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Although I am still angry at Anaya Sushi for terminating its all-you-can-eat sushi option, I’ve still ended up at Midnight Ramen, surrounded by drunk ramen-slurpers, two times this semester. Midnight Ramen is the restaurant’s attempt to tap into the drunk college student demographic. It is the place to be when it’s two in the morning and you’re craving mediocre Asian food.

I am not the first person to review Anaya Sushi. The New York Times beat me to it. Their rating: Fair. Perhaps they were also mad about the lack of unlimited sushi.

The best thing about Anaya is its incredibly inspirational décor. If you’re someone who can’t make it through a day without reading a bunch of strange clichés about believing in yourself, then Anaya is a must-go. “Fearlessly be yourself,” says one piece of wall art in sparkly script. “Don’t let anyone ever dull your sparkle,” says another. If you’re getting over a tough breakup or dealing with some other emotional turmoil, you may burst into tears.

Although I don’t usually order anything but water in restaurants, I decided to get an orange Ramune drink. I had seen my friend Cooper order Ramune sodas in the past, and it always seemed exciting. To open one, you have to unwrap an acorn-sized plastic piece, slam it into to the top of your drink, and dislodge a glass marble that obstructs the spout. It’s really quite a process. The drink tasted like melted down orange sherbet. It was a nice balance of fizz and artificial orange flavor.

I also ordered Spicy Miso and an eel and avocado rice bowl. For some reason, everyone’s soup smelled really bad. Like, sticky abandoned bathroom in a public park bad. However, the soup is pretty decent if you can get past the smell. The eel and avocado rice bowl was pretty good, but my friends who got different rice bowls got more fish than I did. I guess I should’ve ordered a different, less-expensive kind of fish. Are eel fish? Who am I to decide?

The service was also good. One waiter mistook my dab as a request for service. I was actually just celebrating the arrival of our food. I appreciated the attention nonetheless.

If you are looking for great food, or food that consistently does not smell bad, do not go to Anaya. If it is 12:30 in the morning and you and four other friends are really drunk, you will love it.

Spicy Miso Soup: 5.5/10

Eel/Avocado Rice Bowl: 5.7/10

Ramune Soda: 6.5/10

Anaya Overall (Not intoxicated): 5.85/10

Anaya Overall (Intoxicated): 7.7/10

Anaya Overall (Cross-faded): 10/7.7

NYTIMES review: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/04/nyregion/restaurant-review-anaya-sushi-in-new-haven-caters-to-students.html