My expectations were set high for Moshi Moshi (yet another) sushi bar on Ballard Avenue’s busy block of boutiques and bars.  Needless to say, Moshi Moshi delivered on its promise of traditional Japanese cuisine mixed in with Pacific Northwest-inspired creations.  If you’re planning on visiting, don’t bother looking for a sign outside – it doesn’t exist, at least not yet.  Instead, look for the diffuse, cool glow of the restaurant’s imposing metal and LED cherry blossom tree, a central feature of the restaurant’s design.  At its base, a wrap-around bar (sushi on one side, drinks on the other) welcomes walk-ins.  The constant dance of sushi chefs and bartenders moving between their ingredients and eager customers stirs up a constant swirl energy that permeates the atmosphere.  This place is definitely buzzing.

With good reason, too.  Although sushi is their staple, the formidable page of starters and small bites simply cannot be overlooked.  My personal favorite was a grilled oyster with spicy miso cream ($2/each, pictured top left).  Also impressive was their selection of shioyaki: salt grilled fish and meat.  I tried the waygu beef loin with soy salt ($14.50, pictured middle left), which was just the type of pungent flavorful dish I had been hoping to find.

Moshi Moshi’s fish selection is extremely fresh, and as diverse as its menu.  I could only identify about 60% of the fish in my Omakase (chef’s discretion, prices vary, pictured top right), and I consider myself to be a bit of a sushi snob.  

An unfortunate disappointment was a lack of creativity in Moshi Moshi’s “new style” maki sushi rolls.  I’m a fan of the type of inventive interpretation you’ll see at places like Mashiko and Umi Sake House, and I had high hopes for clever suprises at Moshi Moshi.  With the exception of a self-titled roll, the rest were predictable and even a bit pedestrian, especially when compared to the diversity found elsewhere on the menu. 

All told, I believe Moshi Moshi has a bright future in Ballard.  I look forward to eating my way through the rest of their menu, and perhaps claiming a new happy hour hangout.  $4 maki and $1 edamame?  Count me in!

Have you ever walked into a place and immediately felt like you’d found what you’ve always been looking for?  That’s how I feel about  Bricco della Regina Anna (or “Bricco” for short).  Bricco is a restaurant and wine bar located on the main drag of upper Queen Anne, on a sleepy block that’s also home to Betty, Chocopolis, and the boarded-up shell of the former Queen Anne hardware store.  The best thing about this location?  I can walk to it!  But don’t let that color my review – being within my promenade-radius is not a requirement for a great eatery.

A freestanding ledge loosely segregates Bricco’s dining room between dinner guests and passers-by who have stopped in for a glass of wine.  The latter group is quite fortunate: the wine list, carefully selected by Wine Director Andrew Bresnik, is formidable.  This isn’t surprising, given that the back wall of the dining room is a window to their walk-in wine cellar.  But if you don’t know your Semillon from your Chardonnay, don’t fret.  The wait staff is not only helpful and knowledgeable, but non-judgmental – if you can swallow your ego long enough to ask for a recommendation, you won’t be disappointed.

It’s more than just the wine that keeps me coming back to Bricco, though.  For starters, the first page of their menu lists only cheese and salumi.  In my opinion, this should have been the 11th commandment.  The rest of the menu is composed of frequently-changing, à la carte salads, panini and entreés ($4 to approx. $18).  Though the menu is small, everything is exquisitely executed.  Chef and owner Kevin Erickson has hit a bulls eye with his balance of traditional and inventive bistro fare.  And most of the dishes are so rich and beautifully presented that I feel nether guilty nor hungry when the meal is over.  A few of my personal favorites: smoked trout salad with roasted beets and crème fraîche ($12), smoked salmon bruschetta ($4), and lamb sliders (pictured bottom left).

I’d recommend leaving room for dessert, too.  Bricco’s roasted pears with huckleberry honey, aged balsamic vinegar and mascarpone is heavenly.  Throw in a glass of port, and you’ve just enjoyed the kind of leisurely decompression that’s normally reserved for European poets.

Contrary to rumors that the restaurant was up for sale, the folks behind Bricco are actually expanding its horizons.  Starting soon, Bricco will feature a full alcohol bar, complete with the sophisticated libations Seattleites have come to expect from expert mixologists.  The owners are also opening Moshi Moshi Sushi (name unconfirmed) in Ballard.  If they manage to create the same restaurant charisma as they’ve done with Bricco, I’ll be first in line, chopsticks in hand!

[photo (clockwise from upper left): cheese and salumi platter, beef tenderloin, lamb sliders, Nutella panini]