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Best Bargain Restaurants: Atami

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Atami
Arlington

Don't be misled by the "special menu" at this very good Japanese restaurant. The specials are mostly Vietnamese dishes, offered, it seems, in an attempt to compete with the many good Vietnamese restaurants in the Clarendon neighborhood. The Vietnamese food is fine--and the "Special Dinner" of grilled lemon chicken, a crisp spring roll, sautéed vegetables, and rice is a real bargain for $7.25--but the real reason to eat here is the Japanese side of the menu, particularly the sushi.

Sumo wrestlers may want to order the all-you-can-eat sushi dinner for $24.95, even though it's out of our Best Bargain price range. It is possible to eat more sensibly and less expensively by ordering individual pieces or an assortment.

Also very good here are the one-dish meals--sukiyaki with beef and vegetables served with a raw, beaten egg in a separate bowl (the hot meat and vegetables are dipped into the egg, which cooks as it comes into contact with the hot food); and nabemono, fish, vegetables, and noodles in a delicate clear soup.

The menu has a large selection of vegetarian dishes: vegetarian sushi with pickled and fresh vegetables, vegetable sukiyaki, vegetable tempura, and vegetable udon (noodle soup topped with tempura). The tempura, however, is not one of the house's best dishes--the batter is heavy and the frying sometimes careless.

Atami , 3155 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington; 703/522-4787. Open Monday through Thursday 11 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am to 10:30 pm, Sunday 4:30 to 9:30 pm. DC, MC, V. MapIt!

QUALITY: ****Excellent; *** Superior; **Very Good; * Good
PRICE RANGE: $$$= Very Expensive; $$ Expensive; $=Moderate; ¢=Inexpensive

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