2007 Fall Dining Guide
By Tom Sietsema
Washington Post Magazine
Sunday, Oct. 14, 2007

"Omakase" has become my mantra at most Japanese restaurants, and here's why: When you ask the cooks behind the sushi counter for what translates as "chef's choice," you get to see what they think is best at that particular moment. And so it was that I found myself on a stool at the city's premiere (and longest-lived) sushi bar recently, enjoying course after fresh little course: raw salmon garnished with bright orange roe and sweet red onions; see-through slices of flounder decorated with crunchy bits of fried sweet potato; a warm mushroom salad; two bites of marinated, fried eel atop a tiny salad of diced cucumber and matchsticks of radish; piping hot rock shrimp in a light tempura, with dips of green tea salt and yuzu remoulade; plus a plate of sushi -- buttery toro, jackfish, pearly sweet shrimp and sea-fresh uni simply brushed with a sauce of mirin, sake and soy sauce. Each bite transported me. Cool aside: Head chef Koji Terano had the day off on my visit, but you'd never know by the look and taste of his underlings' fine handiwork. Better yet, there's more where that came from: Sushi-Ko is poised to open a bigger, sexier branch in Chevy Chase.