Sticky Rice

With a deal in hand ($25 for $50, I believe), we headed to Sticky Rice for my very first H Street NE experience.

This joint is hipster heaven.  Before buying the deal, I read a review that called it "reminiscent of a tattoo parlor's secret bordello."  When I walked in I was like, "Yeah, I see that."  This place is known for having a mishmash of American and Asian foods.  Sushi?  Check.  Lots of fried stuff?  Check.  Tater tots?  Double check.

We had a good time here.  At the least the food is entertaining and a little silly, and at the most it's tasty and comforting.  Our bill was bigger than I would expect if I hadn't seen the prices.
We shared the following: ribs, Jolly Green Wontons (vegetarian soybean wasabi wantons), Sticky Balls (sriracha rice, tuna, crab, etc) , the Chili Roll sans jalapeno, sesame chicken with udon noodles (my least favorite, it wasn't very sesame-ey), and PBR.  Well we didn't share the PBR, we sprung for separates.

 

The Sticky Balls are fun to order and eat.  I didn't love our apps, mostly because it was fry city.  I'd go back and do sushi and beer only.

Sticky Rice
1224 H St NE
Metro: Schlep from Union Station or take the bus.  We drove because I came straight from work in outer Mongolia.

Ichiban Sushi

Where do you meet a sister staying in Annapolis?  You need an in-between kinda place, like Bowie! I even told my sister about how it's BOO-ee, not Bowie like David. 

The Yelp on this was mostly good, with a few not-as-positive, something about when the switch occurred from hole-in-the-wall sushi joint (good) to pricy "bistro" with the renovations (not as good). 

The seaweed salad was delightful.

My sister had the Tum Yum Goong soup, a spicy lemongrass broth with shrimp, knotted noodles, and baby bok choy.

Roll-wise, we shared the Alaska (salmon, avocado, cucumber), the Dragon (eel, cucumber, avocado), and the Spider (crab, cucumber, scallion).  The Spider was big and crunchy, probably the crowd favorite.  But I could also eat any eel roll all day long.  Mmm, slithery. 

We liked it! The service was a little iffy--I was asked if I wanted anything to drink before I opened a menu, so I said I wasn't sure yet.  The server returned about 5 seconds later to ask me again.  Also, he kept asking me if I wanted more water then going away with my glass for a while.  Come back!  Thirsty over here! 

I know almost nothing about most out-of-Beltway eats, with the exception of some Annapolis fare.  But you have to take risks, you know?  Also, Bowie Town Center has tons of stores and stuff, so some pre- or post-sushi shopping is definitely in order.  Dairy Queen makes a fine dessert.

Ichiban Sushi Asian Bistro
3921 Evergreen Parkway
Bowie, MD

Sushiko

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMILY!!!!!

::ahem:: back to your regularly schedule food-blogging.

On a recent blizzard-y evening, a few of us went out to try Sushiko.  It was quite nice!  Not as dive-y as our former neighborhood sushi places, but not totally out of reach (price-wise), either.

The menu is pretty huge, and one "problem" I encountered was that I wanted to try all the soups and salads.  Warm baby spinach salad with mushrooms and bamboo shoot?  Yes, please!

Here's what we enjoyed:

Edamame:  Keep in mind that when your server asks offhand, "would you like some edamame?" before you've cracked your menus (in a way that other restaurants mention bread) that it's not free.  Just FYI.  It won't break the bank though, $4.50.

Smoked mussel and eggplant miso:  T liked this dish a lot; at first she was hesitant because she tends to shy away from smoked fish/seafood, but our server told her it didn't have that saltiness that you find in lox or anything, it's basically like normal mussels with a little smokey flavor, in a good way.  She believed him, and it turns out he was pretty trustworthy.

Aged tofu with chili daikon and ginger broth:  Mm, yum.  I love me some cubed, lightly fried 'fu. And look at those teeny tiny mushrooms!  Freakin' adorable!!!!!

 

Pan-fried chicken shiso gyoza:  AKA potstickers!!!   These were tasty and light, you could pop 'em all night long.

Next dish was a special, something about tuna + Napoleon, and they were basically little tuna sandwiches on these thin crisps.  Bite size treats!  They came highly recommended by our server, and I'd definitely get them again.

Next up: ROLLS! California, spicy salmon, spicy tuna, and eel, avocado, & egg.  I liked them all, but could definitely order a few of the eel rolls just for myself.  That sauce is yum yum yum.

Now, we needed dessert the way the DC area needs more snow--seriously, we were full.  But J sees "fried" and his eyes light up like a pinball machine.  Enter the fried banana and coconut ice cream.  It was pretty good--I probably wouldn't do it again.  I'm not sure I can get behind the concept of fried fruit, despite the fabulous alliteration.

