White Out Party at Ra Sushi

Get the weekend started a bit early. Stop by Mesa’s Ra Sushi, located in the Dana Park Village shopping center, tonight to celebrate the restaurant’s first birthday! And the best thing? The restaurant is giving us the gift of drink and dessert specials.

 The White Out Party (read: wear white!), taking place from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., will feature $1 well vodka cocktails, $2 Blue Moon Belgian White Beer, $4 Chai One On martinis and $5 Cinnamon Snowball desserts. For a little ear candy, DJ J Paul will be in the house. If you think you might be sporting the “coolest” outfit tonight, sign up for the costume contest; you could win the chance to paint the town red in a white limousine courtesy of Ahwatukee Limo. The costume contest winner will be determined by the loudest applause, so leave your quite companions at home.
Since you can’t very well sustain yourself on dessert and drinks (well, I certainly can’t), get your food fill on the sushi rolls. Many of Ra’s signature rolls make me very, very happy so you’re bound to find a few you fancy. My faves: Las Vegas Roll (there’s cream cheese involved and that’s all you need to know), Tootsy Maki (which I am convinced is everyone’s favorite roll) and Crazy Monkey Roll (smoked salmon, mango and cream cheese topped with avocado, red tempura bits, cashews and drizzled in mango sauce). There are plenty of non-sushi alternatives, too, like spicy garlic shrimp with tofu noodles, black-pepper filet medallions, and chicken/beef teriyaki. 1652 S. Val Vista Dr., Mesa, 480.632.9500, www.rasushi.com.
While we’re on the topic of Dana Park Village, you should definitely take a trip to Mesa to check it out if you haven’t already. Apart from housing some of my favorite shops, like Philosphy, Anthropologie and Francesca’s, Dana Park is a treasure trove of yummy, casual feasting spots.  There’s Ra Sushi, of course. You’ll also find a AJ’s Fine Food, Sauce (I always get the veggie salad with parmesan and ooey gooey mac and cheese), Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill (the sweet pork is sensational), family favorite Buca di Beppo and a few places to grab some frozen yogurt and ice cream, among many others. Dana Park Village is one of my favorite weekend respites and, overall, just a great place to walk to and fro and admire the white buildings and palm trees. Located in between the 60 and Baseline Road, on Val Vista Drive. www.danapark.com.