Tachibana -- McLean, VA

Let me get this praise out of the way: Tachibana is, dollar-for-dollar, the best Japanese restaurant I've ever been to. This doesn't mean it is The Best, but it does mean that you will have a hard time finding a better Japanese meal at a fairly reasonable price anywhere in the U.S. I've been to a lot of Japanese restaurants, so I believe I can present that prior statement with some authority.


Have you noticed, by the way, that a lot of sushi restaurants are owned by Koreans? There is nothing wrong with that, as Koreans love raw fish as much as the Japanese do. Tachibana feels more "authentic" to me because the owner is Japanese.

My family invited another family over last night to Tachibana, where we go once or twice a week when we are not out of town, and the food was predictably consistently good. I didn't eat anything fancy, just some herring roe (on kelp) sushi and some sashimi, but, oh, boy, is that herring roe great! My son's latest favorite appetizer is shishamo, grilled smelt with roe in the fish. Our friends' 18-year old daughter tried one of the three fish on his plate, was wowed and ordered another shishamo. My wife loves their ikura (salmon roe) and uni (sea urchin egg/roe), so she ordered that. Unlike some Japanese places, where you might be disappointed with the sushi or sashimi depending on who is behind the sushi bar, Tachibana has never disappointed us.

During spring time my son and I would order firefly squid every time we went to the restaurant. The squid only grows to about 3 inches and its name comes from its flashing lights that resemble a firefly. I am not sure about this, but I think spring is when they come to the coastal surface in Japan to spawn, so spring is the only time fisherman can catch them. The point I'm trying to make is that Tachibana tries to go beyond the typical tuna and salmon sushi when they can get something more interesting on the menu.

Speaking of interesting, I once went there to order carryout, and while I was waiting for my food, the chef in charge at that time (whom I think is the nephew of the owner) pulled out a sea snail or conch shell out of the refrigerator and asked me if I was interested in having it. My eyes went wide and I nodded vigorously. He pulled out the meat from the shell, sliced it into several pieces and stuffed the meat back into the shell. He asked me if I wanted to eat the black-green organ part of the shellfish, assuring me that it was the best part. I didn't need the assurance, but I appreciated his concern that I might be squeamish. With all the meat and organ back into the shell, he stepped behind the doors that led into the kitchen to cook it in the oven. When it was done I dug into the shell with my chopsticks and enjoyed one of the best sea snacks I have ever had. After I finished I told the chef I wanted to bring my son the next day to have him try it. The chef told me that they only received two shells from the supplier, and I ate the second one. Maybe I'm easy to impress, but I was flattered that he offered his last one to me. But, then, I am a regular customer, right?



The typical cost of dinner at Tachibana for three is about $150, including a couple of drinks.