Daikaya – Washington, DC

What's NEXT: When in need for a solid bowl of ramen, look no further than Daikaya. 

Located in the Gallery Place-Chinatown neighborhood, Daikaya was built from the ground up, literally. The old building was completely knocked down in 2012 and took a year to build. The shop opened its doors on Valentine’s Day earlier this year. It brings a modern decor with wood tables, providing customers an authentic ramen shop type feel.

Daikaya is a no-nonsense ramen shop where seating is limited and service is relatively quick. Customers are usually in and out in 30 minutes. I usually opt for the Shio or Mugi-Miso Ramen. Both have very clean flavors and bring out the tremendously rich broth. Since this is a Japanese based ramen shop, they also offer a Shoyu (soy sauce) ramen which I've found to be way too salty. There’s also a vegetarian option as well.

Typical with ramen shops, there’s an add-on for everything: nitamago (soft-boiled egg), chashu (roasted pork), butabara kakuni (roasted pork belly), bamboo, extra noodles etc.  At the end of it, you could easily be spending $20 for a bowl of ramen. I usually just stick with the addition of the chashu which I found to be very flavorful. This keeps my bowl of ramen budget friendly at around $15.

All in all, this is a great place to go if you’re craving ramen or prior to an event at the Verizon Center.

FYI - They also have a Japanese Izakaya upstairs which is relatively new. I definitely need to check that out as well!

4/5 Stars

Mugi-Miso Ramen with Pork Belly

Ramen Menu

Store Front

Sushi Yoshi – Vienna, VA

What’s NEXT: If there’s one place to get sashimi in Northern Virginia, it’s Sushi Yoshi in Vienna. This place has been a regular establishment for Japanese locals to enjoy the best chirashi deal in town and other japanese favorites.

It’s so good that I usually drive out once a month to satisfy my chirashi fix. The Chirashi Deluxe Lunch Special ($14) comes with tuna, salmon, whitefish, squid, picked radishes and more! The complex combination of flavors from the raw/cooked fish and radishes really make this dish absolutely perfect.

Every time I've been here at least half of the tables in the restaurant are ordering the special. It's no secret. Each chirashi special comes with miso soup, salad and a hefty amount of rice.

Service is great here and I would highly recommend making reservations if you’re bringing a large party. The entire restaurant serves less than 30 people. If you’re planning to go last minute like me, I would advise getting there when they open at 11:30am. I'm usually accommodated through bar seating which gives me a front row seat at the sushi chefs prepare the chirashi.

This place is truly something special and I hope every sushi/sashimi aficionado makes it here at least once.

5/5 Stars

Chirashi Deluxe Lunch Special