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    Lei Musubi

    4.8 (34 reviews)
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    Georgina W.

    Finally got to try Lei Musubi while they were at Union market. I've tried several times to catch them at other locations. And was not disappointed when I finally got to try them!!! I tried one of each, including the chicken, curry, rice, ball, the vegetarian, rice ball, and the OG rice ball . I am by no means a vegetarian, but I have to say the vegetarian rice ball was my favorite. It was perfectly crispy and the sauce on top made it my favorite. The OG spam musubi was beyond my expectations. I had never tried spam and really loved. It's smoky flavor. I did share the three rice balls with my boyfriend, and it was definitely not enough food. I would say I could eat three of them by myself. And if I ever get a chance to try them again, I will. The service was quick and pleasant. Because they were in Union Hall for the month I was able to purchase their food at my convenience when it wasn't too packed in the area

    Toya D.

    **Wanted to include my review from the last Yelp Elite event.** . . So my kitchen smells AMAZING *sniff* and my tummy is pleased.. As a Musibi rookie, I was nervous, because knew nothing about this food before the event. I'm impressed. So many delicious flavors in each bite. Some familiar (sesame oil, spam, barbacoa) and others not so much (furikake, smoked kimchi). In my haste, I added the "secret sauce" prior to the sesame oil. It worked out. wasn't expecting the rice balls to be so hearty, so two (0.G. and Barbara) was a good amount for sharing. The kits include everything you need to make musubi. The directions are simple to follow, making the process quick and easy. Today was fun and delicious. I hope this is the first of MANY virtual events! *xing fingers* __ IG: @f.hux I #yelp and I know things. Keep reading... https://linktr.ee/f.hux #foodieHUX #yelpelite #yelpeatsdc #yelpdc

    Elisa L.

    Lei Musubi is one of my favorite stands at the Brookland Farmers Market! They're delicious every time and I love their twist on the Hawaiian musubi / Japanese onigiri! I recommend going as early as you can because they tend to sell out of some things pretty early.

    OG musubi

    Tried them out just now in falls church. Best musubi I have tried so far. Thick, crunchy outside, soft mushy inside rice ball with a surprise inside, kimchi. Two pieces of spam outside and covered by furikake and wrapped with sea weed. Really good!! The PBC collab, musubi with the fried chicken on top. Hopefully it turns into a regular item if it is not. To me, it tasted even better than the spam one.

    Ube and Pandan Butter Mochi. I adore butter mochi and I would definitely recommend this!! :)
    Jan K.

    Lei Musubi [LM]. (3.5 stars). Let me just start off by saying this: SPAM MUSUBI WAS "MADE IN HAWAII" BUT IT IS NOT AUTHENTIC HAWAIIAN (ETHNIC) FOOD. It's what we call "Local Kine Grindz"!! Even though "Hawaii" always votes 7-11 as the place to get the best spam Musubi in Hawaii, I disagree. A lot of the "old school" okazuya are much better!! I get tired of the marketing about Hawai'i and HAWAIIAN FOOD, especially the farther away from Hawaii I am!! I have lived in Hawaii for 75% of my life and I just left Hawaii to move to DC for a job so I can humbly say I do know Hawaii cuisine. Having said that, full disclosure, I tried LM for the first time during a recent YEE. However, I purchased the entire menu x3 so I'm basing my review on everything I BOUGHT. (The YEE gift was one Musubi of your choice and one butter mochi of your choice.) LM currently does not have a brick and mortar that I'm aware of and they are vendors at Volta Park Farmer's Market and Monroe Street Farmer's Market. I have only been to the Volta Park location. This location is very difficult to get to because it is Georgetown area where parking is horrendous and the Volta Rec Park has NO parking!! The farmer's market is in the fenced in area and quite small from other markets I've frequented. I'll be the first to admit, I'm the only one in my entire family who does not care for rice very much (strange Asian) or spam!! I grew up for my formidable years in Worcester MA where the homemade Italian food I got to eat was second to none! So when I saw the YEE offered, I was excited to RSVP and see if I could get in! Luckily, I did! LM offers 3 types of Musubi. The OG, OG Vegan, and Jamaican Jerk. The OG is the most popular since it has spam and kimchi. OG Vegan has kimchi. Jamaican Jerk has marinated jerk chicken with a little heat from the scotch bonnet!! If I was in the neighborhood or was offered these Musubi again, I would gladly get some, but for me personally, the drizzling of unagi sauce is quite overwhelming and not needed. Makes the Musubi look pretty but not my personal favorite. Sweeeeeeeet! Ugh. So the reason why this rice and spam hater would eat these again? Simple. It's not like the norm. Spam Musubi in Hawaii is typically spam and rice wrapped in a nori "belt". Some may add furikake. Some may add a scrambled egg or marinate their spam in shoyu and sugar. Ugh. LM does theirs a little different. A Korean interpretation. They grill their rice ball and spam on a flat top!! This gives a nice grilled and slightly crispy texture which makes the spam palatable to me! Spam usually reminds me of congealed canned dog food... They also brush on sesame oil which adds that beautiful nuttiness that makes my heart swoon!! The micro greens add a "luxury" touch but in my opinion, it doesn't do much for the Musubi. Even for the OG Vegan. LM also offers Ube and Pandan butter mochi! I would recommend these but you have to eat them immediately! Otherwise they become crumbly and pasty. That's just the nature of these mochi. Nothing against LM's preparation. Dare I say that this is the best Musubi I've had in a long while... even though it's not a typical Musubi?! Next time, I would just ask for NO unagi sauce. I tried each item and then the BF inhaled all of them and commented that they were "good". I wish LM the best and I have to give the staff a shout out for being so friendly and humble!! Great job!!

