Metro Sushi Answers

In the mood for a light sushi lunch? Well often times I am. And it can be very tricky finding good sushi anywhere in the DC Metro area, let alone affordable, high quality, interesting, (in walking distance from work) and delicious sushi. Most people don't often want to spend any more than $10 for lunch, and usually the cheaper the better. That's tough at nearly any sit-down sushi restaurant and unfortunately knocks out even pre-made/pick-up sushi places, which are either still quite expensive or just not tasty enough.

So lost cause? Not quite. There is one place that does lunchtime sushi right – Met Cafe in the inner courtyard area off G street between 17th and 18th NW. I've been aware of it for a while but only have tried it a couple times recently. The place has a hot buffet for Asian-inspired lunches but the real gem is the sushi buffet. It is manned by an authentic sushi chef who really seems to care about the bar being clean, fresh, beautiful and stocked throughout the lunch service.

So how does it work? You go through the bar and get as much or as little as you want for $10.99 per pound. You're given your own personal pair of tongs – that are cleaned between usages – to take the sushi that are laid on beautiful, wooden sushi boards behind some half-glass. The rolls are big, vibrant and deluxe. Plus, the sushi chef is replenishing constantly, so the sushi is always extremely fresh.

So what was on the bar? You name it. Big pieces of tuna, salmon, shrimp and whitefish nigiri, along with countless large rolls. Not just basic tuna or California rolls, but spicy rolls, avocado rolls and even rolls topped with raw tuna or salmon as an added, luxe sushi garnish. These are rolls that would cost $7-$13+ each at any restaurant are sold here at weight. You can take one piece of each, or 10 pieces of one, and it's all the same. It's great!

And how IS this dream sushi? Superb. As good as any restaurant sushi I've had lately in this area. The fish was fresh and cut very well. The rice was flavorful, and each roll piece was loaded with flavor, and no sushi filler (i.e. cucumber) could be found. It was almost addictingly good. Just couldn't wait to go back. I was thrilled!

So how much did I pay for this? I was so excited that I loaded up and got certainly enough to be a dinner portion. And yet – it was still under a pound and cost under $10 for the sushi. On a normal day (like my second visit), a lunch portion for me only cost $6 or $7. Now THAT is a place to know. Great taste, great quality, great variety, great price. Great sushi! Met cafe: go there, but leave a little sushi for me.

A Call For Better Sushi Joints

I've said it before and I've heard it from others. So it's not just me. The sushi scene is weak in this area. The Washington DC metro area, complete with northern Virginia and a large chunk of Maryland enjoys a surprising dearth of high quality, affordable sushi, a combination in a sushi joint that I've found many times over in Ann Arbor and Manhattan alike. I'm looking for a neighborhood place that's not necessarily cheap, just not inflated. The fish needs to be high quality and consistent and the work not sloppy. That is all I ask for – a place I can go and grab sushi without even thinking about it. I've been to at least a dozen different local susheries since moving to the DC area and have yet to come close. The relatively inexpensive sushi I've found has been being bland and junky and anything nicer I've found has been so incredibly overpriced that it puts even most NYC joints easily to shame. I don't need frou-frou, I need neighborhood. DC doesn't always do neighborhood so well.

I recently found a strong contender – Bonsai Sushi on 23rd St near Fern in Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. About as hole-in-the-wall as I've seen around here, which gave me fond memories of a couple of my favorite Ann Arbor and New York sushi joints. Small, unpretentious, fast, efficient, high quality, simple, well priced, tasty. All the things I need and nothing more. Not so cheap that I'm getting ungainly cucumber (my sushi pet peeve) in rolls as filler for fish or avocado, but not so overdone and overpriced that I'm pressured into ordering the Barak Obama Roll and the Super Man Verses Godzilla Roll for $17 each that make their $12 spicy tuna roll look like a real bargain. Perfectly in the middle and great sushi. The tuna was cut perfectly and tasted perfectly lovely. I stayed simple and just ordered the tuna sampler, so that's all I can say for now. But perfect tuna for a good price is a perfect start for me to a beautiful little relationship. It's only been once and consistency is the last and most crucial trait (see Café Asia). I will be trying Bonsai again and giving it that chance to become one of my “destinations” like my sushi places always becomes. And I will try other potential great sushi places – like the new Current (in Dupont Circle) tomorrow for my sister's birthday.

