Sushi-Zen Japanese Restaurant – Arlington, VA

Wow, I can’t believe how negative the reviews of this place are. I am a big fan of Yelp, as it has helped me to discover tons of great restaurants. I don’t pay much mind to the individual reviews, but overall it can give you a pretty good idea of the place. The reviews of Sushi-Zen are terrible.

This is a place that I started going solely because of convenience. I never read a review until today. This makes me wonder how much I let these reviews influence where I go and how much I enjoy it. I’m not saying that I cry tears of joy with every bite, but this is not a bad sushi place by any means.

My choice for sushi in Arlington is Endo Sushi, but the lack of parking make this a tricky place for carry-out.

Sushi-Zen is located right off of Lee Highway, making this an ideal place to stop and pick up carry-out.

There is a Harris Teeter and an ABC right next door. For the ultimate carry out meal, I recommend picking up a bottle of Sake from the liquor store. More on that later.

My usual go-to’s are spicy tuna, yellow tail, toro (fatty tuna), and the Godzilla roll. They also have pretty good miso and seaweed salad. My absolute favorite roll is the Godzilla roll, which is shrimp tempura, yellowtail, salmon, tuna, with black and green roe. It is delicious! The other rolls are pretty good, but do not blow me away.

I’ve never actually eaten at the restaurant, so I can’t comment on the service for dining-in. For take out, they are usually very prompt and friendly. Last night when I arrived, my order was not ready. They cleared a seat at the bar for me and gave me a bowl of edamame. The restaurant itself is small, but I wouldn’t call it cramped.

I enjoy picking up a bottle of sake to go with my sushi. One of my favorites is Gekkeikan.

This is a delicious sake that goes down smooth. You can pick up a 750ml bottle for around $12. According to their website, they operate out of Japan and California. They also control 25% of the American sake market.

Writing this post was eye-opening to me. I am going to make an effort to not be so swayed by negative reviews. This place isn’t the world’s greatest sushi, but by no means is it as bad as indicated in the reviews.

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Moby Dick Sushi

Located in Wheaton on Triangle Lane is my favorite sushi place in the world. I first learned of it while working at Chuck Levins. Moby Dick was the place to go when you were working an 11 hour shift and needed some peace and serenity. I quickly found out why my coworkers spoke so highly of the place.

It’s easy to miss, as it does not face Georgia Avenue.

When you come aside, you instantly know that you are in the right place. It is very comfortable on the inside, and the staff are very friendly. After a bowl of miso, some tea or sake, and some of their delicious rolls, you will feel like a new person.

Moby Dick is run by a Korean family. The chef-owner’s name is Chang Pyon, and he absolutely knows what he is doing. Everything I have ever ordered here is amazing. Not only is the food great, the prices are extremely reasonable. You can eat to your heart’s content and not break the bank. I have been to many sushi restaurants and Moby Dick is my favorite.

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Maki Maki Sushi

I was in Bethesda on Friday and my girlfriend and I really wanted some sushi. We checked out what was available in the area. There were a few places offering Chinese, Japanese, and Thai all at the same restaurant. I’m very wary of places that try to offer too many different types of food. We found a sushi place that focused solely on sushi, and they offered delivery! The place is called Maki Maki.

We ordered miso soup, which is a must when getting sushi. We also got a seaweed salad and an order of shrimp tempura.

For sushi, we got an order of yellowtail, salmon, spicy tuna roll, and the crazy maki. Everything tasted delicious and very fresh. This is one of my new favorite sushi places.

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