Local Flavor: Sushi, Hold the Rice

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COMMON SENSE TELLS US that sushi is a nutritious meal that's low in fat and carbs. It would be hard to make the stuff much better for you, right?

Actually, the folks at Singapore Bistro (1134 19th St. NW) believe you can take the popular Japanese specialty to another level of healthiness. They serve "low-carb" sushi rolls, which substitute a thinly sliced cucumber wrapper for the white rice. It might sound like blasphemy to sushi purists, but a sample of the newfangled California and eel avocado rolls had us (almost) seeing how life on the Atkins diet could be tolerable. Yes, it tastes different, but the vegetable jacket is a crunchy, tasty distraction.

"My No. 1 concern is that the food is healthy and delicious," says owner Grace Jin, who started offering the "low-carb" menu two years ago after seeing other diet-friendly rolls at restaurants. She thought the sushi would taste best with cucumber, so Singapore Bistro's three sushi chefs quickly rolled up her vision.

The benefits of the low-carb rolls are nothing to shake a chopstick at. "Switching from rice to cucumbers will cut the sushi calories dramatically," says Katherine Tallmadge, a registered dietician and president of D.C.'s Personalized Nutrition. "I think it could be a good weight-control strategy." But, she adds, "nobody got fat from eating too much sushi. It's healthy to begin with."

Photo by Katie Aberbach/Express