    Bryan A.

    Had this for the first time and it was definitely something to remember. The team is super nice and knowledgeable about the craft. After the first bite, I already knew this was going to be something special. Had the OG and it was delicious! Go and check them out! They are great people!

    OG spam musubi with edible flower

    I've eaten Lei Musubi frequently over the years, usually at the Brookland Farmers Market. The musubis are delicious. The OG musubi consists of a rice ball filled with kimchi, with furikake seasoning, marinated spam, wrapped in seaweed and drizzled with special sauce. I've also really enjoyed the elote flavor that they sometimes offer in the summer. On top of all this, the owner (who also tales orders and cooks all the food) is super friendly and warm. She's always happy to talk about the product and explain Lei Musubi's origins. Overall, if you're at a farmers market or event and you see a Lei Musubi stand, do yourself a favor and get some musubis. I no longer live in Brookland, but I go out of my way to make it to the Brookland Farmers Market still to get musubis.

    Evangeline C.

    Okay musubi; $7 is really too much for what it is. The pandan butter mochi is fantastic, and at $2, still tolerable. In Hawaii, where it was amazing, the musubis were at most $2-4, and much tastier. Cool concept of the new flavors like crab, but would probably only return if the prices were more reasonable.

    Jamaican jerk
    Zeb R.

    I went to the Volta farmers market where they have stand. The person you speak with is very nice and very helpful. I wasn't sure which one to get when it came to Ube or pandan and she recommended ube. After I placed my order I was informed that it would be 10 minutes. I went with the Jamaican jerk only cuz the OG has spam and I can't do spam. It is crunchy and the Jamaican jerk has a nice kick to it! Love it!!! Oh I should clarify the crunchy is just a little bit from the cooking on one side of it like it was given 30 seconds more than the other sides, if that makes sense. Otherwise it is soft when biting into it. It was very delicious and if it wasn't for the fact that I stopped here in the middle of my errands I would have bought a few more! The ube was a soft pillowy cake like with a hint of sweetness which I'm really into right now. Definitely recommend this place!!!

    OG (Cherry blossom theme) musubi!!
    Alexandra U.

    This is one of my favorite foods now. The East was definitely missing something like this and I'm so happy it was brought over here!! The unique flavors thought my the owner, the presentation, the LOCAL ingredients, and the attention to each musubi served is fantastic. Also saw that someone gave 3 stars because they were upset that it was priced more than usual. Well as someone who has sold a good product in the past, I understand the time/effort put into the product that most customers don't actually see so I would like to respectfully disagree These musubi's are delicious and made with ingredients supporting local farms/businesses. Thank you Lei Musubi for bringing such a treat to the DC area!!

    The menu
    Adam I.

