Sushi Taro (Washington, DC)

Sushi Taro! I've been dreaming of going there again after first eating there some three weeks ago.


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Premise:

I had their sushi bento box ($13.25) last time:

And it was almost too much food! And for so cheap, too~ a person can get crap sushi in DC for so much more money than this.

My Experience:

I woke up late today so I decided to just walk to Sushi Taro without eating breakfast, which took about 15 minutes. Sushi Taro is located on top of the CVS at the intersection of 17th Street NW and P St NW. Normally people would just pass by it because it is such a small sign, especially since it is on top of another store.

I was seated promptly, as there weren't that many people at the restaurant. I was asked to eat at the bar, however, because I was a single diner. I had fun staring at the Japanese sakes while waiting for the food. The waitress was friendly, and refilled my tea when I needed it (unlike some other DC restaurants that even charge for the tea! Sushi Taro tea was free ^^)


Since I had the bento box last time, I decided to get the Bara Chirashi Set ($18) since I didn't know what Chirashi was (I just wikipedia'd it), and because it was expensive I thought it had to be good.

The set came with chawanmushi (which I have eaten before, but of which I didn't know the name):

And also with miso soup:

The miso tasted kind of funny, though. Anyway, the chirashi came and I was shocked. It was huge!


Like the "jewel box" the website described it as, it really was filled with all sorts of goodies - from tuna to unagi to sponge cake to salmon roe, it had everything! Well, except for the vegetables the description mentioned.


And I took a picture of the napkin, because I am weird like that. They have really nice napkins with a really cool logo. Legitly Japanese ;)

Rating:
Price Range: $$

For a sushi restaurant, the price is actually not too high. The daily special contains loads of stuff and only costs $12 including two side dishes (today's was fried shrimp curry, but I didn't feel like eating fried things). It really depends on how much one wants to spend on lunch, since all the items on the menu are enough to satisfy one's lunch cravings.
As for dinner, it gets more complicated. Sushi Taro is known for its kaiseki dinners which cost $75+ per person. I want to try it, but it's just awkward eating such a fancy dinner by myself even though I'm the type of person who would go any length for good food.

Environment: 4.5/5 - awesome

Clean, classy, nice decor. I'm giving it a "great" rating because though dress code is casual, the restaurant has that classy Japanese joint feel and is not populated by ignorant non-sushi eaters (well, the guy sitting next to me asked for a spoon for the miso... you just don't drink miso with a spoon...) and actually has Japanese people eating there, which means the stuff is legit. Waiters/tresses are courteous. Though the restaurant isn't that big, its small size makes the space feel cozy and personal, and the tempo is slowed down because of that. Overall, I like the feel of the restaurant.

Food: 5/5 - nomworthy

First time seeing me use "nomworthy," eh? Well, it's nomworthy because it's really good! The fish was really fresh (well, if I don't say anything bad about it tomorrow it means I didn't die, so wait till tomorrow), the presentation is beautiful, it came with side dishes (I love those), and the portion was really reasonable for the amount paid.
The bento box I had last time was really good, too! Lots of variety for such a small sum! I had a taiyaki for dessert last time, and it tasted good, albeit a bit dry. Finally, the tea was complimentary which is a plus because DC Asian joints are cray cray for charging money for tea!

Overall: 5/5 - nomworthy

Certainly the best Japanese restaurant I have visited since coming to DC (believe me - I've gone to at least 5 "Japanese" restaurants and this is the only authentic one with authentic Japanese people who make the food - even the front desk lady speaks Japanese!). I look forward to eating at Sushi Taro again, hopefully for a kaiseki meal.

Tono Sushi (Washington, DC)

First destination of this blog: Tono Sushi of Washington, DC!


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Premise:

Ever since arriving in Washington, DC for my Summer in Washington program conducted by Cornell, I've been looking everywhere for places to eat. Since I live in a two-person studio apartment, I have to 1) cook, 2) starve, 3) eat out, or 4) buy delivery. I chose to do (3) today - that is, eat out!

After searching on Yelp for good Japanese places, I stumbled upon Tono Sushi which has a 3.5-star rating on the website. Since it's a short distance away, I chose to go with it and eat there right after work today.

My experience:

After sitting down and looking at the menu for just a few seconds, I can tell you I was disappointed.

Why, you ask? The menu didn't have a single Japanese word on it! Be it hiragana or kanji, the least that a "Japanese" restaurant could offer is some authentic Japanese!

Anyway, after my initial disappointment, I spotted the Salmon Oyakodon, which I have had at this awesome place in New York City (more on that in a future post). I decided to give it a go instead of ordering separate sushi items (Happy Hour apparently had a $1 per piece of sushi deal. I didn't feel like sushi today, though).

This is what the Salmon Oyakodon looked like. I was actually a bit shocked when the waitress was bringing me my food because I had expected it to arrive in a bowl, nicely garnished. I guess I didn't read the menu category heading that said "Sushi-Dinner," which should have provided enough of a hint that it would be raw salmon (the awesome salmon oyakodon I had in NYC had cooked salmon with roe, and it was delicious in a warm bowl of seasoned rice). Sadly, the rice wasn't hot, and it didn't look sparkly white like regular sushi rice. The dish came with wasabi, ginger, rice, sesame and nori pieces over the rice, 10 slices of salmon sashimi, salmon roe sprinkled on either side of the plate, radish shavings for garnish, and lemon and cucumber slices for garnish. The entree came with miso soup and one side dish.

Rating:
Price Range: $$

Entrees were in the $10-$20 range, mostly. Happy Hour sushi deal. They charged me $2 for green tea, which is ridiculous. Most Asian places I have gone to do not charge for tea!

Environment: 3/5 - average

The decor was pretty average. Still had the Americanized feel to the joint. Waiters/tresses weren't authentic Japanese, either. Served miso soup with a spoon (uggh).

Food: 3.5/5 - above average

Nothing spectacular. For the price, it's nothing spectacular. Fish was fresh, presentation was nice, but that is all. No "wow" factor.

Overall: 3/5 - average

I don't think I'll go to Tono Sushi again. The environment and food aren't so captivating that I'd opt to eat in than to order delivery. If I need a quick meal, I might just order it. I've been to five Washington sushi/Japanese joints so far and this one would rank number two, because the Japanese places in Washington are less than average. The only place worth recommending is Sushi Taro, which had a very reasonably priced yet delicious lunch.