Sushi

My husband asked me on Saturday whether I thought sushi was on a roll…well, I explained, it’s a roll, it’s a piece, it’s a cone, it’s a-

No…he meant, is it more popular now than ever? Is it a trend? A fad? Were more people willing to try it now than 10 years ago?

We pondered these questions over spicy tuna, yellow tail and unagi. We can never get enough sushi. As often as we eat it, as much as we savor and stuff it in our eager little mouths, we never feel like we’ve had too much, never feel like we don’t want to go back for more, and we never feel disgusted at ourselves for consuming mass amounts. It’s healthy, right?

My favorite sushi spots in DC may not be the most expensive in the city, but they are places full of memories for me. After all, food is an experience.

Bambu. It was the first place my husband ever had sushi. His obsession started on a date; I ordered salmon and California rolls, he had beef and broccoli over rice. He was staring at my selection, so in the spirit of romance I offered him a bite. He was skeptic, but in the spirit of wanting to seem adventurous (we hadn’t been dating long, after all) he accepted. It was love at first bite. We had sushi two more times that week, at other restaurants, but we returned to Bambu on a weekly basis until I moved out of the area. Those were the days of rushing home from work to make it in time for half-price rolls from 4 to 6 pm (now that’s a seriously happy hour) Bambu has great atmosphere and fresh sushi. They also have a wide variety of Asian dishes if raw fish isn’t your cup of (green) tea.

Tono Sushi. Our favorite place for real, humble rolls. No pretension, no fancy accoutrements, just great service and great sushi. We first went to Tono on a double date with my best friend, and dinner was followed by karaoke, Japanese-style at a dive in Wheaton (it was a long, drunk metro ride, but totally worth it.) To get our courage up, we downed Sapporo and spent time getting to know my friends new squeeze. We frequent Tono because of its great location (an easy walk for us through Adams Morgan and over the Ellington Bridge and reasonable prices for good quality fish. We love their vegetable tempura; I obsess over the sweet potatoes. Why not Sake club, a close-by neighbor? Because when I want sushi, I don’t always want to pay for shi-shi atmosphere. I usually just want to eat great rolls and watch my husband smile over avocado and salmon.

Sushi Taro. When we’ve worked late, worked hard, or sometimes not worked at all (but managed to look really busy all day) we stop at Sushi Taro, as it’s along the trek from the office to the condo. I love their greetings, I love their miso soup, I love that if we get there around 5:45, we never have to wait to be seated and never need a reservation. And by the time we leave, there’s usually a line out the door. Taro has become the place that bears our work gossip, angst and frustration. We arrive in a huff and leave happy, smiling, full of spicy crunchy tuna and spider rolls. Taro is our weeknight sanctuary.