“At this point, it’s not about the money. It’s about being Japanese and being proud to share a Japanese product.”

From French cuisine at Culinaerie to butchering half a pig to creating truffles.

Whether you’re a traditionalist or like it when sushi chefs get weird with their fish, there’s something for everyone at sushi restaurants in the D.C. area.

Amid alcohol, music, rain, and a little glam rock style, the 2006 Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington awards — a/k/a the RAMMYs — were handed out last night at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Woodley Park. Fabio Trabocchi’s Maestro took home the Best Picture equivalent by winning the award for top Fine Dining Restaurant in the D.C. area, while tapas king Jose Andres earned Chef of the Year honors. Among the other victors were…

Overfishing. Mercury. Enslaved fishermen. There are enough ideological pitfalls to sushi consumption already. So when we read Martin’s post earlier today, it made us sad. We just want some eel and spicy tuna rolls; not to support a crazy cultleader’s bid for world domination via the seafood market. Judging from the comments on the original post, many of you feel the same way. So DCist Nicole and I made a quick phone survey of some…

According to D.C. Wire, the Post’s new blog on local politics, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and his wife set off yesterday for a four-day vacation to…Iceland. Huh? After the bruising battle he waged to get the D.C. Council to endorse the long-awaited stadium lease, wouldn’t he want to escape to a Caribbean island and drink fruit-themed cocktails all day? It seems not: Food. Iceland. End of Feburary. Plug it all into Google and you get…

I have been wanting to eat some good sushi that isn’t too expensive. Do you have any suggestions? Ah, inexpensive sushi is a bit of an oxymoron isn’t it? As Ask DCist’s friend bluntly put it, “cheap fish sucks.” But we think we can wrangle up a few lesser-expensive, quality options so you can gorge yourself on more frequent sushi dining. DCist profiled and continues to recommend Kotobuki on MacArthur Boulevard in the Palisades as…

Remember Episode 24 of “The Simpsons”? Of course you do. Larry King reading the Bible, George Takei as a Japanese waiter, Homer having 24 hours to live after eating deadly fugu… it was an early classic, hinting toward the future greatness of seasons 3 and 4. Luckily for Homer, the bumbling apprentice chef served him a non-poisonous cut of the fish, which can actually kill in under an hour. If you’re curious about having your…

This weekend’s Sunday Source noted that several area restaurants are donating part of their profits to Tsunami relief. The arrangements across town vary. Some restaurants are offering specially priced menus, while Kaz Sushi Bistro is sponsoring a raffle to benefit UNICEF and The Brickskellar is donating 10% of all draft beer sales to the International Red Cross. However, if you’re reluctant to come into the city (and who wouldn’t be, with the warnings of traffic…