Went for lunch on a slow Sunday, probably because not many people realize it's open yet. $38 is a bit pricey as far as lunch for two goes, but everything was fresh and good quality. The most stand-out item was a rockfish soup starter for $5.50 - two large pieces of fresh rockfish gently poached in the most amazingly flavorful fish broth, garnished with cilantro, shitaki, julienned carrots, and a few cellophane noodles. Very light and soothing, yet still satisfying.

Next up was a Chicken Katsu "small plate" for $7.95. Paired with a $1.50 bowl of rice, this would have been a perfect lunch portion. Also comes with lemon-ginger dressed salad. The batter was light and crisp, the rice ten times better than your typical asian take-out. I'm sure the more classic Tonkatsu (pork) is even better.

Of course, we save the best for last: the sushi! I restrained myself and only ordered one roll: the Chesapeake ($7.75), which included two(!) shrimp tempura with real crabmeat. Though only 4 pieces, each one was huge. Not the best roll I've had, but tasty enough. The quality of the sushi really shines in their nigiri: salmon tasted wild and rich over just a small clump of sushi rice. At Joss, there's both albacore white tuna, as well as the escolar that many places call super white tuna. We opted for the albacore, which was similarly fresh and flavorful. After tasting the albacore, I can't wait to try the buttery escolar. Looking forward to upping the stars on this one, once I return for more "real" sushi.

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