Sushi Taro was formerly known as good, sometimes great Sushi for the masses.  Simple, clean, delicious sushi in an authentic atmosphere at moderate prices.  Then the announcement came that this institution would be closing down for renovations that would transform this layman’s sushi joint to an institution of finer Japanese dining.  I and many other Washingtonians were devastated.

If it aint broke, don’t fix it – says the old adage.

Continued after the jump

But my latest trip to the new “dining destination” proved that, in the case of Sushi Taro, it is dead wrong.

According to the review by Sietsema, Sushi Taro’s renovation comes to elevate Japanese dining here in Washington DC.  “Chicken teriyaki and spicy tuna roll are not exactly authentic Japanese food,” says Nobu Yamazaki in an interview with Sietsema.

Can’t disagree with the man.

The best way to enjoy Sushi Taro (if you have the bankroll) is experiencing a Kaiseki Tasting a 10-course meal of sushi, sashimi and other small Japanese dishes ($65 Sashimi, $75 Sushi). This kaiseki tasting is what elevates a mere meal at Sushi Taro into a true experience.  They also have an a la carte menu with a pretty price tag, but it is justified by the fact that all the fish is flown in daily from the famed Tsukiji Market in Japan.

Kaiseki was born in the cultural center of Kyoto as an accessory to the tea ceremony. A few simple small dishes were first presented to complement the tea and prevent guest from drinking on an empty stomach.  It eventually evolved into an elaborate ceremony – an art form really. Each dish has a perfect balance of flavors, taste, texture and presentation.  All ingredients in kaiseki are seasonal, representing the height of each season.  Read more from the Food Ambassador on the ceremony of kaiseki here.

Through my own kaiseki ceremony at Sushi Taro, I FINALLY began to understand the hype behind Japan as one of the food capitals of the world.  As I made my way through the ten course ceremony accompanied by matcha green tea, I felt I was instantly transported to Kyoto…Right in the heart of Dupont Circle.

This ceremony was truly an art form! Each course was truly a feast for the eyes, a symphony for the mouth and induced happiness in my heart!

The first course was a silky rich sesame tofu topped with uni and natto in a light vegetable broth – silky, nutty, briny, sweet, it was a harmonious blend of flavors.

This was followed by a vegetable jelly with bonito, Japanese yam, bamboo and corn on top of corn mash with yuzu zest – a textural delight!

Our first sushi course was soy sauce marinated Tuna, Yellowtail with Yuzu, and flounder. The Tuna was disappointingly stringy, but the yellowtail with yuzu, and flounder was just fresh and wonderful.

I was really struck by how beautiful all the presentations were.  The sushi was accompanied by a brush and soy sauce box that reminded you of the art form that sushi could be. When at any old sushi restaurant, I often get carried away, dunking the whole sushi in the soy sauce with a ton of wasabi. But you realize that sushi chefs work to provide the perfect hit of wasabi and marinade for the rice to create the right balance of flavor. The brush served its purpose of reminding me to use the soy sauce as an accent, and NOT the dominating flavor.

The next sushi course was the Bonito Tuna (skip jack), sardine, and Giant Clam. The seared skip jack had a luxurious velvety texture. Sardine had very strong flavor similar to the sawara (Spanish mackerel) and the skin was surprisingly delicate. Giant clam had briny sweet taste and very crunchy bite – a nice complement to the softer textures of the fish.

For our fry course came the shrimp croquette with Japanese pepper in teriyaki sauce and mustard. The crispy hard outside gave way to a warm creamy and rich inner filling of shrimp, potatoes vegetables.  Dontkatsu style fruity sauce cut the greasy feel and gave the fry course a nice tangy kick.

The presentation of the soup was a serious production.  An engraved rock with a live flame was the base for the bowl of soup. In the soup was an egg, fish and shrimp ball, wintermelon, Yuzu and Seaweed. The broth was a bit bland, but the wintermelon was a pleasant addition, which was similar to braised radish used in Korean soups, but slightly crunchier and tangier.

Sawara with kelp seaweed, salmon roe with perilla leaf and snapper wrapped in bamboo leaves followed suit. It’s the little details that distinguishes Sushi Taro from the ordinary and makes this meal into a ceremony and art. The peppery punch from the perilla leaf balanced the salty beads of salmon roe. The earthy kelp seaweed grounded the fishy mackerel, and added a fun factor with its chewiness. The mint on the snapper surprisingly didn’t overpower the fish, but made it POP with flavor.

The surprise sushi course was your oyster to harvest.  You have your choice of all the fresh Tsukiji Market fish, minus the abalone. I chose the sweet Uni, milky and buttery white salmon, and velvety bluefin toro.  I once had a melt in your mouth yellowtail experience at Sushi Taro which was often imitated but never successfully duplicated.  On this particular visit – the bluefin toro was the single piece of sushi that made me want to stop time to extend the pleasure of the moment.

Our last sushi course was the mild young sardine, octopus and fatty tuna with cucumber hand roll.

In simple Japanese fashion – the meal was closed out with a small bite of fruit jelly and roasted barley tea –보리차 (Barley tea) which is to Koreans what Green Tea is to the Japanese. Although my American tastes made me wont  for something sweeter and more substantive, I realized my belly was the perfect state of full.  I was happy from a great LONG conversation, stimulated taste buds, and satiated appetite.

Keep in mind that this ceremony is best experienced with a companion with whom you can converse for hours on end.  My dinner with my dad lasted a good 3 hours.  This probably isn’t somewhere you want to take a risk with on a first date!

