Want a Great Place to Dine? Oh Yeah - Oya!

Hostess Counter

I was in Washington, DC last week for a couple of days, somewhere I do visit quite a few times a year.  I was graduated from The George Washington University in '93 and my aunt lives in Arlington (how much did I love weekly visits for laundry and a free meal with her and my little ~ now 31 years old - cousin?)

Dining area with a view of the kitchen

As I am there so often, I like to eat in different places when I go ~ so much has changed since I was a student so there are a million options.  Of course I have my favorites (Filomena's, Zaytinia...) but I do like to mix it up.
Last week we tried Oya.  I asked - they have no idea what it means, but it is a gorgeous, sexy, and very busy Asian-French fusion restaurant.  And it was packed!  The restaurant, the bar...all of it!  Clearly a hot spot in the Penn Quarter district.
I started with a cocktail ~ it was called Candied Ginger and it was a blend of white rum, grapefruit juice, fresh lime and ginger.  Refreshing, different, flavorful.  A good way to begin.
When I glanced at the menu I was excited by the "V" next to so many items.  It was for vegetarian, not vegan, so I still had many questions to ask of the server, but that still bode well for the meal.
To start I selected the wild mushrooms with the asian citrus dipping sauce was crazy good.  Super simple but crazy good.
For my entree I settled on the fruit roll-up maki - rice rolled with avocado, strawberries, kiwi and yuzu mango.  A sweeter choice than I would normally make but very tasty.  I accompanied that with asparagus dusted with ginger.  Again, perfectly grilled and really good.
I didn't get the crispy tofu with sweet sour sauce and pickled cucumbers because I didn't want anything fried but then I broke down and ordered the chili tater tots.  Yup.  Totally fried.  And totally worth it.  I know.  It sounds like I ate a lot. And I did. But tater tots aside, it was healthy!  If you're in the area make a reservation and check it out.  I think you'll be really happy with your experience.