Washington DC - Kushi Izakaya & Sushi

Lunch time is probably not the coolest time to visit but the food was enough to win me over.  And for the quality, I didn't think the prices were unreasonable by international standards, especially if it's an Izakaya first, then a sushi joint second?  The cool factor is high - high ceilings, dark interiors, and while I did not check, from what I've heard, a comprehensive selection of sakes, shochus, and other knock-me-over drinks.  

The menu isn't big, focusing on sushi and kushiyakis (grilled skewers of meat or vegetables).  And if you do the sets, the skewers come with miso soup, pickles and rice.  A pretty good deal.

The skewers we ordered are largely winners but special mention goes to the Buta Bara.  Melt in your mouth pieces of black pork belly that had a pork fragrance only found in this species and so tender to the bite.  So good that I could not bear to discard the fat strip (which I ordinarily reluctantly do for health reasons alone).   So good we had to order seconds.  

The duck sausage which is an awesome combination of meat and liver, delivering a slightly gamey taste but not overpoweringly so akin to a foie gras sausage with bite, was also excellent.  Especially so with a strong drink.  

Other skewers were certainly competent so add these to your list - chicken breast with plum sauce and shiso,  chicken breast with marinated cod roe, chicken meatballs, Wagyu loin and mushrooms, and even the golden potato.

The Chef's sushi choice of 10 pieces were surprisingly good.  A nice selection of white fish, chutoro, mackeral, sweet shrimp, scallop, clam, sea eel and salmon roe.  All catch-of-the-day fresh, and laid atop a good bed of rice that had the right amount of sushi vinegar in it.  A worthwhile order. 

To supplement, we also had the fatty tuna and scallion maki.  Generously creamy from the melt-in-your-mouth tuna, and a subtle hint of heat from the scallion.  Always a winner.

As well as the sea eel and cucumber maki.  Sweet eel, with added crunch from the cool cucumber.  A refreshing combination.  

Certainly a big plus for the Japanese food scene in DC.  A more than worthy add.  

465 K Street NW

(between N 4th St & N 5th St)

Washington, DC 20001

Tel: +1 (202) 682-3123

Washington DC - Good Stuff Eatery

The concept is wonderful - kinda like Jamie Oliver meets Modern Italian but here it's Spike meets old-fashioned American favourites of burgers, fries and shakes.  My reaction on visiting is that if I had a restaurant with such steady crowds, I am set.  The people relate.  So I am just hoping the nits with service and quality control get sorted out over time.

It's not a fast food joint - not at these prices.  So IMHO, it needs to offer up something a little more than nostalgia.

My hand-spun Soursop Hop and Strawberry Shake was refreshing.  Good quality fruit and ice cream hand-spun to deliver a home style consistency that's thick enough and importantly, to still be able to discern the strawberries.  The soursop was MIA so a little disappointment there.

My Uncle D's chili 'n cheddar burger did not look like much when I opened the wrapper.  Everything sort of mashed together.  While I still like to eat with cutlery, I didn't have much of choice here.  Very hard to pick up for those who still like eating their burgers the traditional way - with their hands.  The taste was admittedly pretty good.  It was a good juicy patty, and well spiced chili.  The combination of the green onions and sour cream sealed it for me.  Taste - 8; preso - ZERO.

Sides sounded wonderful from the menu.  Spike's village fries with thyme, rosemary and cracked pepper.  Stupendous combination but poorly executed.  Fries were soggy, and whoever had the bag of spices did not have control.  Way too much spice, which became soggy also.  Such a letdown.

Cliff's homegrown Vidalia onion petals were slightly better.  Tasty and sweet onion petals but oh my, coated in mile high batter.  Way too much of it.  The soggy factor was smaller but dig right to the bottom, and there was a small pile of soggy handcut fries there.  What's up with that?

Chef Spike has got a great concept and great place to hang.  But he definitely needs to hire better people and train them better to deliver the good stuff in an eatery everyone can rave about.  I like it enough to give it a second try and hope it is GOOD STUFF next time.

