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.

Tokyo Sushi in Orlando

I am spending a week in Orlando while my son attends camp at SeaWorld. I didn't want to spend too much money on food for the week, but I also didn't want to eat typical grill fare the entire time. While looking for a drug store near my hotel, I noticed the Tokyo Sushi restaurant. I checked out the menu posted outside the door, and the prices were reasonable, so I walked in. The place was not fancy, but it seemed clean. I sat at the sushi bar and, after looking at the fish behind the glass, immediately knew I wasn't going to like it. Still, "don't judge a book by its cover" going through my head, I gave it a try.

I ordered yellowtail sashimi and a spicy scallop roll. While they were preparing my lunch I asked to see their salmon roe, as I did not see any behind the glass. The sushi chef pulled a bin out of a refrigerator and in it was a slime of cloudy, deformed orange roe. I don't know about you, but I like my ikura nicely round and clear. I politely passed on the roe.

Meanwhile, I noticed that the chef and the waitress were speaking in a language I could not immediately recognize. I've eaten sushi prepared by South Americans, Central Americans, blond-haired Mormons, Jamaicans, Koreans and, of course, Japanese. I wasn't exactly sure, but I think yesterday I just added Chinese to my list.

Maybe they were Chinese-Korean, because when I put a piece of the spicy scallion roll into my mouth, I could tell that the chef used Korean red-bean paste to spice up the roll. If I want Korean red-bean paste, I would rather go to a Korean restaurant. If I want spicy scallop roll at a sushi bar, I want it Japanese style.

The hamachi wasn't any better. A good yellowtail should be fatty, but the one they served was too lean, even if it was fresh, as the chef had insisted.

As I left the restaurant I saw a couple looking over the menu posted outside. I caught their eyes, shook my head and offered my unsolicited advice -- "if you know sushi, you probably don't want to eat here." I guess they didn't know sushi, or maybe they just didn't want unwanted advice, because they stepped into the restaurant anyway.