cavin and i went to kotobuki on wednesday night for a grand ol' time of sushi and the beatles. this was no ordinary kotobuki visit, though. where normally we would leave as early as possible to beat the rush, eat, and be sitting back at home in a little bit over an hour, we went a bit later to meet two of our friends. some would call it a "double-date". whatever.

although kotobuki is off the beaten DC path (it's in the palisades section of DC), it has acquired a cult following (cavin and i included). i basically describe it as a no frills japanese sushi dive restaurant. don't expect fancy named rolls, or even fried rolls (like spider or shrimp tempura rolls). but what they do have is extremely fresh fish and seafood, the most friendly staff, and a sushi chef who adores the beatles.

we planned to meet our friends at 7:30-7:45pm, and i had my doubts. what would it be like at the 25-seat restaurant? well, i'll tell you. the place was full. there were only 2 seats open (at the 4-seat sushi bar), and there were 4 (obnoxiously loud) hoochies (early to mid-20s) already waiting for a 4-top to open up.

d&l were not there yet, so cavin and i waited. several people arrived before then, and grabbed the 2 free seats, and picked up to-go orders, but no one seemed to be leaving.

when d&l arrived (only 10 min later), still, no one had left. so we waited. and waited. finally we saw checks being handed out by the waitresses. but upon further inspection, the two tables were not next to each other. while we were standing at the top of the steps crammed in, we debated whether we should just bag the entire "breaking bread together" concept and each go for a 2-top. but we decided to keep in the spirit of the "double date", in the hopes that another table would open up, preferably one that was next to a table that was already free.

after about 45 min of waiting, the slow pokes finally paid their bill and we were escorted to our seats. (thanks a lot, jerks)

as usual, cavin and i ordered a variety of things: toro (fatty tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), lobster, uni (sea urchin), oshinko, unagi (eel), salmon skin roll, sea scallop, salmon, and white tuna. this time around, the toro wasn't as stellar as it always is, but everything else was fantastic.

along with our meal we also ordered the cold sake, which they serve in a box cup, and provide you with salt, so you can add it to the rim of your box cup. i guess you could say it is somewhat similar to adding salt to the rim of a margarita glass. cavin and i don't normally order the sake - usually we dine and dash (but not literally) - but since we were with friends, why not get into the spirit (hehe)? plus, i was fuming because i was in a bad mood all day, so it was good that i got a drink to wind me down.

kotobuki is one of those places that i wish was in my neighborhood (god, i wish something was in my neighborhood!), but kind of glad it isn't. the sushi is ridiculously cheap (on normal outings to kotobuki, cavin and i stuff our faces for $40 total) for how fresh it is and i would be there everyday (or every other day) if this place was within walking distance from our living quarters.

kotobuki japanese restaurant
4822 macarthur blvd
washington, dc 20007
202.625.9080

Labels: restaurant, sake, seafood, sushi