I recently ate at Kushi, a large, modern Izakaya and Sushi restaurant in the charming Mt. Vernon Square neighborhood of the city. My in-the-know friend, LV, had a Living Social deal. I love trying new places that come with not only a recommendation, but a coupon as well!
After having a bit of back-and-forth with the hostess over our reservation, LV and I had the typical vegetarian to non-vegetarian conversation. I said, “So what should we get? Everything looks really good.” And she said, “Ooo, last time I was here I had the pork belly, and it was so yummy. Oh. Wait…” 
But despite loving meat, LV is very accustomed to eating with vegetarians and pescetarians, so she was a champ and started offering up some suggestions of the vegetable and fish dishes that looked promising. We ended up ordering:
Sashimi Trio with Tuna, Yellowtail, and Salmon. The salmon was my favorite – tender and lemony. LV liked the tuna. Both of us were ambivalent about the yellowtail.
Lobster and Asparagus Roll. This surprised us. Inside the roll was a spicy lobster “salad,” and we had anticipated chunks of lobster. But the asparagus was perfectly cooked and the taste was good.
Corn Cob with Soy Sauce and Butter. We were curious about the soy sauce, which didn’t end up being a dominant flavor. This dish was basically just a well-cooked, buttery corn cob. Which is all well and good, but not very exciting.
Broccolini with Garlic Oil. This was our second favorite! The greens were perfectly cooked – crispy and not soggy. And the garlic flavor wasn’t overwhelming. Solid vegetable choice.
Sadly, I do not have a picture of our favorite dish: the Scallop and Potato Kushi Katsu (deep fried skewers). I suspect that there isn’t a picture because we tried it and got overly excited and finished it before I could snap. Same for the cocktails – we had a sake concoction that was delish.
Bottom line: if you go to Kushi, stick with the sashimi, vegetables, and deep fried skewers.
