose to explore the rich array of yogurt flavors and avoid the toppings all together. In my cup, I made little hills of different yogurts and carefully spread them in the cup with precision and purpose. I tried the blueberry, pomegranate, green apple, cheesecake, and banana pudding.

Overall, a great night at Cahaba Village Plaza!

Oops! Do you think Dan will think that I missed the boat and don’t understand about facts? Well, here are some facts for the reader. Maki Fresh was opened by John Cassimus, who is the head of the Zoe Kitchen chain and the chic sushi restaurant, Jinsei. The restaurant opened in October 2008 and serves sushi, salads, rice bowls, and mini sandwiches. And, Yogurt Mountain… Yogurt Mountain is a franchise, but we are glad that it finally made it to Birmingham!