Ballston Buzz - December 2009

Boru: A Happy Marriage of Culinary Opposites
"All you can eat" and ... sushi?
A review by Mark Robert Hays, Cambridge Associates

I'll be honest: I'm a sucker for the words "all you can eat."

Since I've been a kid, no portion was too big, no buffet line too long; restaurant after restaurant failed to impress my insatiable appetite. I've tried it all: ordering extra sides, "super sizing my meals", and constantly harassing my fellow diners with inquiries about the remaining food on their plates, all to no avail

However, there is one type of food that the fantastic words "All you Can Eat" doesn't seem all that fantastic: sushi. Terrific separately, nothing strikes more fear and uneasiness in my soul than raw fish and "endless buffet" or "discount" used in the same phrase. One can understand my uneasiness walking towards a large, corner building inscribed, "Matsutake: All you Can Eat Sushi Lunch Buffet."

Upon sitting down in the large, clean, and inviting atmosphere, my anxiety only increased when I was greeted with a menu and staffed inscribed with "Boru," not "Matsutake" as the edifice had stated, and when the "$12.99" escaped our waitresses mouth when stating the price of the buffet, I was ready to run for the hills. Was I in Matsutake or Boru? How could an all you can eat Sushi deal be cheaper than most normal, non-raw fish buffets?

Immediately I was surprised by the variety of sushi at the bar. Traditional rolls on one side, with classics like California, Philadelphia, spicy tuna, and crab avocado, while the center was filled with sashimi rolls of salmon, tuna and eel. The other side offers specialty rolls, and what sets one sushi establishment apart from another. Boru (Matsutake?) offers a variety of rolls, each a standout in their own way. One takes a simple crab and cucumber roll and tops it with tobiko, spicy shrimp sauce, and a delicately placed strip of eel, while another takes a standard roll and lightly batters it, giving it a hardened shell which leaves one to wonder what else is inside (anxiety level: still high).

At once I'm surprised by the quality of the fish: it is clearly fresh, with a smooth texture and taste that immediately calms my nerves. The rolls are packed tight and are rolled superbly, with none of the loose parts falling out as many cheap sushi rolls do. The standard rolls and sashimi are adequate, neither disappointing nor wowing, while the specialty rolls do the latter. The lightly battered pieces (I discover with relief they are filled with avocado and eel) mix the smooth texture of the fix with a satisfying crunch, while the shrimp sauce is a creamy blend with a kick that spruces up the two tobiko topped rolls on which it is used.

As I finish, and my previously insatiable appetite is satisfied (30 pieces will do that to you), all of this certainly must come with a catch, I tell myself. How could a restaurant afford to stock of all of this at only $12.99, the price of a single roll at an upscale sushi bar? Is my body going to give me the answer in a few hours? And where was I anyway? As I think, a receipt inscribed with "Matsutake" is set down on the table.

Put your qualms about buffets and your anxiousness about inexpensive sushi aside and enjoy; whether you are simply a fan of good sushi or have a never- ending appetite like myself, Boru is an outstanding choice in the Ballston area. Remember, you only live once.

Boru Asia Bistro
4121 Wilson Blvd
703.351.8787
www.borufusion.com