Beyond Bar Food

Whoa—when did all this happen? That was our reaction one frigid winter night when a friend of ours told us to meet him for drinks at Lemongrass/Tsunami on Central and Bank. Yes, that Lemongrass/Tsunami—the cool Asian/Thai emporium in Annapolis beloved by bar-hopping 20- and 30-somethings. But how’s the food? Housed in the former Holland Manufacturing Company, Lemongrass/Tsunami features two restaurants connected by a courtyard. We  decided to try Tsunami [1300 Bank Street, 410-327-1370], the Asian-fusion side. We were delightfully surprised. The chrome-and-black interior is tailored for the bar crowd, but intimate booths and a dining area make perfectly comfortable digs for sampling Tsunami’s superior sushi, pot stickers, and spring rolls, and for tucking into ambitious entrees like mustard and miso-glazed sea bass, burnt-chili New York Strip with foie gras reduction, and organic Scottish salmon in fig and ginger sauce. In other words, this is moderately priced cuisine that’s way beyond bar food.