Sawa Steakhouse & Sushi Bar   

If the menu doesn't satisfy your Japanese cravings, Sawa's interior design is more than enough to make you feel like you're in Tokyo. Japanese architectural landscapes sweep the entire restaurant -- replete with a bamboo bridge, coy pond and two 1,500-gallon fish tanks -- creating a more elegant ambiance than most steak and sushi houses. The menu is a split of hibachi and sushi, and not very extensive, so decisions don't require much consultation or a personal interpreter, either. Sushi is seasonally adaptive here, so inquire what the most recent additions are, as they're typically the freshest. For uncommon salty treats, nibble on the Alaska roll or sea urchins. Private rooms are available, often catering to the business crowd. Ask how to enroll in Sawa's VIP membership club. (You collect points every time you eat.) The only shortcoming is the lack of liquor for such a cultivated Japanese eatery, so BYOB.