Hidden Menu Series: Annapolis’ Joss Café Serves More than Sublime Sushi

By Daphne Domingo

There’s more to Annapolis than the famous crab and oysters from the Chesapeake
Bay. Joss Café & Sushi Bar on the historic Main St. has been a culinary destination as
one of the top sushi restaurants in Maryland. An ideal culinary day trip to Annapolis
would start with breakfast at Chick & Ruth’s for some of the best crabcakes & eggs
and end with dinner at Joss for sushi and seafood.

The menu at Joss may be long, but modest with its sushi fare and various other
Japanese staples. Turns out they also offer a plethora of special dishes off the
menu. This is one of those restaurants where it pays off to listen to the server’s
recitation of their specials, some of which are long-standing like the scallop hand-
roll trio. When I asked manager, Boedy, about why they have such an extensive
specials “menu” versus adding them onto the regular menu, he replied that it was
to encourage more interaction between the restaurant and its customers. They get
many regulars, and oftentimes, as servers get to know customers’ preferences, they
can make better recommendations and suggestions.

One such customer, Joel Phillips, has been coming to Joss Café since he first
moved to the area in 2006 and proudly exclaims his favorite dish is the ramen.
The comforting soup is usually served only at lunch, but even at dinnertime,
Phillips requests the dish. Turns out, many regular customers often have such
special requests, including items no longer on the menu which the restaurant will
accommodate since they keep appropriate ingredients on-hand for such occasions.

Another popular dish is the ebi heads, thanks to the Food Network’s, The Best Thing
I Ever Ate. While Ace of Cakes star, Duff Goldman, cited Joss as the best place to go
for sushi in all of Maryland, he raved about their fried ebi (shrimp) heads. Lightly
dredged in panko and fried to a perfectly light crisp. Each crunchy bite offers a salty,
slightly briny taste, but it’s the texture that accompanies the hearty crunch that wins
you over. The heads are essentially saved as each ebi sushi is made to order, and it’s
never predictable how many will be available. An order of 4 heads costed less than
$5.

Other popular requests are usually items previously on the menu, which Joss tries
to update frequently, but regular customers still crave. Two items that get requested
so often that Boedy is trying to get back on the menu are Tiger’s Eye (a thick cut of
fish, stuffed with smoked salmon, lightly grilled, and sliced) and Full Moon (crab
meat and scallion, wrapped in salmon, seasoned, grilled and sliced), both served w/
seaweed salad & creamy wasabi dressing.

Less than an hour’s drive from Washington D.C., Joss Cafe is a must taste destination
for sushi and seafood lovers.

Have you been to Joss’s? What did you think? Tweet us at @AsianFortune_DC or join
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