But seriously, DC area, you can do better! Crystal City is not the only place I should be resorting to for good sushi around here. I'm looking for better than that and hope to be further impressed shortly. You’re on notice, and I’ll be keeping my eyes open.

Servicing A Sticky Situation

Adversity is something that all restaurants face by nature, sometimes more so than others. Restaurants’ customers can have issues with just about anything, there is a strict health code that needs to be followed at all times, plus the industry is just tough to compete in. That is why excellent customer service at an eatery is a unique accent to a restaurant that helps it stand out in my mind. The rare times that I actually have a problem with my experience at a restaurant, action above and beyond the typical service expectations for a restaurant can quickly make me forgive and forget.

Like the other day.

Café Asia is a restaurant I really like. It’s a place I happily go for lunch or dinner to get sushi, plus I love their Happy Hour. So it was a bit disheartening when there was an issue with the sushi I ordered there recently. It wasn’t really their fault, as it could happen to any fish in any sushi restaurant and maybe it was just a rough day for an otherwise consistent joint, but let’s just say it was a little unsettling. Their reputation was suddenly on the ropes for me.

As I beckoned to the first waiter I saw, I relayed the information to him and he promptly imparted me a stony look of understanding and removed my untouched plate. After some time he came back and apologized, indicating that he had made sure that it was taken care of and was taking over our table. He offered to bring me a new plate of sushi or to bring me a cooked entree and then assured me that this type of thing had not happened before to his knowledge. At this point I wanted sushi and I wanted to complete my investigation, so I asked him for the sushi. He brought it, and it appeared he had brought me the best whitefish and tuna that they had. And upon noticing the sheer size and quality of the sushi, I ate the best plate of nigiri I have ever had at Cafe Asia. Nice bounce back for them.

But it gets better. After apologizing another ten-ish times, comping us the whitefish nigiri, bringing a dessert “on him” and taking another twenty percent off the entire bill, I wasn't even that upset when I left. I actually felt better about Café Asia.

One of my biggest fears is having a fish-related problem at a restaurant because I love sushi so much. I’ve heard that once you have a bad fish experience, there is no turning back. That is why I tend to only eat sushi at reputable places. To think that Café Asia was heading down that road but used impeccable customer service to even improve my opinion of their restaurant speaks more wonder about their restaurant than any great dish. There will be a next time at Café Asia for me, and I recommend that there be a next time for you too.

Nigiri Hour

It is a rare confluence, especially in an overpriced urban area, to find high quality sushi, expertly made, that is also a good deal. I would go into the reasons for why, but that would certainly bore you. Besides, I've discovered DC's version of that rare confluence, so it does not matter. Just go to Cafe Asia near 17th and Eye streets NW, between 4 and 7:30 PM for their happy hour sushi and drinks.

It's as simple as you can imagine. During those hours, all Nigiri (pieces) are $1.25. Yes, nigiri. The cleanest and most exquisite form of sushi. The pieces that most places have no problem charging two to three times that price for. And they are delicious at Café Asia. Not too thickly cut, very flavorful (not fishy) and very visually appealing as well. Simply put, it is highly excellent sushi for an obscenely low price. I got 11 pieces of my favorites (tuna, shrimp, white fish) recently for $14. Most places you'd be lucky to get 5 pieces of their choice and a California roll for $20 in the sushi dinner. Here, you make your own sushi dinner – for less. Any nigiri on their menu – tuna, salmon, white fish, yellow tail, eel, octopus, squid, shrimp, mackerel and more – same price, every day during happy hour. And something tells me they probably do a large portion of their dinner service during happy hour by design. It gets me coming there.

So you're probably thinking by now that Cafe Asia must be some sort of hole in the wall, a little sushi joint that is slightly suspect. Thus the good prices. Well that couldn't be farther from the truth. Hey it's not Morton's, but it is a big, open New York style restaurant, immensely spread across three terrace-like floors. The wait staff is friendly and quick. And the bar and happy hour drink specials ($3 glasses of wine, $2 bottled beers, $2.50 draft Kirin and others) add to its appeal as well.

