Buredo near Franklin Park consistently draws lines down the block for its sushi burritos. Today, the purveyor of oversized rolls opens a second, larger location in Dupont at 1213 Connecticut Avenue, Northwest with some new menu items and a Blade Runner-inspired mural.
The first 200 customers when the place opens at 11 a.m. will get a free sushi burrito and soda or Spindrift seltzer.
The bulk of the menu is the same as its counterpart, but a few new specials will be exclusive to the Dupont locale. Among the new sushi burritos: the Gogo (spicy tuna, avocado, cucumber, cilantro, jicama, coconut flakes, tempura crunch, coconut crema) and Sofie’s Kiss (slow-cooked pork shoulder, shrimp tempura, carrot, kimchi slaw, red onion, cucumber, corn, jalapeno, sriracha mayo, unagi sauce).
Owners Mike Haddad and Travis Elton initially played with the idea of offering ceviche or poke bowls, but they ultimately decided to hold off. “I feel like that’s what everyone’s going to start doing,” Haddad says. “We just wanted to take a step back and see where everyone else ends up with it so we can take a different approach to it.”
Instead, they came up with the Mr. Noka edamame bowl, which starts with a base of shelled edamame, broccoli, green apple, carrot, and watermelon radish. Patrons can choose to top the veggies with yellowfin tuna, salmon sashimi, tofu, pork shoulder, or shrimp tempura, as well as one of three sauces.
Elton and Haddad aren’t totally ruling out poke or ceviche, possibly as sides, in the future. Other specials may potentially pop up on the blackboard.
The new restaurant will also have a custom tap system serving Tractor Sodas, which come in flavors like blood orange with pomegranate and turmeric, lemongrass-lime, and cola with cinnamon and vanilla. The Idaho-based soda-maker doesn’t sell any bottles or cans, and Elton believes they’re the first in DC to carry it.
Continuing the mural theme in the first location, the Dupont Buredo has covered one of its walls with a Blade Runner-inspired scene that incorporates the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. Because once you supersize sushi, why not.
Buredo Dupont Circle. 1213 Connecticut Ave., NW. Open daily from 11 am to 11 pm.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
