Dining Out for Life: Raku (Bethesda, MD)

Last night I attended the Washington, DC edition of Dining Out for Life. DOL is a multi-city event in which participating restaurants donate a certain percentage of your bill (in DC it ranged from 25-100%) to support adults and children suffering from HIV/AIDS as well as other serious illnesses. I was invited to last night's dinner by my other sushi buddy and former neighbor Janet, who pretty much spends 110% of her time doing some sort of charity work. And she served as a volunteer ambassador at last night's event (which entails waaay more than just eating and paying) even though it was her birthday! Gosh, that girl's amazing.

Anyway, Janet was stationed at Raku, a pan-Asian restaurant located in downtown Bethesda, in trendy Bethesda Row. I had been here once before for sushi and it was amazing - one of the best places for sushi in the DC area, in my humble opinion. (I also like Spices but that's for another blog, and of course, Yirasai which I wrote about the other day.) This time, I was tempted to try Raku's non-sushi fare, but in the end I couldn't resist the Jo Nigiri ("Sushi Deluxe"). For $20.50 I was served 12 pieces of super fresh fish (including sea urchin and salmon roe), plus I got conned into forking out an extra $3.50 for the fresh wasabi from Japan. Just kidding, I wasn't conned, but I did have to pay extra for it.

Jo Nigiri + fresh wasabi from Japan

The sushi was simply delicious. The salmon melted in my mouth - I love it when salmon does that! Everybody else seemed very happy with their food, be it sushi or other types of dishes. The fresh wasabi was a bit pricey but I justified the order by reminding myself that it was for charity. Besides, I guess it was worth it because fresh wasabi is supposedly very difficult to come by even in Japan! (I must admit I didn't even know such a thing existed until yesterday!) The fresh wasabi tasted good, hot but not nearly as strong as the regular (fake?) wasabi. I didn't get the watery eyes/runny nose reaction that I usually get with regular wasabi. A follow-up internet search revealed that fresh wasabi is basically grated wasabi rhizomes while regular wasabi is made with a combination of mustard and horseradish (mmm...probably why I like it so much!), so I guess that explains the difference in taste.

All in all, I really enjoyed Raku, and am glad to have been able to take part in the charity event. Who doesn't love yummy food for a great cause?? For a future event near you, please check out the Dining Out for Life website!

Links:

• http://www.yelp.com/biz/raku-an-asian-diner-bethesda
• http://www.diningoutforlife.com/
  

Pertinent info:
Address: 7240 Woodmont Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814
Nearest intersection: Wisconsin Ave NW & Bethesda Ave (just south of East-West Hwy)
Nearest Metro: Bethesda (Red line)