Sushi Taro! Taro!

Last night I was jonesin’ for some sushi so decided to check out my friend Mel’s favorite spot, Sushi Taro (1503 17th St. NW). Mmmm sushi. One of Japan’s greatest contributions to the world. Some other notables being: karaoke, Tokyo street style, sumo wrestling, Tamagotchis, and … this:

You think the Japanese are adept in the housekeeping arena; it is nothing compared to their culinary genius. Who else would have thought to put raw fish on little vinegar’d rice balls?

Speaking of nigiri sushi, Sushi Taro’s was tops. I brought along my friend Wags to enjoy some deliciously raw food and throw back a couple of Kirins. She ordered one of the sushi platters (11 pieces of nigiri and a California roll) and I got the 7-kinds of fish sashimi platter. Neither of us had been to Taro before so we came in with open minds about the quality of food, and were pleasantly surprised by how great everything was. The sashimi tasted like it had just been swimming with Nemo moments before it got to my plate.

The sashimi slices were generously cut, not like those wimpy thin slices you can practically see through at other sushi places. After our feast, we were still hungry and decided to check out a roll from the a la carte menu. We finally decided on the Dragon roll (soft shell crab on the inside, eel and avocado on the outside). As expected, it was excellent like the rest of the meal.

Sushi Taro’s old school style of sushi (don’t expect to see any crazy rolls on the menu) marries perfectly with the style of the restaurant, which is traditional in every sense. The tables are low, and diners must sit on the floor. For those with bad knees, you can opt to sit at the sushi bar, which is where we sat because we didn’t have a reservation. Because Sushi Taro is so popular, don’t expect to walk in without a reservation unless you go early on a random weekday (we went at 6:30 on a Wednesday and still had to sit at the bar). Regardless of where you end up sitting, Sushi Taro is worth the wait for it’s top quality fish and attentive service.

It’s probs not the type of place for you if you want to do some belligerent kamikaze-style sake bombing (i.e. Sounkyo in NYC, bless their hearts), but its a really tasty alternative for those who want to put the drinking problems on hold for a night.