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.

Panino -- Manassas, VA -- 2 Stars

With this post, we inaugurate a 4-star rating system for the restaurants we visit. Today we discuss Panino, on Mathis Ave. in Manssas, VA. We visited it on a lark after dropping off two of our grandchildren at their home. We'd been there once before for a birthday and had a good memory of it, but weren't really sure what we were getting into.

Turns out that Panino has some pretty darn good food. The outside look isn't that promising -- its in a strip mall just down from a bowling alley. And the interior is pleasant enough, with good tablecloths and such, but a functional room.

The food, on the other hand, is a solid step up. There was a very fine wine list (Katy had a nice crisp Gavi and Paul had a very fine Cabernet from California) and the food was quite enchanting. We learned,early on, that the specials list is much better than the main menu -- the owner told us so. And so we took her advice and ordered only off the specials.

To start, Katy had an arugula salad with pears, nuts and a fine vinagrette. Paul had a very tasty cold antipasto consisting of grilled peppers, zucchini, squash and sun dried tomatoes, all drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. What could be bad? For the main course, Katy had the fresh rockfish, nicely grilled with a red-wine reduction. Paul, meanwhile, had the seafood pasta special -- fresh ravioli (house made, we were told) stuffed with shrimp and scallops in a lobster cream sauce. A bit heavy on the cream, but excellent overall. We skipped desert and finished with some herbal Roobis tea (hard to find in DC area) that hit the spot.

On the whole, the ambiance was quite fine. We were well taken care of; the room was quiet; and the food far outdid the setting. We give Panino 2 stars.

Tribeca -- Part II

We left the hotel last night for dinner at Sapphire, an Indian restaurant up near Lincoln Center. The food was actually a little different from the "normal" Indian fare we are used to and well worth the effort to try out. Katy had scallops with a mango chutney for appetizer -- an unusual and tasty combination with a smoky flavor. Paul had fried Mussels Balchao that came in a spicy tomato sauce of some sort that was sharp on the tongue and had his bald head sweating in an instant. For the main course, Katy had a rather ordinary Lamb Sorrle while Paul had a much more interesting Lamb Xacutti, which featured a coconut flavor based sauce.

After that, we went the New York Philharmonic to hear another in a series of truly excellent concerts. It seems every time we go, the symphony just does a superb job. This time, they performed a short overture by Glinka and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The soloist, Leonadas Kavakos, was perfect for the music -- which was much "mellower" than the normal Tchaikovsky music we've heard. At the end, he got a well-deserved standing ovation for his effort with this very difficult piece. The second half of the concert was also quite good, featuring Debussey's Noctures (the Women's chorus of New York was eerie as the "Sirens) and then Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. Overall, a fine, mostly Russian, evening of music.

This morning, we had brunch at a local French
bistro called Balthazar. This photo gives you a good sense of the place -- all hustle and bustle with a whole lot of New York action going one. Our eggs were nicely done and the place had a homey feel to it -- maybe it was the Xmas decorations, maybe it was the crowd. Maybe it was the promise of good coffee and a pastry basket that was outstanding. Whatever it was the walk was worth it and the food was lots of fun.

One last note on the trip in case anyone actually reads what we are writing. We really did like the Tribeca Grand Hotel -- it was a nice place with a good atmosphere. But last night may have broken us of that enjoyment. The bar in the open atrium was playing music, loudly, until well past 2 AM. We suppose we should have expected as much from Tribeca, but still .... Katy was up and didn't sleep well at all. So if, like us, you think 11 PM is a realistic bed time, this one might not be for you. On the plus side, when we mentioned it to the manager on check out, he told us that it had been a special private party and he promised us a quieter room the next time we came and asked us to contact him personally -- so at least they were trying to address our issues. We decided we probably would give them a second chance.

We are on the Acela now on the way home. Will be good to sleep in our own bed.

Tribeca -- New York City

We're in NYC this weekend for a post-Thanksgiving shopping and music trip. Later tonight we go to see the NY Philharmonic. We spent today shopping.

We're staying at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, which is a delightful place, especially if you want to stay down in the area around Canal street. The lobby is a wonderful covered atrium where we are sitting right now just toodling away on our computers. We were greeted last night with a complimentary glass of champagne (who could ask for more) and an upgrade to a corner room. The rooms are smallish (but I guess all NYC rooms are) but the bathroom has a nice walk in shower with a seat to sit on and an "interesting" set of stainless steel fixtures.

