100 Very Best 2014Elaborate sushi rolls are often vehicles for subpar fish. Not so at this lakeside Japanese gem, where maki are thoughtfully composed to highlight flavor and texture—and halt conversation, as when a shrimp-tempura roll, crispy head and all, arrives wrapped in a whole lobster tail. Presentation is exquisite across the board, including more traditional dishes such as fans of fluke sashimi dressed in soy and scallions or dobin-mushi, a teapot filled with delicate seafood broth, shellfish, and ginkgo nuts. Mind the specials board above the sushi bar for seasonal fish, such as fatty black-snapper nigiri dabbed with spicy vinegar. Friendly servers in crisp blue kimonos are happy to translate—or recommend drinks, including hard-to-find Japanese rice lagers. Expensive.
Also great: Ohitashi (cold spinach) with bonito flakes; crunchy soft-shell-crab appetizer; Hurricane Roll (spicy tuna with crab and puffed brown rice); aji (mackerel) three ways.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
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.
Kristen Hinman has been editing Washingtonian’s features since 2014. She joined the magazine after editing politics & policy coverage for Bloomberg Businessweek and working as a staff writer for Voice Media Group/Riverfront Times.
