Snow Crane. 5334-9 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville
Chef Takeshi Nishikawa spent about three years as culinary director of Rose’s Restaurant Group, whose hotspots include Roseâs Luxury, Pineapple and Pearls, and Little Pearl. Last year, though, he broke out on his own to launch a Japanese-style ice cream company called Snow Crane. Nishikawa has hosted a number of pop-ups around the area, and now, he’s finally landed a permanent location, opening in the Hyattsville Arts District this winter.
Rather than simply being a scoop shop, Snow Crane will serve composed ice cream dishesâthink sundaes, but minimalist. For example, one of his signatures is nutty kinako ice cream (made with roasted soybean flour) dusted with kinako powder and drizzled with Okinawan black sugar syrup. He also features strawberry ice cream served with cherry tree leaf syrup.
“I’m approaching it more like chefs create a dish,” Nishikawa says. “Instead of just ordering salmon, it might come with basmati rice and grilled asparagus. So that kind of thing.”
The shop will also offer a variety of Japanese teas beyond the ubiquitous matcha. But you will find matcha incorporated into specialty tea drinks, like a matcha and tonic with a lime twist. “It may be closer to an NA cocktail than it is a tea,” Nishikawa says.
Nishikawa would also like to run occasional tasting menus, which might feature cold somen noodles with tomato granita, fresh shiso leaves, and a dashi broth or a sea urchin ice cream. He hopes to sell pints and expand into soft-serve, too.
The 1,300-square-foot storefront will have a clean, minimalist Japanese aesthetic with counter seating and communal table. Nishikawa lives in Hyattsville and wanted to add to the area’s budding food scene, which includes destinations such as 2Fifty BBQ and Manifest Bread. “If I had to bet my money on it, I think I think Hyattsville could be the next thing,” he says.
While Snow Crane likely won’t open until until December or January, you can find the ice cream Saturdays at the Gateway Farmers Market in Brentwood and at other events and pop-ups, which will be announced on Instagram.
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.