Last night we dined at Il Matto which means "the mad man" -- a neat new Italian restaurant that lived up to its name. Katy started with a really neat tuna tartare and Paul had a peccorino creme brule with red onion jam. Yum. For the main course, Katy had a saffron pappardella with osso busco ragu and Paul had spaghetti with sea urchin. Double yum. A nice carafe of wine completed the meal. Well done and we would go back if we were ever near by again.

For breakfast this AM, we went to 12 Chairs. The OJ was =really= fresh squeezed and the poached eggs Paul had came with an "Israeli salad" of tomoatos and cucumbers and were covered in a mildly spicy Moroccan tomato sauce. Katy's challah french toast was the perfect texture -- not to soft and not over cooked either. Another nice place to visit.

Vestards Simkus -- WOW

On November 18th we went to a reception celebrating the 92nd anniversary of Latvian independence. We've been to a number of these events for many countries. They are usually pleasant enough but often not really "exciting."

Boy, was this one different! To celebrate, the Latvians had invited a young Latvian pianist, Vistards Shimkus, to come and play a concert. Simkus is 26 years old, tall and thin, with amazingly long fingers. More importantly, he was simply magnificent and a total joy to listen to. Talk about wonderful surprises, this was one!

He started with Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 -- a marvelously lyrical piece with great power. Simkus' attack at the piano was strong and energetic. He made the piece come alive. This was followed by Chopin's Scherzo No. 2, which he did with equal precision and energy.

But the real joy was in the second half of the concert after intermission. After a modest set of pieces by Medins (a Latvian composer) he did a piece called White Scenery, also by a Latvian (Vasks) [listen to the video]. It was one of the most haunting things we've heard in a number of years -- slow, melodic, with periods of near silence that seemed to almost strain our listening to a tension point. After the Vasks, we then heard a incomparable rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, where Simkus played with great precision and clarity. The concert ended with one of Simkus' own pieces "Heartbeats of Astor Piazzolla" which began with him beating rhythmically on the piano. The melody was interesting, but the uniqueness of the piece and its presentation really made the event.

In short, Simkus is something new and talented. I expect to see him at the NY Philharmonic some day. And the sheer surprise of seeing him at an independence day event made the pleasure all the more wonderful.

Union Pizzeria -- Evanston

We were in Chicago this week, searching for an apartment (we will be here for a Visiting Fellowship @ Northwestern next spring) and we had a chance to see our family and have dinner with our son Paul and daughter-in-law Natalia. They took us to Union Pizzeria, a nifty little bistro near their house.

Union has a very nice selection of wines by the glass that are far better than average. Paul had a Qupe Syrah that was fruity and full-bodied. Katy had a pleasant Argentine Malbec that also was quite fine.

We started by splitting some tapas for appetizers -- a bruschetta and a calamari that were both good and a veal meatball that was out of this world. For dinner, Paul and Natalia both had the lamb stew, which they report was quite hearty and tasty. Paul R., in turn had a pizza (seemed like the right thing to do) that had sausage, grilled sweet peppers and onions. The crust was firm and the sauce was tasty, with a slight sweetness. Katy had 3 different tapas -- spinach and pine nuts; quinoa with apple and cabbage; and tuna with red onions -- all quite good.

We're coming back to Evanston in March and we are sure we'll go back to the Union Pizzeria -- good stuff!

Cava -- DC

Last night we had a pleasant night out at a new (to us) restaurant on Barrack's Row (8th St. SE) in DC -- Cava. Cava bills itself as a Greek mezze restaurant -- think tapas for Greek food. Unlike the Spanish tapa concept, however, here the portions were rather larger and so the number of dishes you could order was less.

We had an excellent meal. We had two cold mezze platters: First, a spicy hummus that was regular hummus jazzed up just enough with red pepper to tickle the tongue; and second, caponata -- an eggplant and walnut dish that Cava adds some sweetness to with raisins (we think). For our two hot platters we had spicy lamb sliders that were truly stunning (ground lamb topped with tahini sauce). The only disappointment of the night was the other hot mezze: a pork souvlaki which wasn't bad but wasn't very special either.

And the surprise of the night: A quite pleasant Greek wine that was a tempanillio/cabernet blend. It was the most expensive Greek glass on the menu and didn't disappoint. If you are in the mood to graze Greek style, Cava is a nice choice.