Yesterday, my NOAA compatriots and I visited the newly reopened Pomegranate, looking forward to another pleasant experience. There was no sign of the aforementioned construction except in the newly hand-scrawled abbreviated menus on the wall. And the sign that said “Cash Only today.” As none of us had sufficient cash, we had a lovely buffet lunch at Ghar-E-Kabab.

Today, we made another attempt. Apparently the “Cash Only today” sign applies everyday. Fortunately, my one friend had cash and I helped out the other.

They don’t serve nigiri sushi any longer apparently, much to my disappointment. The bulgogi rice bowl used to be filled with all kinds of vegetables, cooked with sesame seeds and sauces — now it’s just the beef on rice with a little iceberg-lettuce-based side salad.

The sushi bento is large but unrewarding, the sushi being poorly made California rolls. These people don’t have a good idea what people want. While we were ordering, a diner asked for some soy sauce. Of course, there are dispensers near the sushi bar, but they frantically searched to dig up a single soy sauce package, the kind with a teaspoon of sauce in it.

The best part is I ordered a sushi bento after my friend. The new guy rang it up as $8,466.6666. I had never seen a cash register do that. He had no idea how to fix it, turned the register off and pressed a lot of buttons until it went away. He rang it up again as $8,450.00. I appreciated they could just round off the change.

After he finally got that correct, I waited patiently for my lunch. As my friends were half-finished, I asked about my bento box. Apparently no one ever told the cooks to make me one, one of said cooks being the woman I watched tell the other cook, the alleged sushi chef, to make me one.

They presented the bento box well after my friends had finished, so I asked to have to prepared to go. I ate lunch at my desk.

Oh, and they forgot the wasabi.

“Pomegranate Cafe has a big “Now Open” sign hanging on a window. I’m glad its still in business.”

Thanks, Evan. I’ll update the story.

The Penguin’s review of this place drops tomorrow.

Of course, the M-NCPPC has an abysmal record of enforcing public amenity requirements one buildings are completed. The Lee Building at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Colesville Road included a Silver Spring museum when it opened as a public amenity, but it never seemed to be open. I think the space is now used for something else.