Japanese food is arguably the most beautiful of all cuisines, so when sushi chef Leo Shi, his wife Joy Zheng, and partner Qiayao Wang opened the Iron Chef House in the Mosaic District, they wanted to incorporate their love of modern art. Already experienced restaurateurs, the group opened their first Iron Chef House in Brooklyn Heights in 1999, and today, the neighborhood café has a tremendous following. However, in the blossoming Mosaic District, the owners sought a more modern vibe. “We’ve always had a dream to have a restaurant that is different from the first one,” says Zheng who runs the operations of the restaurant. “We wanted less traditional things in Virginia. To make the food so beautiful it looks like art.”
The name may conjure up the popular Food Network show with its chopping, racing and competition, but you won’t see that here. The aesthetic is more science than battle, as sushi chefs create inventive structures that customers frequently say are too pretty to eat. Indeed, the presentation is a focus here, and Shi, who oversees the kitchen, is a stickler for aesthetics. But he is even more passionate about fresh seafood, “I only order the highest quality of fish and get a shipment everyday except Sunday. I check every delivery carefully, and will refuse anything I don’t feel is good enough. I also have some specials depending on what fish is fresh that season.” When customers ask for seasonal favorites, like scallop, blue crab and sea urchin, Shi calls them when it comes in.
Open since early September, Iron Chef House already packs in local sushi enthusiasts who’ve learned about their lunch and dinner specials. The prices are extremely fair for the high quality, generous portions, and particular care given to each dish. Some young women sitting near me exclaimed over their plentiful bento boxes and steaming bowls of ramen. I asked them what brought them to Iron Chef House for lunch, and one woman said, “This is our second time in a month. We really like the food, but the service keeps us coming back.” Friendly, solicitous servers are a noticeable attribute. Zheng’s team is knowledgeable and enthusiastic without being bothersome; you can tell they care deeply about your dining experience.
The dizzying number of specials and combinations offered at Iron Chef House will impress even the most experienced connoisseurs of Japanese cuisine. The list of signature sushi rolls, like the Kingsley Roll with tuna, salmon, avocado, topped with crunchy crispy duck and slivers of crabmeat, is a luscious amalgam of textures and flavors. Another standout, squares of Halo Sushi Rolls, layers of crunchy spicy tuna, avocado, salmon and white tuna, served Osaka-style. The tempura is a tower of lightly fried vegetables, including eggplant, broccoli and pumpkin, with an onion crown. But my favorite was the sashimi—fatty tuna, salmon and yellow tail wrapped gracefully around a dollop of orange roe.
The combination of sushi, nigiri and sashimi platters are a rainbow of the brightest seafood— yellowtail, salmon, eel, and shellfish—arriving atop bamboo leaves, decorated with tiny orchids, and drizzled with sauces like fantasy miso, butter soy, chili mayo, cilantro mango, orange curry, and sometimes accompanied by an Asian pancake or fish flakes. The restaurant makes it easy to choose by offering platters with a taste of everything, or the “Never Know Fish Bowl” filled with the fresh fish of the day.
There are worthy options for the raw seafood-adverse too, such as Nagimaki beef rolls—tender slices of silky beef rolled around crisp scallions broiled in teriyaki sauce; and the Yakitori—skewered chicken. The soups, with choices of vegetable, tofu, chicken, beef and shrimp, come out from the kitchen blisteringly hot, so try warming your cold bones with some Miso or Ramen.
Finish your meal with an intriguing dessert like Red Bean Mochi, Green Tea Crepe Cake, or Blood Orange Mascarpone Mousse. Clearly, you can visit Iron Chef House countless times and never grow tired of this menu, and with their commitment to freshness, you can feel safe ordering raw fish. So do sample something other than the same old California Roll; surprise yourself with food that tastes as good as it is beautiful.
