{"id":335,"date":"2010-08-23T10:27:35","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T14:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pechism.org\/?p=335"},"modified":"2010-08-23T10:31:16","modified_gmt":"2010-08-23T14:31:16","slug":"dc-restaurant-week-day-one-lunch-sushiko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/?p=335","title":{"rendered":"DC Restaurant Week &#8212; Day One, Lunch:  Sushiko"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I am not dead, though I probably should be.\u00a0 DC Restaurant Week came and went, and I tackled six restaurants over the span of four days.\u00a0 I filled my brain with new ideas, my arteries with cholesterol, and have a shiny new mouth ulcer to boot.\u00a0 Hells yeah!<\/p>\n<p>Day one kicked off with a Brian, resplendent in purple gingham, and a mysterious woman from Bowie (hereafter referred to as Charlaine) attempting a lunch date at a modern sushi bar.\u00a0 This was a dangerous undertaking for several reasons.\u00a0 For starters, our original lunch plans had been foiled by the slimy knaves of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bezurestaurant.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Bezu<\/strong><\/a>, so I was already in a pisser of a mood; Charlaine was fearful of being arrested in Chevy Chase, and, as I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;re all aware, I&#8217;m the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pechism.org\/?p=293\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>snobbiest critic of all things Japanese<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 Forgive me, Sunny.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-340\" style=\"border: 1px solid black;\" title=\"Sushiko\" src=\"http:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sushiko1-300x151.jpg\" alt=\"Sushiko\" width=\"300\" height=\"151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sushiko1-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sushiko1.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sushikorestaurants.com\"><strong>Sushiko<\/strong><\/a>, one of two restaurants bearing that name in the DC area, reminded me of the inside of a fish bowl.\u00a0 It was bright, minimalist, and marine.\u00a0 Except for the white leather booths (which Charlaine found to be a bold choice), a goldfish would have felt right at home.\u00a0 Or Daryl Hannah from Splash.<\/p>\n<p>For 20 smackaroos, Sushiko put up quite an impressive Restaurant Week lunch menu.\u00a0 Here&#8217;s what we devoured:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Brian&#8217;s Lunch<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Miso soup<br \/>\nShrimp tempura<br \/>\nSushi (spicy tuna maki; assorted nigiri)<\/p>\n<p>I also indulged in a white cosmopolitan and sesame ice cream for dessert.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Charlaine&#8217;s Lunch<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Wild mushroom soup<br \/>\nSalmon ceviche<br \/>\nSushi (same as mine)<\/p>\n<p>Our Bowie beauty (how witty am I?) also shared some edamame with me, and had sansho bread pudding, green tea whipped cream and vanilla ice cream for dessert.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-335 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/edamame.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/edamame-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Edamame\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/mushroom.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/mushroom-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Wild Mushroom Soup\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/ceviche.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/ceviche-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Salmon Ceviche\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sushi.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sushi-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Assortment of Sushi\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/breadpudding.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/breadpudding-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Sansho Bread Pudding\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sushiko1.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sushiko1-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Sushiko\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>These lovely shots are provided by Charlaine herself, as she wields the power of film much better than I do; I am much more apt at providing the pretentious critique.<\/p>\n<p>The wild mushroom soup was very delicate and earthy &#8212; great for whetting your appetite and not weighing you down.\u00a0 I question, though, Sushiko&#8217;s decision for even having this item on the menu; this is unquestionably an autumnal dish in Japan, a country where seasonal cooking is the only cooking.