sushi taro

sushi taro
1503 17th street NW (between church street & p street), washington, DC 20036
tel: 202) 462-8999
hours: lunch monday-friday 11:30pm-2pm, dinner monday-saturday 5:30pm-10pm, closed on sunday, closed for lunch on national holidays

what was consumed: ramen, rolls, blah blah blah

coming from california, having lived in korea, and having travelled to japan, it's hard to find good japanese food. i mean, GOOD japanese food. granted, i don't mind (and will eat in mass quantities) average japanese food. as long as it doesn't make me sick (and who knows about that until after the fact, eh?), i will eat sushi, sashimi, and all of that other japanese goodness. and while i don't enjoy eel and prefer my sushi sans wasabi (don't judge!), i feel as though my constant search for a good japanese food was neverending ... that is, until now. hooray for sushi taro!

so, my co-worker and i were thinking of where to go to lunch and we decided to go to his favorite japanese restaurant (his wife is japanese japanese and she recommends this place as well). this time around, we had a goal - ramen. real ramen. not the kind that dry kind that comes in packages at the market. rather, the kind in the thick broth with pieces of pork floating around in the midst of the ramen noodles, veggies, and the standard half hard-boiled egg. the kind that is so delicious that we wait out the summer months when they don't serve it for that first day of fall when it comes back on the menu and they give us quizzical looks as we eagerly (and hungrily) order our bowls. i wish they had ramen all day long (it's only on the lunch menu, from what i remember) and all year long (though i can only imagine the sweltering heat that would come out of their kitchen from cooking the ramen broth in the summer) ... alas.

they also have this great soft tofu, but lightly fried, in a tempura broth appetizer that is just delicious. i find myself going to sushi taro more often for lunch than for dinner and while the tofu dish isn't on the lunch menu, they will make it for you (how lovely!).

don't worry - sushi taro has a large array of other dishes, of course. their sushi is fresh, their rolls are tasty, and they have a good selection of other dishes (even for those who are squimish about raw fish). they have americanized sushi rolls as well as the more traditional japanese ones. there's a plum one that is a great "dessert" roll (and by dessert, i mean that there is a bit of a fruit flavor making it a nice end of meal sort of bite to eat). i forget what it's called, but my goodness, it's so great!

sushi taro has generally known to be popular (especially for dinner), so i do recommend making reservations. i don't make reservations when i go for lunch, but i often have lunch later than the lunch rush. and i'll sit anywhere - at the sushi bar, in western style seating, in japanese style seating, whatever.

sushi taro has recently gone through some interior renovations, and i hear it is gorgeous. i can't wait to see it and enjoy me some japanese food once more!

online: http://www.sushitaro.com/