Sticky Rice

H St. is the next up and coming neighborhood which has seen a massive transformation in the past couple of years. Month by month a new hip restaurant or bar is opening it's doors as well as opening eyes around the city. Personally this is my favorite neighborhood to go bar hoping because of the wide variety of chic bars.

I decided that my first blog post on this neighborhood had to be the most renowned restaurants on the entire block and a personal favorite of mine. Sticky Rice has grown to fame and prestige as one of the most popular destinations on this neighborhood and even the city as a whole.

If you have never had the opportunity to dine here it is a bit hard to explain their off the wall approach and their take on this classical Japanese food. My first visit came over a year ago and my first impression was that it was hipster sushi. All of the servers and bartenders adorned sleeves and their rolls have witty names such as G.I Jane, Shiitake Happens and the Goochland. Last and most importantly they had PBR which is essentially want makes a place a hipster sanctuary.

I was not blogging at the time and scarcely remember what I ate since I went after having a couple of drinks. I did however embrace the experience and left a bit intrigued about the prospects of returning here and actually enjoying my meal.

My next couple of visits came during a living social binge in which I found myself going at least 10 times to either use my coupons or friends coupons. Per the endless positive accolades from just about everyone on yelp I decided to try their tater tots which come with their unique sauce. The tots were spot on and the dipping sauce was solid but not what I imagined especially after all of the positive remarks.

(Bucket of Tots & PBR)

After our tots I decided to order their sticky balls which have received even more positive reviews. Unlike our previous appetizer these miniature morsels pack an astounding amount of flavor that make my mouth salivate just by thinking of them. Their crunchy texture takes your pallet on a roller coaster of culinary nirvana.

(Sticky Balls)

To date I have tried all of their all but a couple of their vegetarian rolls. My overall favorite is the Godzirra roll which consists of crunch shrimp, avocado, cream cheese, cucumbers and tobiko. This to me is by far their best and most genius roll, the flavor combination mirrors that of the sticky balls to some small extent.

The crazy calamari, millennium and the fantabulous amazing roll round out my other personal favorites. But in all honesty you cannot go wrong with whatever you order. While there are some that are average or sub-par I have never had a roll that I could not finish.

(2000 Leagues & The Fantabulous Amazing Roll)

Aside from their sushi Sticky Rice also offers a number of other options. From a variety of sandwiches, noodles and even chicken wings (sticky wings) which are fairly tasty. The ambiance adds another dimension to your culinary experience.

Every night has a different event. Whether it's Tuesday night karaoke, Thursday night bingo or Saturday nights which have dance parties with local DJ's spinning solid tunes. You will never have a dull night if you go here.

(Snap, Crackle & Pop, Godzirra & Crazy Calamari)

All their fame does come at a cost, if you try to come on a weekend night without a reservation you should pray to the God's that the wait is under an hour. The servers have been known to be a bit snide but I have not really experienced this. My biggest pet peeve has to be the fact that you cannot make your own saki bombs which is odd because I have never come across this problem in the ten to fifteen other sushi places I have dined at. They do however make it up by pounding the gong each time you order a round.

All in all Sticky Rice is a fantastic destination not only for food but for entertainment. Their late hours and half price sushi night on Mondays only add to the appeal. Their aforementioned popularity requires you to set up a reservation, especially if you have a large party. The service is average and the food is a cut above average.

They also have a challenge in which you can create your own sushi roll to be put on the menu if you dine there 30 days in a row. This is a feat that I hope to try and accomplish in the near future. If you have never been here or to H St. in general then it is should be put near the top of your list of places to go.