When a sushi craving hits, coming here and splurging is almost as good as hopping a plane to Tokyo. Sitting at the sushi bar and watching Nobu Yamazaki and his team do their deft blade work on hulking slabs of fish, making edible art with Zen-like calm, provides some insight into what makes Sushi Taro special. But it’s what you don’t see that matters most–the shipment, overnighted from Japan, carrying a small haul of what hit the docks the day before. Only the printed list of specials comes from overseas–but it’s what draws us to spend real money. The dining room is its own attraction, an oasis of tranquility. If only the staff were more polished and communicative.
What to get: A comforting bowl of udon soup with poached egg; chargrilled pork skewers; sake-paste-marinated cod; panko fried chicken; nigiri of yellowtail, sweet shrimp, and salmon; sashimi of fatty tuna, uni, and live scallop.
Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. Very expensive.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
