The pressure of opening a restaurant has to be enormous — the cost, the risk, the scrutiny of ruthless critics who don’t give a rat’s ass about the cost or the risk. It can’t be an easy gig.
It probably doesn’t help if that restaurant is a sushi joint located only steps away from dozens of federal fish experts. The Pomegranate Cafe, a small but tidy spot on the ground floor of The Bennington apartments, sits a few yards from offices of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Tough crowd.
So does the Pomegranate Cafe know fish as well as its neighbors do? Um yeah, pretty much.
The lunch special sushi ($8, below) offers among other things three pieces of nigiri — slices of fish lounging on small, individual cushions of rice.
The tuna nigiri has a soft squish and slightly bitter twinge to it, as tuna does; its salmon counterpart leaves a heavy, omega-3 feel on the palette. But that’s raw fish. Take it or leave it.
On the other hand, the shrimp nigiri puts a cooked swimmer on the plate. The flesh snaps pleasantly between the teeth, and its sweetness swirls nicely against the lightly vinegared rice.
Along with the nigiri, the lunch special comes with eight bite-sized pieces of California roll, constructed of sweet imitation crab meat, fresh avocado and rice, secured in a seaweed wrap. It’s the sushi that one imagines when thinking of sushi, and it’s pretty good.
Despite its doppelganger status, the imitation crab meat has a fresh, taut texture and works well against the softer (but not squishy) avocado. The smoky seaweed balances out the sweetness, and tiny orange pearls of fish roe add pop to every bite.
Even better than the California roll is the spicy tuna roll ($4, above), which arrives as six pieces on a plate. The raw tuna is finely chopped without becoming a mealy paste, mixed with hot sauce and creamy mayonnaise, then wrapped in a light layer of rice and seaweed.
The hot sauce is a little spicy (though not spicy ass), and the mayo cools things off with oh so good fatness. It’s tasty.
While the cafe does well with sushi, it needs some help with its hot entrees. The bibimbap rice bowl ($7, below) is a bland patchwork of soy sprouts, shitake mushrooms, cucumber, spinach and either beef or chicken over steamed rice.
Traditionally, this Korean dish cooks with raw egg and a dollop of spicy-ass sauce in the stoneware bowl in which it’s served. Pomegranate’s version dishes it out on the tepid side and with very little seasoning.
Similarly, the bulgogi bento box ($8) is listed on the menu as marinated rib-eye beef over rice. But what arrives resembles ground beef in a sweet teriyaki sauce. Its taste isn’t objectionable, but it’s not rib-eye.
At least the bento box comes along with two plump vegetable dumplings baked (that’s right, I said baked) until crisp. It’s good eats and can be ordered as a six-piece deal ($6).
Seating inside this bright cafe can be limited when the weather is rough, but patio furniture in the adjacent plaza takes that load off on nicer days. The staff is helpful, though the place operates mostly on counter service.
What remains to be seen is whether Pomegranate will cater strictly to the weekday workforce, or if its hours will stretch past 8:00 p.m. to accommodate area residents. At least it operates on weekends for everyone to check out.
Pomegranate Cafe, 1215 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, (301) 562-9400.
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$8 for 3 pieces of nigiri and a standard 6 piece roll. i think other sushi places give you more for your money. at kabuki, if i remember correctly, $8 gets you 5 pieces of nigiri and the roll. too bad on the bibimbop and bulgogi. my wife and i would LOVE to have good, reasonably priced korean in DDSS. woomi gardens in wheaton is wonderful, but just a touch pricey. oh well, we’ll still go and give the pomegranate a try. thank you penguin for the review.
I pay $15 for 8 pieces of nigiri and an CA roll at a good place in Rockville (name not to be disclosed for fear of lack of lunch tables). This ain’t so different.
I do, though, have a question for the Penguin Newsroom: Taste and quantity and variation is great and all, but when it comes to sushi, I want to know about CONSTRUCTION.
Can I pick up nigiri with chopsticks and have it stay together? Do the rolls unfurl when I pull them apart? For sashimi, can I put my chopsticks around one piece and just get *one* piece?
Personally, I think the Penguin newsroom should comp me a meal there to explore these possibilities. You know, for the good of the community…
Thanks for your comment, Thayer Ave. Your altruism is admirable. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, even for civic-minded taste testers like you.
Regarding Pomegranate’s sushi construction, it held up pretty well against my dining companion’s chopstick assaults. And both the nigiri and maki rolls were bite sized, not like those Gojira-sized pieces one finds at other restaurants.
Are you kidding me, critics?? Finally, a clean, bright and friendly place to grab a very quick tasty bite..and it’s on the right side if the tracks. Hey..its not gourmet but it’s good and cheap and not a chain. This small business is taking a risk in this hood and we should support ‘em. And, by the way, you can add some of their spicy sauce to the rice bowl.
Boy, if Eric S. is bitching about an 80% positive review like this, imagine what he’d say about an actual slam.
Here’s another review of the Pomegranate Cafe, written by taste testers with “Too Shy To Stop”.
Impression that I get from some Silver Springers:
Person A went into a local italian place the other day. He ordered parmesean chicken and received a lean cusine on a plate.
Person A went into the chain italian place the next day. He was served the best parmesean chicken of my life.
Person A prefers the local establishment over the chain because it is local, despite the food from the chain being better.
I am so tired of the “its local so its better for no reason other than local” attitude.
See my experience today under the Watercooler column:
http://silverspringpenguin.com/2009/03/17/the-watercooler-2/#comment-41938
I used to quite like this place.
I just moved into the Bennington and much as though I am not a big sushi guy (not a fan of fish), so I wandered in to see what they had. I tried their Chicken Terayaki Bento Box, ad though much as though it was basic (I am a basic person so it was very much in tune with my liking), I thought it was very well done. The staff was very helpful, with my requests to make the food basic with little to no vegetables. I have also tried their chicken wings, that seemed like a quick after thought, but they were covered in good bbq sauce, which I thought was tasteful. I am not one for patronizing anything because it is close by, however I will most likely return, for the convenience, and the over taste of the food. They also have a large selection of drinks, and a smaller selection of chips so I find it convenient to use as a little convenience store if I run out of a certain item.
I’m quiet disappointed on how this restaurant claims to serve bibimbap. Bibimbap includes a variety of vegetables as well as gochujan. This imitation knock off should be called “fancy teriyaki”