U & Me, Universal/Kirkman - Closed

I came into this Chinese restaurant and Sushi bar for some sake and to complete my dining adventures in this area of town (it is in the strip mall across from Bubbalou's on Kirkman) on Friday. I had already had a sandwich at a crawfish place so I wasn't too hungry. I ended up having six pieces of sushi because the people were so nice. I had conch, salmon, and scallops. The conch was the best. It was firm and sweet. The salmon was ok. The chef told me it was fresh and that he filleted it from a whole fish. However, I think he doesn't exactly know how to do it without damaging the fibers of the fish. It tasted ok, but, had the wrong mouth feel. The scallops I think were frozen and warmed in hot water quickly. He kept running to the kitchen for things. The warm parts were a bit slimy and the cold parts were hard. No taste. The rice was good. The chef says he washes the rice seven times before steaming and cooks it twice a day. The vinegar mixture was fine (a little sweet). The rice was a little loose when he packed it. It fell apart in my chopsticks. All in all, not bad for a kid from Xi'an. I've seen many chefs who try alot less hard to do their jobs correctly. The pieces were $2.25 a piece. A small sake was $5. But, they had a great Friday special. Two for one drinks. The place is itself is a two for one - ugly and dirty. There is a front waiting area and a dining room. They said they do alot of take out. Thank God for both parties. The main room seats about 80 with booths on the walls and the sushi bar at the back. There was crap (baby toys, thawing fish, deodorizer, bottles) all around. It could use maid service. This is a place of business. A place people come to escape and fantasize. They don't want to feel like they are in some lower class studio apartment. Separate your work life from your home life. Even if that means moving it to the kitchen. Just hide it! And take the menu off the front window. It makes it look like you are closed for renovations. There is little decoration. Like I said, this place is mostly about the people. They are nice. They food is probably mediocre. It is a Chinese run place serving Japanese food (half the menu). The few Chinese dishes I saw come out smelled funky and didn't seem that intriguing. They said they served mostly Americanized dishes. I would take it for what it is. Takeout. That's pretty much what the stuff I saw looked like. They couldn't really make something good and have it appeal to what they think (and may be) are the tastes of a typically American audience. If you really aren't that discriminatory and want what most likely will be an honest effort at making you happy, these guys can probably fill your needs. They did teach me one interesting thing - Chinese food is so bland looking because the Chinese are scared that the food should look natural or it is unhealthy. Although it doesn't explain the lack of color. Now that I think of it, many fruits and vegetables are purposefully eye catching so animals will eat them and poop out the seeds. So, I guess the Chinese need to "catch the rainbow". How is brown sauce healthy looking anyway?