The bottom line is, Cafe Asia sushi has some of the better sushi I have had in DC. Clean-cut, tasty and fresh. And it’s definitely the cheapest too. So, know when to go – and enjoy exactly how much and what types of sushi you're in the mood for. Go nuts!

Check out my review of this place in even more detail at Menuism.com!

Join the Sushi (Sake) Club

I find it difficult to define what makes good sushi. These days, it seems that unoriginal sushi restaurants are all over the place. And most of them do their unoriginal sushi pretty well, using high quality, fresh fish – an absolute must with even the lowest rung sushi. And I do not give originality credits for a roll where they stick two or three types of fish together with a few sauces and suddenly jack the price up to $10-15 per roll. That's just highway robbery. For that kind of money I could order the tuna and salmon rolls myself for $4 apiece, dismantle them and make the darn “superman” roll myself. For what I obviously lack in manners, I make up for in common sense – that's sucker pricing right there.

So with all of my sushi idiosyncrasies (many of which remain unmentioned), how do I possibly grade a sushi joint? It's simple really. I look for three things: the classic/unoriginal sushi done exceptionally well, faux originality for a good price (under $10 a roll), or real originality. Sushi is one of my absolute favorite cuisines to eat, and I have tried many many sushi restaurants, so at least I can uphold my opinions.

While I would now like to list the aforementioned sushi idiosyncrasies, I find it would be more industrious to tell you about an actual sushi restaurant in DC – Sake Club – that we ventured to with my Mom and Dad. This modern Japanese warrior decor sushi house is located right across the street from the Woodley Park Metro near Connecticut and 24^th St NW.

Sake had some big elevation in the middle of each table, like a serving level above the eating level, but I found it was more for show than anything and really just sort of got in the way. I also thought the four menus – regular, sushi, happy hour and sake – were a bit cumbersome, although their happy hour drink and sushi specials until 7PM were pretty decent (maki roll combo or nigiri combo for $7, cheap house martinis and sakes and half price Japanese beer).

I found the overall menu to be extensive and classy, but not too original. The vegetarian sushi was impressive, with a number of maki and nigiri options. I had personally never seen veggie nigiri (like spinach or avocado in this case) or a fully vegetarian sushi dinner, and Julia was pretty excited to try out a few of them. I thought the more classic maki and nigiri were pretty reasonably priced, while some of the less classic maki (like dragon, caterpillar, rainbow, fiesta and vampire) were outrageously high. Plus, while they all seemed well-conceived, I had seen all of them before in one way or another and was unwilling to pay $12 for one. I saw very little on the menu that was original, so why don’t they just stick to the classics altogether and just ignore the (highly profitable?) nicknamed rolls? Or come up with something I’ve never seen before, and then maybe I’d pay $12 or $15 for one. This is not a plague on Sake Club; it is a plague on many sushi restaurants. I just was not expecting it from a place of this caliber and reputation.

Needless to say, I can quickly divorce myself from an underwhelming OR overpriced sushi menu if the sushi I order is excellent. And thankfully for Sake Club, what I did order was excellent. I ordered the classics (in my book) to see if they could do them well. I ordered nigiris – Tuna, Salmon, Flounder, Cooked Shrimp – and makis – Spicy Tuna and Shrimp Tempura. About as basic as I can dream up. This really is my test plate at any sushi place: tests the fish quality and freshness and size/quality of the chef’s sashimi cut in the nigiri, and displays quality of flavors and cleanliness in doing the bigger maki rolls. I especially like ordering a shrimp tempura roll because they can be one of the most luxurious tasting bites of food you will ever have when done well, and a clunky, awkward, bland mess when done poorly. A good litmus test to see how they handle something like that.

So let me reiterate, Sake Club passed these tests with flying colors. The fish was so fresh and cut so well that the nigiri had a butter-like consistency. They were big enough to really enjoy, but not too thick or garish. I loved that the maki were done “inside-out” (rice on the outside) with toasted black sesame seeds crusting the rice. It is little things like that, which make me appreciate a sushi roll. The spicy tuna was one of the spicier ones I have ever tasted, but it was extremely flavorful, had no mayonnaise and was not a big gloppy mess like so many often are. And the tempura roll was as luxurious as desired as well. It probably could have used a little sauce to bring out the flavors (maybe they forgot it) but it was so well-crafted and balanced in crispiness and succulence, I really couldn’t have been much more pleased.