\u00a0 It was tasty, but not appealing when it&#8217;s 632 degrees outside.<\/p>\n<p>The miso soup?\u00a0 Well, I make better, but I make miso soup better than most Japanese I know. (Think I just nailed my pretentiousness quota.)<\/p>\n<p>On to the next course.\u00a0 I had the shrimp tempura (not pictured); it was two giant prawns and an assortment of vegetables in a crispy crunch.\u00a0 Tempura is straightforward &#8212; it&#8217;s either well-done, or it&#8217;s not.\u00a0 This was fine, but truly high quality sushi restaurants that do tempura (in Japan) will give you a bowl of coarse salt in addition to, or in lieu of, typical broth.\u00a0 While the broth was tasty, I wanted that punch of sodium, dang nabbit.\u00a0 Oh, and the portion size?\u00a0 Ridiculous.\u00a0 That alone would have fed me for dinner.<\/p>\n<p>The real star of the entire lunch was Charlaine&#8217;s salmon ceviche.\u00a0 Sashimi-style salmon in yuzu juice, with salmon roe, wasabi mayonnaise, and mitsuba (a Japanese green), this dish was intricate, with great depth of flavor and beautiful balance.\u00a0 The eggs popping and squirting in your mouth, the creaminess of the fish and mayo, and that awesome zing from the yuzu culminated in what those of us in the know call a foodgasm.\u00a0 Absolute yumminess and a clear winner for both me and Charlaine.<\/p>\n<p>The sushi course was sushitastic.\u00a0 Fresh fish, cut well.\u00a0 Not much can be said about sushi, because, like tempura, it&#8217;s either spot-on, meh, or rotten.\u00a0 This was spot-on, and for a first-time sushier like Charlaine, a good way to delve into the world of rawness.<\/p>\n<p>We ended our food orgy with some dessert.\u00a0 The sesame seeds in the sesame ice cream were simply not processed enough, giving the dish a very mealy texture that was frankly not enjoyable.\u00a0 On the other hand, Charlaine&#8217;s sansho bread pudding was an interesting experience.\u00a0 She gobbled it up with gusto, and I was very intrigued with the fact that the pudding itself was flavored by sansho, which is Sichuan pepper from Japan.\u00a0 It gave you a really nice hit of heat at the end.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, though, I&#8217;m not sure the dish worked as a whole, and it was because of the green tea whipped cream.\u00a0 For starters, I don&#8217;t need whipped cream if I have ice cream, and vice versa.\u00a0 It&#8217;s just too much.\u00a0 However, the big problem was the flavor.\u00a0 The green tea whipped cream was plain overpowering; it should have been subtle and worked in tandem with the spice in the pudding.\u00a0 As it was, the cream was overworked and heading towards the clotted cream stage, it tasted too strong, and when I ate it with the bread pudding, I felt like someone had put pepper in my tea.\u00a0 That just doesn&#8217;t jive with me.<\/p>\n<p>We rounded out with a bill of 35ish for Charlaine and 45ish for me (because of that damn cosmo!).\u00a0 The pacing of the service was horrible, with our dishes being brought out far too quickly &#8212; and on multiple occasions while we were still in the process of eating the previous one.\u00a0 (Ironically, dessert took forever to come.)\u00a0 Bad form, Sushiko!<\/p>\n<p>That being said, Charlaine and I both enjoyed our lunch.\u00a0 For her, it was a big leap into proper (sort of) Japanese food, and she found it to be very tasty and light; she was satiated, but not sluggish or bloated.\u00a0 That&#8217;s a sign that you&#8217;ve had fairly good Japanese food.\u00a0 She also talked about the ceviche for the rest of the week.<\/p>\n<p>Would I go back?\u00a0 Well, the food was tasty, especially the ceviche, and the company was wonderful, but I can&#8217;t imagine paying normal price for anything on the a la carte menu.\u00a0 I can get sushi of equivalent quality at other places for considerably less money.\u00a0 So, short of an amazing deal, I probably wouldn&#8217;t hit up Sushiko again.\u00a0 Still, it was a wonderful start to Restaurant Week, and Charlaine&#8217;s outrage at being charged ten bucks for parking had me in giggles for hours.<\/p>\n<p>That wraps up Sushiko.\u00a0 Stay tuned for more posts; I&#8217;m doing one for each restaurant I ravaged!\u00a0 (For those of us who struggle with the maths, that&#8217;s five more.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am not dead, though I probably should be.\u00a0 DC Restaurant Week came and went, and I tackled six restaurants over the span of four days.\u00a0 I filled my brain with new ideas, my arteries with cholesterol, and have a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/?p=335\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=335"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":358,"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335\/revisions\/358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pechism.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}