Genki Izakaya in Fairfax, VA: How Chef Junzo Miyajima Built the Menu Behind Its Most-Talked-About Dish

Genki Izakaya sits at Scout on the Circle, 9508 Fairfax Blvd. in Fairfax, VA. Chef Junzo Miyajima, IVEA Concepts' Executive Master Chef, designed its menu around the way people actually eat at an izakaya: small plates, a drink in hand and one more order than you planned.

In Japan, an izakaya is the neighborhood place you go after work, a pub with very good food. Plates arrive as they are ready, everyone shares, and the drinks matter as much as the dishes. The restaurant sums up its version in one line: "Torched sushi, skewers off the binchotan grill, and highballs over clear ice." Each part of that line is a section of the menu.

Torched sushi. A quick pass of flame warms the surface of the fish and melts its fat without cooking it through, so it turns softer and richer with a hint of smoke. Try the Torched Sea Fatty Salmon, or go big with the Bluefin Tuna Foie Gras with Uni.

Binchotan skewers. Binchotan is Japanese white charcoal. It burns very hot and very clean, so meat tastes of itself with just a little char. It is why yakitori in Japan is cooked over it. The Yakitori Platter lets a group taste across the grill in one order.

Highballs. Whisky and soda over a single block of clear ice is the classic izakaya drink, light enough to drink with food all night. Northern Virginia Magazine's izakaya roundup also called out the Ube Colada, the Kyoto Sour and a full page of sake.

The dish guests mention most. The Tornado Omelet Fried Rice is a soft, glossy omelet twisted into a spiral and laid over fried rice. The restaurant calls it the dish guests mention most. The egg stays soft so it sets just enough as it turns, and the fried rice underneath brings the smoke and salt that make it taste rich.

The rest of the menu fills in the rhythm. The A5 Miyazaki Wagyu Hot Stone lets you finish A5 beef at the table. Uni Chawanmushi is a silky steamed egg custard topped with sea urchin, Mentaiko Udon tosses thick noodles with spicy cod roe, and Kuro Edamame are black soybeans for your first drink. The Genki Omakase Sushi Set is for the table that cannot decide.

How to order like a regular: Kuro Edamame and a highball, then a Yakitori Platter, then one torched sushi plate, then the Tornado Omelet Fried Rice for the table. Add the A5 Hot Stone if it is a celebration. Reservations, online ordering and current hours are linked from the restaurant's website.