So yes, the menu didn’t excite me, but as you can see, I am just as happy being a sushi simpleton. And yes, there were a few things that weren’t perfect like Julia’s (frozen?!) spinach nigiri being bland and there being no side salad for less than $7. But, if you asked me to go back for a sushi meal at Sake Club, I would remember how delicious the most important part of the meal was, and quickly say “yes!”

Restaurant Week Miniseries, Part II: Kaz Sushi Bistro

This is the second installment of this week's three-part Restaurant Week miniseries. Yesterday, I discussed our experience for a birthday dinner party at Vinoteca off U Street in DC.

Part II, Kaz Sushi Bar

It takes a lot to get me to spend $20 for a lunch. Honestly, I'm a little surprised that Restaurant Week was able to. It was probably a combination of things. My coworker Steve had told me that Kaz Sushi was one of the best sushi places in the city. It's located at 19th and I St NW (right near work), so Becca and I decided to invite a few coworkers out for RW sushi at Kaz, since we normally had no excuse to go there. So four of us made a reservation for a Friday Kaz lunch and made the three-block journey under the sunny afternoon together in eager sushi anticipation.

I won't say much about the look, decor or service at Kaz, since I rarely do, and since it was adequate but not noteworthy. I will fill that space with a few notes about their regular menu. It was filled with very interesting combinations both in Maki rolls and in the Nigiri pieces. The prices were a little high for sushi, but with high-end ingredients like truffles, foie gras and kalamata olives being thrown around with the likes of tuna, salmon, lobster and whitefish, along with other not-sushi-like complements like almonds and garlic chips, I was still quite intrigued. Plus, their vegetarian sushi was even impressive, with a red pepper and asparagus roll, and a sundried tomato and portabella roll, to name a few.

It was with this diversity now intriguing me that I was disappointed to learn how ordinary the lunchtime RW menu was at Kaz, even at the prix fixe price of $20.08. Essentially, they offered a miso, a seaweed salad, a scoop of ice cream and a sushi choice. The choice was either a sushi tasting or a bento box. The bento included a California roll, Japanese short ribs, Barbecued Mackerel and a couple other little tastings. The sushi tasting was a spicy tuna roll, a spicy California roll and then one each of tuna, salmon, flounder and cooked shrimp Nigiri. To me, these seemed like either skimpy or uninteresting choices for over $20, during RW, but it was lunch so neither was actually insufficient. There is a reason that I don't like spending $20 on lunch though.

I ultimately ordered the sushi tasting and found it to be quite tasty. The spicy California had a great kick and they worked the orange roe, which normally dons a Cali roll, into the rest of the sushi, which I found to be much more pleasant. The spicy tuna roll had a similarly flavored kick, which I quite like with my sushi rolls, but it was the smallest spicy tuna roll I've ever seen. It was wrapped seaweed-side-out and was no larger than a regular tuna roll or a standard vegetarian sushi roll like asparagus or avocado. Usually spicy tuna rolls are quite large, so to see a small one was certainly noticeable and the slightest bit disappointing, since it did taste so good. The Nigiri pieces were not cut too thick and were quite fresh. They all had an appropriately rich flavor and color, and were very pleasant to eat. Again, there was nothing out of the ordinary here and the potions were modest, but it was certainly a good plate of sushi.

The other accoutrements were passable if not typical versions of miso and green tea ice cream. The seaweed salad was actually the only huge portion of the meal, and I was initially excited, since it is one of the tastiest and healthiest items on a Japanese food menu. However, this version was actually drenched in a creamy, sesame dressing, which did not dramatically change the taste from the typical salad with just a light sesame finish, but certainly did wonders to kill the healthy aspect that I usually like about this salad.

I think Kaz makes nice sushi from good quality fish, and has some extremely interesting sushi innovations. Through which, Kaz has likely made its name. However, the RW patrons were not offered anything interesting, unique or name-making-worthy. Even at over $20.

They might have intrigued me just enough to give it a shot for dinner, where I make the sushi selections, but it's not going to be any time too soon.

Stay tuned for the third and final installment in this week's Restaurant Week miniseries, as I reveal our trip to Ballston's Dan & Brad's.