Kushi

For my K, I decided to check out the new sushi bar and "izakaya" in Mount Vernon Square, Kushi. You could still wear your shoes and there wasn't any raw horse on the menu, but it still felt pretty authentically Japanese to me (cute bartender and all).

Kushi is part of the new revival just east of my place, which is awesome for me. The CityVista condo building has a host of cool eateries, including another Busboys and Poets location and a (squee!!!) Taylor Gourmet sandwich shop. Even the New York Times recognized that good things are happening in this area.

The place has a hip and classy vibe, and the drinks were priced as you might expect in that setting, but they had pretty decent happy hour specials until 8. We had *strong* Japanese-style margaritas (and the cutie bartender gave us an extra that he had "accidentally" left over), so we made out pretty well for under $10. I also appreciated the wide selection of Japanese liquors, like shochu, that aren't always that easy to find here.

We didn't try the sushi this time, but the selection here also seemed pretty broad. They even offer otoro, though they do specify that it's limited. I didn't think the sushi prices seemed all that unreasonable either, especially considering that everything we saw looked pretty amazing.

My verdict is that I will definitely go back, and I will try to have a shot at that sushi if I can stop myself from ordering Taylor's when I'm right next door....