Takumi GARDEN DISTRICT¤ 2800 Magazine click for map ¤ 265-0421 Contemporary Japanese. ¤ Casual. Lunch and Dinner seven days. ¤ Open until 2 a.m. Thurs.-Sat. ¤ AE DC DS MC V

Takumi is the creation of the people who brought you Little Tokyo, one of the city's best sushi bars. But this place is different. The kitchen moves beyond the standard Japanese menu to incorporate the same kind of creativity you find on the other gourmet bistros around town. The daily specials, using ingredients sourced from all over the world, are particularly interesting. Meanwhile, all the sushi-bar classics are here, made with unusual attention to detail. The restaurant is in an 1840s townhouse in the Garden District, on the corner of Washington Avenue and Magazine Street. (It's the former location of Table One.) Menu Updated January 2008. Appetizers Edamame Steamed soybean pods, Himalayan rocksalt 6 Savory Foie Gras Flan Steamed foie gras custard, caviar, chilled soy-ginger amber sauce 12 Yellowtail Carpaccio Fresh yellowtail and orange citrus drizzle 14 Sweet Shrimp Tartare Caviar, kiwi, peach and kiwi sauce 10 Robata Yaki Grilled bamboo skewers of Kobe beef, duck with leek, pork belly, and beef tongue 19 Shrimp Tempura Jumbo shrimp, white fish, mixed vegetables, sweet sake soy sauce 12 Takumi Miso Soup Tofu, wakame seaweed, carrots and scallions 6 Crab Consomme Lump crabmeat, white and green asparagus 9 Spicy Miso Gumbo Oyster, shrimp, fried soft shell crab, okra and cilantro 12 Takumi House Salad Field greens, romaine, radish, crispy wonton skin, lotus root and yuzu dressing 7 Seared Duck Salad Pan-seared duck breast, field greens, apricot, balsamic soy vinaigrette 12 Sesame Sea Salad Calamari, baby octopus and seaweed 8 Entrees Muga Buta Kakuni Braised pork belly, fresh mustard, wasabi stem roll, taro potato, burdock root, pork demi 24 Gyokai Mushi Steamed king crab leg, scallop, shrimp, green tea noodles, sweet sake king crab sauce 28 Gyu-Tan Steak Beef tongue, red wine vinaigrette, Japanese radish sauce 25 Ise-Ebi Taraba Grilled Japanese spiny lobster stuffed with shrimp and wild mushroom, king crab leg with sea urchin paste, wasabi stem roll. 32 Mushi Buta Thinly sliced wheat-fed Canadian pork tenderloin, napa cabbage, steamed oyster, ponzu sauce 21 Kobe Beef Sukiyaki Style Grilled six-ounce thin sliced steak, taro potato, burdock root, sukiyaki, sauce 44 Ask about specials with seasonal fresh ingredients daily.

Sushi Eel 5 Giant Clam 8 Octopus 5 Salmon Roe 5 Fresh Salmon 5 Whole Scallop 6 Sea urchin 7 Shrimp 5 Smelt Roe 5 Sweet Shrimp 6 Toro (fatty tuna) 9 Tuna 5 Escolar 5 Yellowtail 7 Kanpachi 7 Tai 7 Kinme 8 New Zealand Salmon 7 Aji 7 Tokusen Sushi 35 (Chefs choice of assorted fish, 10 pc.) Rolls All rolls wrapped with soy sheets California 6 Avocado, cucumber, smelt roe, crab stick sesame Crawfish 6 Crawfish tails, spicy mayo Crunchy 6 Snow crab, asparagus, green onion, tempura batter Crunchy Dynamite 7 Chopped tuna, yellowtail and salmon, wasabi mayo, JP Roll 7 Tuna, snow crab, avocado, eel sauce Fresh Salmon 7 Fresh salmon, snow crab, avocado, eel sauce Smoked Salmon 7 Smoked salmon, avocado Snow Crab 6 Ssnow crab, asparagus, avocado Spicy Tuna 7 Chopped tuna, wasabi mayo Tuna Avocado 7 Tuna, avocado, smelt roe Uptown 8 Yellowtail, snow crab, avocado, eel sauce Big Easy 13 Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, snow crab, asparagus, Rainbow 14 Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, crab stick cucumber, asparagus, sprouts, avocado, smelt roe Rice Paper 9 Tuna, crab stick avocado, cucumber, carrot, asparagus, romaine, hoisin and spicy sauces Shrimp Tempura 8 Tempura shrimp, avocado, cucumber, sprouts, smelt roe Soft Shell Crab 10 Crab, asparagus, avocado, smelt roe