At last count, Denver had something on the order of 17 billion sushi bars, with a new one opening every 45 seconds. There are strip malls that boast three sushi bars within a hundred paces, and in the 'burbs, a man can't chuck a side of bonito without it going straight through the window of a sushi bar that's opening -- or a sushi bar that's closing to make way for another sushi bar. But unlike the profusion of Starbucks or Wal-Marts out in the hinterlands, the sushi-bar explosion is a positive thing. Particularly if you live in Aurora, near Kassai Sushi. At this pleasant spot, there's always room for another body at the bar, always something interesting on the menu. And if the sushi chefs aren't exactly talkative, they're quick -- able to knock out an order of tuna hand rolls faster than you can say "
Tekka maki and a bowl of miso, please." The buck-a-roll sushi happy hour is a killer deal, and the house even delivers. See? The suburbs aren't entirely uncivilized.