We'll definitely go back to Sushiko soon, either to dine in or takeout.  Friendly service and good food, even in a blizzard.

Sushiko
5455 Wisconsin Ave
Chevy Chase, MD
Metro: Red Line to Friendship Heights

Sushi Taro and Mr. Yogato

We had the great pleasure of dining recently with J & J. Wow that's so cute it's almost wrong. Anyway, being city slickers and all, J-squared reeled in these suburban couch potatoes for a Dupont Circle evening. You might remember that we only recently started understanding about good sushi and better sushi. Well, Sushi Taro is DELICIOUS sushi. First there was miso soup all around, and delightful vegetable tempura. I will say that the veggie pieces were quite large, so at times you had to look to your neighbor and say, "Listen, I really want the eggplant, and it's awkward to share such enormous pieces of lightly fried vegetable with you without knives."

For dinner, the four of us shared two spicy tuna rolls, one yellowtail, one Alaska (salmon and avocado), one eel with cucumber, one plum with shiso leaves, a rainbow roll (spicy tuna with more fish and avocado wrapped around outside--see the visual), and the baby snapper nigiri from the "special" list. Everything tasted as it should--fresh and flavorful. The service was attentive and understanding (we asked a handful of questions). I'd definitely recommend Sushi Taro.

Afterward, we were full but not stuffed--at least not too stuffed for frozen dessert. We went around the corner to Mr. Yogato, one in a smattering of recent yogurt joint openings that still doesn't rival the burger explosion of 2008. You can get original soft, original tangy, or a rotation of yogurt flavors at Mr. Yogato, and then there are a zillion toppings. Including olive oil. I had original tangy with bananas, mini Eggo wafflse, and honey. It was AWESOME. Standard chocolate toppings abound, for the traditional folks. The best part about MY of course are the games. Besides the standards, including answering a trivia question (like "Name 7 countries that start and end with the same letter"--Jeff's question!), the night we were there your yogurt was 100% free if you could stand on one foot on your tippy toes (not quite ballet style, but raised up) for 15 seconds with YOUR EYES CLOSED. The eyes closed part is the kicker, people. Try it. Right now. As J said, you go to Mr. Yogato when you're with friends but Tangysweet when you're alone.

Sushi Taro
1503 17th St NW
Mr. Yogato
1515 17th Street NW
Metro: Red Line to Dupont Circle (South Exit)

Endo Sushi

(Yeah, we're sorry we didn't take a picture until we ate almost all the food...it seems we just couldn't wait.)

Endo Sushi is a welcome addition to the greater Clarendon area. I say "greater" because I often forget there's a Clarendon beyond the namesake Boulevard and Wilson, neglecting Washington Boulevard altogether. Maybe if Sawatdee didn't make that Sala Thai so utterly disposable I'd have noticed neighbor Endo Sushi earlier.

I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about sushi. Besides more obvious egregious errors like funky smell or taste, I can't tell you who has the "freshest" sushi around or whose technique is superior, blah blah blah.

What I do know is that a cup of miso soup and a plate of sushi is often the perfect answer for the inquisitive yet indecisive summer diner. Light enough to save room for dessert, leftovers make a great light lunch the next day, and lastly, maybe most importantly, using chop sticks puts me in a good mood. Sigh, I'm so sophisticated.

If you can allow yourself a wee bit of fried, the veggie tempura appetizer was nice to share. Instantly save calories by allowing your companion to eat most of it, but don't miss the sweet potato. Simplicity being our thing, J got the Combination Roll and I got the Spicy Combination Roll - they were about $10 and $14 respectively. The combos included a little simple salad with the usual ginger-y dressing, a cup of very tasty miso soup, and 18 (!) pieces of sushi. I had 6 of each--spicy tuna, spicy salmon, and spicy Californias. I think J's were tuna, California, and cucumber, but I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong.

Endo wasn't reinventing the wheel, but the place is clean and modern inside and offers an opportunity to be very full (with leftovers) for a reasonable price. It isn't loud inside and service is quick. The appetizer, combinations (2), and two Sapporos totaled ~$42. If you did takeout and skipped the beer and appetizer you'd pretty much be us last Valentine's Day - full wallet and full belly of sushi, enjoyed in the comfort of your own home.

Endo Sushi (Site under construction)
3000 N Washington Blvd
Arlington, VA
703-243-7799 (Why not? The web site doesn't really work yet and I insist you order some takeout) [Editor's note:  I'm seeing this post 1.5 yrs later and the site still doesn't have much on it.]
Metro: Orange Line to Clarendon