Sarah loves sushi.
I can't remember exactly when this obsession overtook her, but it's definitely been heightened by my brother Christopher and his wife Alice's love for those little raw fish morsels. The last couple times we've visited them in Knoxville, they've taken us to Nama (both the original downtown bungalow and the new location in Bearden, lovingly called by locals Nama #2), a very hipster sushi place that even brought me around with its intimate and charming decor, friendly and knowledgable staff, and sushi tempura (lightly breaded) for this hesitant beginner.
SO, lo and behold, my own home of Morgantown, WV, with its freshness-due-to-presence-of-the-university and its small-but-decently-cultured-downtown-experience has recently added a sushi bar to the mix. It's called Dragonfly. So far I know of one other restaurant in Morgantown dedicated to sushi (called Ogawa) but it's on the other side of town. And there are two Hibachi-style Japanese restaurants that have their own sushi bars, but they are likewise spread out in the suburban sprawl. The arrival of one in the downtown business district is therefore quite exciting; even though I'm not the lover of sushi my wife or brother and his wife are, I can certainly understand the significance such pure, high-grade food has for the cultural pulse of an area. It's a step-up for Morgantown. And let me tell you, this place is NICE, far and away outstripping the atmosphere of its contemporaries.
Sarah and I have walked by it many times, peering in and waiting for any sign of opening. The last time we were window-shopping, I snapped some photos on my phone:
The first shot hopefully gives you some idea of the size of this space; it's huge. It's in an almost warehouse-sized old brick building on Chestnut Street, which runs parallel to High Street (the 'main street' of Morgantown and where are beloved so.zo coffeehouse is located). High St. is one-way down the hill (south roughly) and Chestnut Street one-way the opposite direction. It's good to see some development on the peripheral streets to High St.In the second shot you can see some of the different levels they used to divide the large room, as well as some of the subtle Japanese-esque finish work on the top of the columns and with the wall lights.
It's finally open! We're going tomorrow night for a belated birthday dinner for Sarah (though her big day was almost two weeks ago, she's patiently waited with building anticipation for Dragonfly to open its doors). Luckily it's a full bar & grill as well, so I may be sampling some of Sarah's sushi in between bites of my own juicy steak. We'll let you know how it goes!
