Here's some quick counterprogramming to this week's non-stop onslaught of turkey, cranberry sauce, and stuffing: donburi! For the uninitiated, donburi isn't just the name of an Adams Morgan restaurant. It's a classic Japanese comfort-food dish that Tim Carman says "combines the precision of sushi with the comforts of ramen. It’s a deep bowl (also called a 'donburi' in Japanese) of rice topped with your preferred ingredients, whether fresh or fried."
With a new menu at one restaurant and a new donburi spot opening downtown, it has been a good week for these tasty Japanese rice bowls in D.C.
Donburi, one of the best cheap-eats counters in Adams Morgan, has debuted a new menu. It still revolves around the restaurant's namesake rice bowls, but there are additional options: a shiitakedon mushroom bowl; oyakodon, or sous-vide chicken thigh; and gyudon, a thinly sliced beef brisket served with onion and a soft egg. While the tempura veggie donburi has been taken away, new sides like barbecued eel with cucumber salad and miso soup have been added. Fried topping bowls, like their previously popular karaagedon and katsudon mix, now come with the option of Japanese curry on top, rather than the typical soy-mirin-dashi sauce. You'll definitely want the spicy, filling curry on a cold winter night.
Donburi, 2438 18th St. NW (Metro: Woodley Park-Adams Morgan).
There's also a new place to get donburi downtown: Nagomi Izakaya has opened at 1990 M Street NW. There are more choices for donburi toppings here: In addition to the standard katsu and karaage and salmon sashimi, you'll also find tofu, spicy tuna and chicken teryaki. Generally $12 or less, all of the donburi also come with a bowl of miso soup at lunch. Udon noodle dishes and pork ramen with your choice of broth are also on the menu. At night, the menu expands to include more traditional izakaya small bites, such as deep fried fish cakes, octopus croquettes and dumplings. There's also a small sushi menu and a full bar. Lacking in evening ambiance, this is more of a boon to neighboring workers with a lunchtime hankering for Japanese food.
Nagomi Izakaya, 1990 M St. NW (Metro: Farragut North).
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