My Daruma

By DCist Food and Drink contributor Jamie R. Liu

When I asked my friend to come along with me to Daruma in Bethesda, his response was something to the effect of “Bethesda is a culinary wasteland filled with mediocre chain restaurants.” But hidden away from frustrating pedestrian traffic and the main dining areas of Bethesda sits Daruma -- a hole-in-the-wall Japanese market that sports a decent food counter with a small seating area in the back.

Unlike most Japanese spots in the D.C. area, Daruma doesn't make serving sushi its priority. Instead, the counter serves food closer to Japanese street food -- quick, simple noodle dishes and curry on rice served to salarymen on the go. True to form, other diners (all Asian, definitely a good sign) slurped their noodles and dashed.

The two of us shared kitsune soba, katsudon curry, and kimuchi/kimchee ramen. The kistune soba is buckwheat noodles in a broth with scallions, leeks and thin sheets of fried tofu. The noodles themselves were cooked well, but they tasted as if they were from one of the packages of dried noodles lining the market shelves. The dashi-based broth (frequently used in miso soup) had a savory, slightly musty smell, but also a sweet teriyaki-like flavor that paired well with the scallions. The thin sheets of deep fried tofu were flavorful and well conceived; they had been marinated before frying, so they had a salty flavor that contrasted with the broth.

Katsudon curry is katsu on rice topped with Japanese curry. Japanese curry's sauce has a flavor more akin to a beef stew than Indian curry, with a lighter and sweeter flavor from the addition of fruit with a hint of curry powder. It was accompanied by a small amount of fukujinzuke, a type of Japanese soy sauce pickle. The combination of the pork cutlet and the curry sauce worked well together, as the katsu would have been on the dry end without it.