Makoto -- 4 Stars

We went to Makoto Restaurant the other day with our friends Connie and David. Calling Makoto a "Japanese place" or a "sushi bar" simply doesn't do it justice. What Makoto is, is one of the finest and most enjoyable dining experiences in Washington.

Granted, Makoto is not for everyone. For one thing, the chef really has a set of "rules" that he expects everyone to abide by. They tell the story (one hopes it is apocryphal) of how he once fired a customer and kicked him out for insisting on a sushi preparation the chef was not willing to make. So be prepared -- there are no shoes allowed and no cell phones permitted. And if you order beef, the chef will ONLY make it medium rare -- so don't ask for beef if you like yours cooked all the way through.

On the other hand, if you can put up with the chef and his idiosyncrasy, be prepared for a magical experience. We all chose the 9-course tasting menu (reasonably priced at $60/person -- drinks extra) and it was worth every penny. Over the next 2+ hours we had courses ranging from a tasty mussel broth to tuna sashimi. We had beef sabu and pomegranate with tofu sauce. We had shaved ice with boysenberry, an orange roughy, and avocado with a miso-soy sauce. Each of the dishes was just a small 2-3 bite size portion so you didn't get at all full.

Perhaps the highlight was a single piece of shrimp, wrapped in a tasty black bread, and then deep fried to perfection, sprinkled with a green sea salt/crushed red pepper mix. Yum.

The menu is seasonal -- you won't see this menu ever again. But the next experience will, we expect, be just as good. Go and enjoy (and have some cold sake too!).

Kushi -- 2 1/2 Stars

Last night we went to Kushi -- a new Japanese restaurant in the new Mass. Ave corridor near the Convention Center. It's a totally different experience from the "normal" Japanese style and well worth the visit.

The decor is very spare and modern -- a hard box like structure with two open kitchen areas. One kitchen is the traditional sushi bar; the other a much more innovative charchol and wood grilling area. Both had serving counters for those who wanted to watch the food being cooked.

The architecture made the place a bit noisier than we might like. Worse yet, even on a Tuesday night it was wicked crowded. We had to wait 20+ minutes for our table. But there was a fair amount of energy in the room -- the place has a hip, New York kind of vibe to it. And the owner, Darren, who sensed that we were getting impatient with the wait, made up for it by sharing a glass of chardonnay (J Lohr) and sake with us.

And in the end, the wait was worth it. The style was one of lots of small plates served as they came out of the kitchen. Think sort of "tapas" for Japan. We had some neat and interesting tastes we had never had before -- a fried tofu dish; a pork belly skewer with some sweet sauce; wood-grilled eggplant; and even a really good kimchee. To top it off we finished with some sushi -- which was a more expected type of taste, but even here the quality of the fish was higher than we usually expect.

In short, Kushi is worth a return visit. It's relatively newly opened and still working the kinks out, but if they can solve some of the problems this one will be a keeper. We give it 2 1/2 stars.