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Kenji Fusion, Pan-Asian Fusion in Leesburg Pike Plaza in Bailey's Crossroads - Closed


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A great deal of buzz on our neighborhood listserv led us to check this new place out last Friday night. We got there early, as we like to do since we're dining with a toddler.

The restaurant is in the Bailey's Crossroads shopping center on the side of Jefferson with Edy's (near CVS and Verizon Wireless). The décor really took me by surprise. They must have sunk a whole lot of cash into making this place shine. This is the kind of interior you'd expect to see in downtown DC. Very modern, clean, and sparkling. I really like the contemporary style and it was still comfortable and not too stark.

The long menu offers a wide-variety of dishes, as you might expect from an Asian fusion concept. I was actually overwhelmed by the many choices, which never happens to me. (It might have been because I was trying to entertain the wee one, though.)

We started with the Avocado Salad. It was unremarkable. We ordered a Stacy roll, spicy tuna topped with avocado. This was a huge hit with all three of us (the servers couldn't believe that our 14 month old loved spicy tuna), but was pretty pricey at $13. I am definitely interested in trying more of their sushi but the prices are pretty high for the neighborhood.  

We shared the Seafood Stir Fry and the Szechuan Chicken. Both were surprisingly mild (they never asked for our spice preferences).  Not fabulous, but not bad. Everything was very fresh and the portions were good.  They gave us free dessert (fried ice cream) which I found pretty poor but my husband liked).

The service was average to above average.  The waitresses were very accommodating to our son and didn't seem bothered by his presence.  

I want to love this place but I was underwhelmed. Still, I am tempted to try it again. However  with Yamazoto equidistant from home I am indifferent. I think it would be great for a group or a night out with friends.  They have a nice bar area.

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The restaurant is in the Bailey's Crossroads shopping center on the side of Jefferson with Edy's (near CVS and Verizon Wireless). 

Website

Great post, Catharine!

A couple questions:

1) Are you sure this is called Kenji Fusion and not K Fusion? Their website seems to imply the latter; on the other hand, depending on where you click, it *does* say Kenji Fusion.

2) The shopping center you refer to is called Leesburg Pike Plaza (owned by Saul Centers); not Bailey's Crossroads Shopping Center (owned by Maryland Financial Investors). Not a big deal as far as diners are concerned - just trying to get the facts right: can you verify one way or the other?

Thank you dahlink,

Rocks

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Great post, Catharine!

A couple questions:

1) Are you sure this is called Kenji Fusion and not K Fusion? Their website seems to imply the latter; on the other hand, depending on where you click, it *does* say Kenji Fusion.

2) The shopping center you refer to is called Leesburg Pike Plaza (owned by Saul Centers); not Bailey's Crossroads Shopping Center (owned by Maryland Financial Investors). Not a big deal as far as diners are concerned - just trying to get the facts right: can you verify one way or the other?

Thank you dahlink,

Rocks

Yikes, I wouldn't know which is which name of the Shopping Centers along Leesburg Pike. They all have the same names, to me. But then again, many folks look the same to me too...

She is right - it is called "K Fusion" on the sign of the plaza and the restaurant. But the carry out menu they sent to my house is "Kenji Fusion." My theory is either there wasn't enough space for the Kenji to fit, or they wanted to sound trendier to attract more diners.

Thanks for the write-up, Catharine!

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Yikes, I wouldn't know which is which name of the Shopping Centers along Leesburg Pike. They all have the same names, to me. But then again, many folks look the same to me too...

Yes, things such as this matter not a whit to diners, at least not directly, but to restaurateurs, it is an ever-crucial concept. So much so, in fact, that I've thought about starting threads for major landlords and developers (similar to what I've done for Great American Restaurant Group and Volt Ink).

Admittedly, these threads would be bo-RING to most diners, but potentially useful for restaurateurs (and developers), and since I'm trying to create one grand community, they'd fit right in with everything else we're doing here. (Plus, there wouldn't be very many of these threads, and they wouldn't have much participation - so, yeah, boring, but unobtrusive. Refer to the Spanish Classifieds, my precious little Spanish Classifieds, the forum equivalent of having a feral raccoon as a pet. :()

Now if I could only find a CATERING FORUM HOST! :)

It wouldn't be all that much work, but oh, what a superstar you could be in the catering industry if you play your cards right! Even a caterer would be welcome as a forum host - I normally wouldn't do something like that, but in this situation, I think it could work (obviously, with full disclosure). Plus, it would bring boatloads of press to your catering business.

Anybody out there? there? there? there?

Does anybody remember King Vitamin?

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Good questions, Don. I think Goodeats covered it. The sign near the road does say K Fusion. My neighbors refer to as Kenji, and the menu says Kenji. Not sure what the deal is. Maybe they decided to simplify their name after the started out.

I have no idea which shopping center is which. Next time I write a review I will find out the exact names of everything, including shopping centers, landlords, holding companies, and I will list their registered agent as well. ;)

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