Eye on Northampton's Under-Construction Asian Restaurants: I peeked into Ichiban today, which for months looked like a bunch of crazed monkeys had gotten in there, and now, suddenly, it's starting to look pretty good. What was most exciting is that it looks like they're going to have a River of Sushi: an oval-shaped track with little boats floating around it (there's a current, somehow) and on the boats are small plates of sushi of various kinds. You take whatever one you want off the boats, and at the end of the meal they count up your plates to figure out your bill (like Dim Sum). This is a fairly common sushi-place gimmick, and it's a fun one; my sister and I ate at one in Little Japan in San Francisco, but you can find them all over. I think the idea might have actually originated in Japan. It's nice to be able to pick and choose the nicest (and freshest) looking pieces of sushi.

Also Teapot's Tofu now looks almost complete, with the tables and chairs all in place and cleaned off. They seem to be building an elaborate shade, similar to the Brewery's, over the little sunken patio they have (where the Fire and Water exit was), which seems like a waste of money for a space that could probably fit like 8 diners, but what do I know.