Happy Pi Day!

It's not too late to go out and celebrate Pi Day!

We took advantage of Dangerously Delicious's Pi Day Happy Hour tonight...slices of their sweet pies were only $3.14, and we made it in just under the wire.  But first we started with a slice of BOG (bacon, onion, gruyere) quiche, and a slice of STF (sausage, tomato, fennel) pie.  Each came with a little salad with balsamic dressing.  So we started off with a pretty tasty, savory slice of pie, and we highly recommend both.  For the sweet slices, we went with a slice of mounds (coconut & chocolate), and their famous Baltimore Bomb (crumbly,melty Berger cookies & vanilla chess).

So, before the day is over, go grab yourself some pi(e)!

Hikari Sushi & Sake Bar

The scrolling neon sign above the door at Hikari Sushi & Sake Bar has read "Coming Soon" for weeks.  So when we finally got word that they had opened, we didn't waste any time finding a seat at the sushi bar.  Plus, Justin had been craving sushi for quite some time, so Hikari's opening couldn't have come at a better time.

We started off with the calamari tempura, which was served with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce.  The calamari came out a bit cold, but the batter was light and perfectly crispy, while the squid was nice and tender.  I'll attribute the cold dish to it being just their second night open.  I'm sure when we visit again, it won't be cold.

The rest of our meal was garnered from the sushi bar.  The 2 sushi chefs were cranking out rolls left and right, and it didn't take long for ours to be set in front of us.  Justin ordered his favorite, uni with a quail egg on top.  The uni was so rich and creamy, while the egg was the perfect topper.  I ordered my favorite, the salmon skin roll, though it came as a maki roll (I usually prefer a hand roll).  Nonetheless, the salmon skin was nice and crispy, with a salty, charred, umami flavor.  The white tuna sashimi was nice and buttery as well.

Then we dove into some of their specialty rolls.  We had the caterpillar roll, which had eel and cucumber inside, rice on the outside, and it was topped with avocado.  The eel was nice and warm, with the perfect amount of sauce, while the avocado added a nice creamy element to each piece.  We also enjoyed the rainbow caviar roll.  The roll itself was a California roll with tuna, and each piece was topped with a different kind of tobiko.  I think the lemon tobiko was my favorite because it added an unexpected citrus element to the roll.  There was the stop drop roll which consisted of spicy scallop and cucumber.  There was just enough heat with the scallop that they weren't overwhelmed by spice.  You could still taste the fresh, sweet scallops.  The final roll was the shiso tofu maki.  I'm not one to order vegetarian rolls, but Justin suggested it and I went with it.  The tofu stood up to the rice, and the shiso added a nice, herbal-y flavor to the roll.

All in all, it was a delicious meal.  They had a good selection of traditional sushi and maki, in addition to some creative rolls.  They also had several cooked items on the menu, but we didn't try those.  Our server was a bit slow, but considering they've only been open for a handful of days, I'll let that one slide this time.  Following the meal, one of the managers or owners asked us for feedback on our meal and offered us a complimentary dessert, so we opted for the mango sticky rice.  It was the perfect way to end the meal.  The rice wasn't overly sweet, and the mango was perfectly ripe.

We hadn't found a decent sushi joint in DC, but Hikari will certainly fill that role considering how close it is to our apartments, and the quality of the meal we enjoyed.

Toki Underground

Ok, if you're like me, when you think of ramen, the first thing that comes to mind is this.  The over-salted, underwhelming, cheap stuff that only has a time and a place at 3 AM in a freshman dorm.  I was vaguely aware of the traditional Japanese ramen, but I've always been a bigger fan of soba, udon, or shirataki.  But when I was trying to think of what would be a perfect cure for a hangover on a particularly cold New Year's Day, I thought ramen just might be the trick.

I've been really, really, really, excited to go to Toki Underground for a while.  I wasn't deterred by the long wait times (typically 2+ hours), or the trendiness (Toki has been known to host famous clientele like Manny and Doogie Hauser).  And although I don't know the difference between Japanese and Taiwanese ramen, its difficult to keep me away from a hearty bowl of noodles, dumplings, and a soundtrack handpicked by Geologist from the Animal Collective.

If you're claustrophobic at all, I'd suggest ordering food to go, as space is limited to bar seating around the perimeter, and in front of the tiny kitchen.  We were seated between the 2 street-view windows, in front of some shelves that held jars of bonito flakes, the biggest cinnamon sticks I've ever seen, house-made preserved lemons, and togarashi.  The menu is simple and straightforward:

To start, we opted for a plate of pork dumplings.  You have a choice of fried or steamed dumplings, so we went with the fried version.  But don't be fooled by the term "fried".  They weren't deep fried with a thick batter.  Instead, they were very reminiscent of Chinese potstickers...simply pan fried and then steamed to finish.  You could really taste the ginger in the dumplings, which balanced out the 3 sauces that were drizzled over them.  One was spicy, one was slightly sweet, and the third was a bit tangy and savory.  Kara said they rivaled her mom's potstickers!

When it came to the ramen, I chose the kimchi kae-dama (which means with extra noodles), while Kara chose the Taipei Curry Chicken.  It was everything I was hoping for...packed with umami, there was a savory, flavorful broth, tender pulled pork, perfectly cooked noodles which absorbed a ton of flavor from the broth, and enough heat in the kimchi to clear out my sinuses.  The soft egg was a pleasant surprise, especially when I broke the yolk and let it mix into the broth.  Kara's bowl had perfectly crispy pieces of chicken, spinach, some nori, and a delicious broth that didn't overpower the other items in the bowl.  The ramen was so filling that we didn't even have room for milk and cookies.  Maybe next time!