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"Opening Wednesday, July 25, the new 130-seat Japanese barbecue grill exposes DIY diners to table-cooked meats and seafood in a sleek, industrial setting next to the Clarendon Metro stop. I saw that it will roll out dinner service at 5 p.m. with a limited menu for the rest of the week and plans to release its full lineup of grilled options and appetizers in three weeks because, as partner David Chung says, “we’re taking our time with this as we want to do it right” and phones are “ringing off the hook.” Initial hours are Tuesday to Saturday with the last reservations taken at 8:30 p.m. Friends and family previewed the menu over the weekend and posted Yelp reviews for featured meaty offerings like beef tongue, skirt steak, and pork belly, as well as mango Mai Tai cocktails made behind the bar; the opening menu also includes vegetable-friendly fare like fried rice bibimbap and ramen, and layered green tea cakes from international confectioner Lady M. Prix-fixe packaged orders run $60 (for two) to $180 (for six). Chung and his team, who control expansion rights for Virginia, D.C., and Maryland, recently parted ways with Georgetown’s 10-year-old Chinese Disco to focus on blanketing the area with “several” Gyu-Kaku grills over the next few years, noting that most U.S. locations are clumped in California and the closest to D.C. sit in Manhattan." - Tierney Plumb