Cool new sushi joint in downtown; cool new grocer in North Central

Recent urban adventures have led the Kitchen Sink team and friends to a couple of cool new places...

MOIRA SUSHI: There's a nice trend going on in downtown right now, a little "restaurant cluster" that's popping up near the KS studio. Recent new additions have included the Turf Pub and the Pasta Bar, but the very latest addition is Moira Sushi. Located on the ground floor of the four-story "Amsterdam" style condos at 3rd Street and McKinley, the joint somehow manages to be unpretentious and cool at the same time, with dark lighting and metal chairs somehow working with the dark walls and brick to make the place comfortable. And...AND...the sushi is damn good, even if you're not the biggest sushi aficionado in the world. The staff is friendly and readily accommodating, offering suggestions to the uninitiated and service with a wink and a smile. A recent Friday night, two of us enjoyed enough sushi to choke a Tokyoan and a couple of premier adult beverages each, and walked out the door having spent $90 including tip. Not totally Great Recession-proof pricing, but not too bad either. Hit 'em online at www.moirasushi.com.

LUCI'S HEALTHY MARKETPLACE: While making the pilgrimage to Dick's Hideaway on a recent weekday, our people in the field stumbled upon the recently opened Luci's at 16th Street and Bethany Home. The obvious comparison is to La Grande Orange, so if you like your LGO but maybe think it's a little too "girly," this is the joint for you. For example, you can get meat at Luci's. Good meat. The kind of meat that men kill, then process, then give to their wives to turn into something with a side of risotto and a nice Italian table wine, all of which can be purchased in said store. You can knock down some coffee there on comfortable sofas, grab a meal to go, and even eventually check out a cooking exhibit in their crazy in-store Viking kitchen. Where most grocery stores want you to buy your stuff and then go home, Luci's wants you to leave your home and hang out at the store. And yeah, they do the healthy organic thing, but it's not like they're beating you over the head with a tofu brick or something. You could hit their web site at www.lucishealthymarketplace.com, but you won't learn anything we haven't just told you.