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My dad’s trip not only brought me two weeks filled with restaurant binges, but also 5 pounds worth of happy fat. Unrestrained restaurant dining isn’t kind to the waistline… So I’ve been trying to stay away from the sinful stuff to bring me back to normal. This only means that I’ve been tortured by my incessant longings for the forbidden!

Bites I crave at the moment:

• Bonchon Korean Fried SPICY Chicken with pickled Radish Cubes – The crackly (twice fried) crust on this chicken laced with some sticky sauce of sugar, garlic, FIERY spices, vinegary tang.  The scent from the sauce is the kind that gets your mouth watering. I really need to try out some other Korean fried chicken (KFC) places in the area.  This is the only place I can think of when I crave it.  In LA/OC, I still have yet to visit Kyochon but I’ve been hearing RAVES about it.
• Liberty Tavern House Smoked Char atop Johnnycakes with Crème Fraiche and pickled shallots... Johnny cakes kind of have the taste of a non sweet cornbread with the look of a pancake… this appetizer was so good that I literally wrote it down on my BBerry Memos immediately after I bit into it. Unfortunately I think the menu has changed for summer and this is no longer available… Time for some attempts in my kitchen to recreate it!
• Fried Potatoes from Open Sesame in Long Beach, CA –I’m not a big fan of fried potatoes, but these were cubes of potatoes that were crisp and brown on the outside, and then tossed in some lemon juice, garlic, cilantro and maybe parsley. Drool inducing.  Dip it in some Tzaziki type yogurt sauce…
• Eventide’s Chestnut soup with bits of bacon and a dollop of crème fraiche – I love chestnuts! I eat packets of this stuff from the Korean markets. This sweet and savory dish was sooo smooth, velvety and delicious. I think this was on their seasonal winter menu, but hopefully they have something equally delicious and seasonal for summer!
• Clotilde’s Yogurt Cake (Gateau Au Yaourt) with strawberries topped with whipped marscarpone strawberry frosting – I’ve been craving cupcakes lately, but something about these cupcakes I made for my ‘spring dinner party’ using the Chocolate and Zucchini Web site’s Recipe just hit the spot.  The tanginess of the batter from the yogurt is just so perfect and refreshing for warm weather.  Mix in some chopped strawberries and you have a winner! The frosting I kind of improvised but it ended up tasting like a fresh homemade strawberry ice cream but richer! TOOT TOOT! Not bad.
• Hummus and Pita Bread from Moby’s – The bread isn’t the best especially when cooled…but the creamy smooth hummus at Moby’s is definitely a winner in my books.  Got a joojeh (chicken) kabob salad last night but my restrictions didn’t let me eat too much of the Bread… which meant I had to stay away from the hummus.  :(
• Hamachi Toro – One of my new favorite Nigiri! I was all about hamachi (yellowtail) until I discovered the fattier relative – the hamachi belly. Buttery, and melt in your mouth delicious…In the hands of a skilled sushi chef, you’re in for a treat!

My – get back to normal restrictions – will be lifted in T-2 days! I can’t wait! Next week I will make my cupcakes and eat them too! And some mobys hummus… and some KFC… Let’s not get carried away…

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The décor and staff make you feel like you’re in the right place for Japanese.  The waitresses are even dressed in Japanese robes! As for the food, it was very traditional and simple – fresh, clean, served at the right temp, well cut, and well balanced. What more can ask for from the true minimalist of foods – sushi?

I am far from a sushi ‘connoisseur’. But I do recognize good sushi. Good sushi is successful in preserving the “sanctity” of EACH element, while  combining them to form the perfect bite. Mikaku did just that.  What I really appreciated about Mikaku was that the pearls of sushi rice were perfectly intact and even glossy in appearance.  But most notably, the rice was WELL marinated with the just the right vinegar/sugar/salt bite. Too many sushi restaurants neglect the rice!

The fish was fresh and cut just right.  The salmon and the yellow tail were pretty standard – melt in your mouth it did not!  The ruby red tuna was fleshy and clean, and the distinct flavor of the mackerel was the BEST complement to the tang of the sushi rice.  My favorite nigiri was the uni, which was surprisingly light and airy – almost mousse like in texture – but still had that rich coating mouthfeel.

I liken the uni experience with a childhood culinary “delicacy”.  My mom would mix rice with a little butter and soy sauce, and place an “over easy” egg on top.  I’d cut the egg with my spoon; watch the egg yolk pour onto my rice and take heaping spoonfuls in my mouth.  That is kind of what uni reminds me of. The richness of egg yolk, the and the silky creaminess of butter that just mixes together with the rice and soy sauce as you bite into it….BUT I digress.

My favorite dish was the “Ika Somen” which was squid sliced to resemble udon noodles served with soba dipping sauce. The fun was in the anticipation of a regular udon noodle that translated to the multiple textures of raw squid – chewy, slippery and noodle like at first, then a bit rich and creamy as you bite into it. Good stuff!  As for the real zaru soba, the noodles were perfectly cooked, but the dipping sauce was slightly bland to my taste buds – *which I of course amended by adding a little soy sauce and wasabi.

The kink of the night came with the dessert order.  After ordering one Red bean ice cream and CONFIRMING this with the waitress – she brought out two dishes which I thought odd, but assumed she had just kindly separated the portion for me and my dad. No such luck! She brought out the check, and there were 2 red bean ice creams charged at $3.95 a piece for two tiny homemade but rock hard scoops!  …A sad ending to an otherwise delectable meal….

Will I think of Mikaku again when I’m 30 minutes away? Likely not. But if an unexpected wind blows me into Herndon, it just may emerge from the recesses of my memory.

Mikaku – 3065 Centreville Rd.(McLearen Rd.)Herndon, VA 20171/ Phone: 703-467-0220

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