Sushi Social & Japanese Cuisine at Takara 14!

Join us for delightful Japanese cuisine at one of Tom Sietsema’s favorite places - Takara 14!

From Washington Post:

Bangkok native Jenistar Ruksirisopha says she’s been a Japan fan since she first visited the country as a 10-year-old. “To be honest, if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life,” it would be Japanese, says the owner of the second-story restaurant whose name combines the Japanese word for treasure with its location on 14th Street.

As she prepared to open 2½ years ago, however, her mother’s warning nagged her: As a Thai native, “no one’s going to believe you,” the budding restaurateur recalls being told. The daughter’s response was to hire a chef from what she considers the No. 1 Japanese draw in D.C., the sublime Sushi Nakazawa behind the Waldorf Astoria hotel.

Visit Takara 14 — and you should — and you’ll spot Johnny Yi behind a slim sushi counter. Like his employer, he’s not Japanese. The Maryland native’s parents are from Korea. Does it matter? Like the owner, he’s ever present in a restaurant I’m always happy to find myself in, which is precisely how Ruksirisopha wants customers to feel after they climb the steep stairs to the 30-seat dining room.

“Forget about being serious,” she says. The design helps. Cheery pink blossoms frame the front picture window, and canary-yellow banquettes run along the sides of the walls, hung with illuminated branches. The setting is a fetching backdrop to a surprisingly long a la carte menu whose small-plate highlights include juicy pork belly and kabocha squash gyoza and tuna tartare — red with gochujang and fruity with apple — scooped up with nubby tempura seaweed chips. Did I mention the $5 beers, $7 drinks and $21 bottles of house wine at happy hour? Or the fact a server insisted on running to a neighboring restaurant to fetch mezcal after a customer requested a mezcal negroni? No wonder so many customers treat the space as a date night.

The food romances us, too, especially the well-priced omakase, or “chef’s choice.” A recent parade of dishes delivered one hit after another. One moment, we’re spooning into tofu whipped with radish, dashi and sake, a creamy base for blow-torched salmon glistening with orange roe. The next, we are scarfing folds of dewy hamachi wrapped around thread-thin fried potatoes, the soft and the crunch tied together with a hint of truffle oil. There are housemade pickles to escort wispy, panko-crusted pork tucked in its bowl with curry-kissed carrots and potatoes, distinctive sushi, and steaming red snapper broth to revive yourself at the end of six or so courses for $75 a diner.

The owner says she argues with the chef about some dishes. Yi prefers simplicity. She likes a little extra flourish. I’m only privy to what comes to the table: some of the most enthralling food of several seasons, and this amid a boom in Japanese restaurants in Washington.

I like the way she thinks, and I love the way Yi cooks.

Check out the menus here

WAITLIST:
Meetup does not allow a waitlist for paid events. If this event fills and you are interested in adding your name to the waitlist, please send host a message through the app.

To enhance the opportunity for great conversation, we would like to keep the group small. Please feel free to sign-up to meet us along with up to 2 friends.

In the future, we will vary the days of the week, geography and the cost of restaurants so that we can attract many different types of diners.

PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE COMMITTED TO GO WHEN YOU RSVP FOR THIS EVENT. In the event our group incurs a fee for no-shows / late cancellations, your ability to RSVP for future events will be restricted. Thank you in advance for your understanding.Feel free to make suggestions for future meet locations. All diners will have their own tab to avoid any confusion.

If you are unable to join us in November, we hope you'll stay interested and join us for a meal in the future. Looking forward to seeing you at Takara 14!