303 Pennsylvania Ave SE

(between S 3rd St & S 4th St) 

Washington, DC 20003
Tel: +1 (202) 543-8222

Washington DC - Tachibana

After a couple of days eating as a gwai lo, it's nice to have a spot of Asian, just to break the richness and the monotony.  So we drove out to McLean, in Virginia to have Japanese at Tachibana.  It's authentic and good value for what you pay.  Don't expect the moon, this is DC, but the number of Asians, and the Japanese wait staff with heavily accented English lends plenty of credibility to the place.

If they have Ankimo (monk fish liver) on the menu in the US, I am assuming a fair bit of authenticity already.  It's by no means the best or freshest I've had but it was decent and firm but creamy.  And there was suitably enough ponzu dressing to lift it, plus crunch from the sweet julienned Daikon.

Our other starter of the Kurobuta (Berkshire loin or Black pig) Katsu, was also fairly good.  You won't get the best cut for the prices they charge at lunch, but it was a tasty piece of meat, and well deep fried to leave no trace of oil on the bed of cabbage.

My main of the Saba Oshizushi was good with the generous piece of mackeral on the top of each piece of pressed sushi.  And while not as plump as the good ones are, this was a good effort.  Only complaint: they used rice which was too mushy and sticky and not the good grade where every grain is distinct.

E and C each had the Chirashi which again was fresh, and great value.  Bonus: the marinated pieces of salmon in the foreground, added to the novelty of Tachibana's interpretation of the dish.

Great value for lunch and the variety keeps it interesting.  But by the same token, don't expect specialist quality here.

6715 Lowell Ave
McLean, VA 22101

Tel: +1 (703) 847-1771

Washington DC - Montmarte

Brunch is a big thing on Capitol Hill.  So a place serving brunch would be a best seller, and French bistro style like Montmarte, means waits of up to 40 minutes on the weekend for a table, if you have a party of more than 4.  But if you are patient, it is a pretty worthwhile wait for the classics on offer.  It's not a big menu but everything sounds yummy, so it takes a while to settle on your choices.

Can't do without eggs on the weekend so Eggs Benedict with spinach and hollandaise on a muffin topped off with crisp pancetta seemed like a logical choice.  Surprisingly served up with a seriously runny egg (I thought the salmonella scare in the country would still make restaurants think twice but glad they didn't!) and a hollandaise which had a subtle hint of white wine perhaps but whatever it was, it took the heaviness of the dish away.  Spinach which was not overcooked was a nice fibre add.

Our other French staple of the buckwheat crepe with spinach, tomatoes, eggs and swiss cheese, with a choice of prosciutto was also very yummy.  The red onions added crunch and a little pungency for balance and again, the runny egg bound all the flavours together.  Well executed.

Since it was a lovely day out, we decided to live dangerously and have dessert.  We ordered the creme brulee which was decent, but not the best I've had.  The top was a tad too burnt for my liking but otherwise, competent enough to finish the meal on a happy note.

Overall, it was worth our 20 minute wait.


327 Seventh Street SE
Washington DC 20003 
Tel: +1-202-5441244

Washington DC - Belga Cafe

How do you know it's a Belgian place?  Because the beer list is longer than the wine list and the food menu.  Indeed it was impressive.  But it was the middle of the day, and I was totally zombified from my 20 hour journey, and so we stuck with the food.

In the US, my rule of thumb:  always share so you don't eat yourself silly, or at least if you have to, have variety.

It's a Belgian place, so we had to have a mussels pot.  So we did, and we order the classic Mariniere, with plenty of white wine, shallots and garlic.  Mussels were of the small, sweet kind with the right textural combination of bite and creaminess.  The "soup" was also tasty albeit a tad salty.  Alright if you have a beer.  Fries were disappointing though - not hot nor crispy enough and had too much salt on them.  But dunk in mayo and you might overlook that.

The B&B Burger isn't an American burger and it shouldn't be.  I don't know if it was authentic Belgian but it was very good beef, done medium rare, as we ordered it.  Sitting comfortably on half a brioche, and topped off with a baked Parmesan crisp, and deep fried onions, it was juicy with a nice kick from the cheese.

For dessert, we order the Liege Waffle with cinammon-cooked apples.  The waffle wasn't as chewy as I liked and had too much icing sugar on it.  But overall, a pleasant enough ending to a casual lunch.

Worth a shot if you're in the hood.

8th Street SE
Washington DC
Tel: +1-202-5440100