SARA SAYS: Where we’re dining now—asian

Kimono-clad hostesses greet us with charming smiles and seat us at our choice of either the main room, private wooden booths, the tatami room, the sushi bar, or the robata bar. A complete menu reflects authentic Japanese cuisine prepared by trained Japanese chefs at this award-winning restaurant.

Sushi rolls, both traditional and fusion, are tempting, but we begin with the much copied, original sushi pizza with salmon sashimi on a crisp rice cake, and amiyaki, Black Angus beef cut in cubes and sizzled on our own hibachi grill. It’s fun to sit at the robata bar, drink cold saké from a wooden box, and select seasonal seafood or vegetables to be fire-grilled.

Groups in the private tatami rooms remove shoes, and relax on cushions with legs swinging in the well under the table. At the sushi bar, there is a gleaming array of fresh fish being cut with skill and precision. Authenticity is preserved as our waitress brings a nabe pot to our table for our sukiyaki of thinly sliced beef cooked in a sweet soy sauce based soup with vegetables, tofu, udon noodles, and a raw egg for dipping.

From interactive courses to simple dishes like boiled tofu with shrimp and vegetables served in an iron pot with ponzu sauce, an evening at Nami is a genuine Japanese experience.