Dining With Duvall: Festive Fusion Sushi

Lynn Duvall

As a young woman I studied in Japan and have spent subsequent years continuing my exploration of the food, art and culture of Japan. I admire the rigorous training sushi chefs undergo to master their knife skills. For many years, they hone their art, preparing aesthetically pleasing arrangements of raw fish and rice. For me, a sushi purist, it is difficult to accept less than excellence. My visits to sushi bars, where Korean chefs prepare traditional Japanese sushi, have been disappointing.

Recently, I was introduced to Tracy Leising at a Thursday Club function. She told me about a brand-new sushi restaurant, hidden away in a private country club. “No one realizes it’s open to the public,” Tracy said. “We’ve taken several friends there and they’ve just loved it.” Then she mentioned that the owners were Korean.

“Korean sushi? Oh, no,” I said, with a dismissive wave of the hand.

On Saturday afternoon, I suddenly flashed back on this conversation. “Uh-oh, I’ve done something awful,” I said to Bob. He cocked his head and waited for me to continue.

“I was rude to a lady who was trying to do a good deed. She wanted to draw my attention to a new restaurant. She feels it’s a great dining experience. I brushed her off.

“Journalists don’t make assumptions; they check the facts. I must eat at this restaurant myself, before making judgments. I should have thanked her graciously, instead of looking down my nose at her suggestion. I’ve got to fix this.”

He groaned when I told him we’d be dining at a Korean sushi bar.

Later that evening, when we arrived at Chevy Chase Country Club, a children’s Halloween party was in full swing in the big room to our left. We made our way through the costumed kids, flashing lights and high noise levels. Tucked around the corner, we found a small restaurant with a sushi bar. The restaurant space was plain but cozy. We were among the first guests. Later the area filled up until there were no vacant tables.

We spent the next couple of hours working our way through a spectacular menu of mostly unfamiliar fusion rolls offered on the “All You Can Eat” $20 special.

I called Tracy later with thanks and profuse apologies. “You were so right,” I told her. “Like your friends, we just loved it.”

Our waitress, Anne Choi, is the daughter of the owners of Chevy Chase Dani Sushi.

“Dani means ‘valley’ in Korean,” she explained. Anne has just graduated from Otis College of Art and Design. Along with her sister, she’s helping her parents at the restaurant, in between freelance assignments as a fashion designer.

Mrs. Choi, who was acting as hostess, serving and visiting with other customers looked so pert and pretty, it was hard to picture her as the mom of two grown girls. Mr. Choi was also busy attending to customers. Their hospitable style made it seem as though we were guests in their home.

Perhaps the reason why we liked the food so well is that there was no pretense about it, no attempt to present Japanese-style sushi. Even though I have searched for more information about the style of sushi that Dani serves, I couldn’t find any words that describe this combination of ingredients and preparation technique. In the absence of an authority on the topic, we’re stuck with my definition: fun fusion. To me, that’s a perfect description. This is hearty, rustic, fresh and festive food.

The less adventurous diner may select a cooked entrée from Dani’s dinner menu. Soup, salad and rice accompany entrees that include barbecue beef ribs, chicken, beef or salmon teriyaki, tempura or chicken cutlet. Like the all-you-can eat menu, the dinner prices are a good value, most around $12. Sushi is available ala carte, too. Salads, sides and combination dinner round off the wide selection of dishes on the menu.

For starters we tried a sunomono, which bore only a slight resemblance to Japanese versions of cucumber salad. It was a blend of crisp and soft textures, topped with bits of raw seafood, set off by a piquant citrus-flavored dressing. Radish spouts popped up in the salad and garnished other dishes.

We loved the “Monkey Brain Roll.” Shitake mushroom, crab and spicy tuna are tucked inside laver (a sheet of dried seaweed), covered with sticky rice and then lightly deep-fried. The roll was drizzled with fresh-water eel sauce and spicy chili orange sauce. We also liked the birdie roll with spicy tuna, crab, shrimp, avocado and cucumbers.

Dani’s rice is not seasoned like Japanese sushi rice. It seems to be a different variety of sticky rice; the kernels of rice are larger and moister—almost chunky. We tasted most of Dani’s fish varieties. The fine-textured, exceptionally fresh fish is sliced correctly— thin and even. Even the purists will have no problem with the knife skills of Dani’s chefs.

Drive your friends over the hill to this hidden jewel for a convivial evening of festive fusion sushi. Dani Sushi opens for dinner at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday with a selection of American and Japanese beers and sake. Dani Sushi at Chevy Chase Country Club, 3067 E. Chevy Chase Dr., Glendale. 246-5566.