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Showing results for tags 'Shabu-Shabu'.
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My sister wanted to go to Tachibana in McLean, VA for her 28th birthday last week. As much as I tried to steer her towards some of my favorite places for sushi, I eventually succumbed to her choice (it was her birthday after all) and agreed to take her and a couple of her friends there for dinner. The restaurant sits atop a bland-looking Chinese restaurant just off Old Dominion Rd in a neighborhood of hair salons, insurance agents, and dentist offices – your typical suburban office-park hell. But as soon as I walked into the restaurant, I was reminded that I was not in just any suburban city, this was McLean. Beneath the host stand stood a dry erase board listing what’s available or fresh that day. Let’s see … $12.50 for toro, $8.75 for uni, $7.00 for mirugai (giant clam)! Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kotobuki anymore. We decided to share a deluxe nigiri sushi dinner and deluxe sashimi dinner, a few a la carte rolls, and a couple extra appetizers. The dinners come with a choice of soup, a choice of salad, a choice of appetizer and ice-cream/sherbet for dessert. My sister detests miso soup so we opted instead for the osuimono – a clear broth soup with some leafy vegetables and a sliver of chicken meat. The soup itself was fine – a decent briny flavor, but nothing special. And I wasn’t exaggerating about the sliver of meat. The seaweed salad was pretty typical, neither bad nor excellent - but the oshitashi, a boiled spinach salad served chilled with ginger and bonita flakes, was just blah and bitter. Of the appetizers, the tempura was pleasantly light and crisp, unlike the age-dofu (deep fried tofu in a sauce of soy, daikon radish and ginger). A humongous yellowtail jaw broiled in teriyaki sauce was by far my favorite appetizer. The four of us picked every last morsel of sweet and moist meat off the bone. Which brings me to the sushi and the sashimi. When the platter was brought out, I could see why they charge so much. Did this look like the freshest sushi out there? No. But the pieces of fish are colossal! Cut longer and at least three times thicker than usual, the fish dwarfs the pad of rice it sits atop. This can be seen as a good thing and a bad thing. The good – you no longer think you’re getting completely ripped off since you’re getting more product for your $8. The bad - sushi is supposed to be about art and about the balance between the fish and the rice, the wasabi and the soy sauce. These giant slabs of fish certainly throw that way off. However, as sashimi they’re pretty darn tasty! Would I go back? It's not really worth the trip across town for me - especially when I have cheaper options closer to me for the same or better quality. But for those who live around there (and who have the disposable income for it), it's worth a look - if not for its sushi, then at least for its interesting menu. -
I was driving around Rockville this afternoon, and noticed that Paisano’s, on North Washington Street, has been converted into “Bob’s 88 Shabu-Shabu,” by the owner of Bob’s Noodle 66 across the street. The Shabu-Shabu menu is thirty-eight items long, and he is also serving sushi, Tariyaki and a number of familiar dishes from the original Bob’s. Judging from the large number of customers happily “shabuing” at 2:30 PM, it appears as though this will be a most welcome addition to the dining options there, especially in light of the chain restaurants leasing space in the new Town Center.