    You can find Lei Musubi at various farmers markets throughout the DC region. If you haven't tried musubi before, they are crunchy Hawaiian-style rice balls stuffed with delicious fillings and wrapped with nori (seaweed). traditionally they are eaten with spam! Lei Musubi always has vegan offerings in addition to their delicious traditional musubi--and sometimes they have other fun flavor combos as well. You can also buy butter mochi from them in various flavors as well--from traditional ube flavor to things as inventive as pumpkin pie flavor. Reader, these musubi are delicious. The flavor is on point and the rice has a delightful crunch. The vegan version is on point. Show up early to be sure to try out all they have to offer--they inevitably sell out. Sometimes they take a few minutes to make (as each one is made to order), so order when you arrive and then go shopping and pick it up at the end.

    Love their version of hot fried (sticky rice) musubi! I wanted to try all 3 flavors but they were out of the Crazy-Mexi-Elote one. Got the OG and OG Vegan which all were delicious. The ingredients go really well altogether, and the hot crunchiness is just addicting... Would definitely come back! There is no set store, they do pop ups every weekend. Info can be found on their site or social media pages.

    OG musubis and pumpkin spice  & ube butter mochis

    I AM A FAN OF LEI MUSUBI! I have visited Hawaii a few times, and musubis are an easy, on the go snack for a day trip to the beach or a hike. This is where I was first introduced to this snack. But coming back to the mainland, these snacks are hard to find. That is until I came across Lei Musubi's instagram page. The page instantly caught my eye with its vibrant microgreens and edible flowers. The presentation, artistry, and craftsmanship just shows the care and value Vivien shows when creating her musubis. Now that was just a treat for the eyes, and what prompted me to go checkout a pop up. She usually announces her markets and pop ups on her instagram story, so you know where she'll be that week! She usually features new flavors at her pop up, however, my favorite is the OG. How can you go wrong with sautéed kimchi within a crispy rice ball, in between two caramelized spams, wrapped in nori? Tell me your mouth isn't watering right now! If you have a sweet-tooth like me, top off your meal with a butter mochi treat! My favorite is the ube flavor! :) Also, shoutout to Vivien, the girl boss of Lei Musubi. If it's your first time trying a musubi, she will help you out! Go and do yourself a favor and checkout Lei Musubi! You won't regret it!

    Chicken Curry and The OG

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    4 years ago

    Tried their sticky rice ball. My wife and I loved it. Delicious!!! Really great and unique. I recommend it.

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    4 years ago

    This is one of the tastiest meals I have ever had and it gets better every time. I seriously recommend this place.

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    Ask the Community - Lei Musubi

    Do you have a list of dates when you'll be open?

    Hi Mike, yes we post our pop up dates and locations in the link in our Instagram bio. Or here is the direct site:… Read more

    Is Lei Musubi still at the Saturday market?

    This season we are at Monroe St farmers market in Brookland once a month. Our next pop up date will be Saturday 10/19 from 9am-1pm

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    Pizza Monkey - Small pizza w/ fresh toppings

    Pizza Monkey

    4.3(27 reviews)
    14.6 mi
    Locally owned & operated
    Family-owned & operated

    Pizza Monkey knows how to do Detroit-style pizza! Ordered online and pizza was ready at the stated…read moretime. The Detroiter and Bee Sting were both delicious, but I preferred the Detroiter more (I love meat!). You can tell the ingredients were fresh. Definitely give them a try if you're looking for this style of pizza. Carry out only!

    I was shopping in the area and took the opportunity to order a pizza to take home. My husband is…read moreparticularly keen on Detroit style, and we have had quite a few Detroit style pizzas from places over the years both in and outside of Detroit. This one was pretty good, but I do have a quibble; the crust was much denser than Detroit style crust usually is. The height of the pizza was about 2/3 of the usual height of a light and airy but thick Detroit style crust, so I am not sure if this dough just didn't rise properly or if PM does their crust differently. I don't personally care for heavy thick crust so this isn't a deviation I particularly care for. That said, I did like the robust sauce and the cheese, toppings were sufficient though not exceptionally generously applied. I recommend getting hot honey on the side if you want that, it was less noticeable pre-applied, though I could taste it a little. The pop up is colocated with Corned Beef King and there is a picnic table for when the weather is good but it is primarily takeout. Food was ready ontime so I was in and out super quickly. If you don't mind a heavier crust you should give them a try. I'll probably be back when hubs wants a Detroit style and we don't have time to drive to Frederick where the best one I've found in MD can be had, but tbh just one slice sat like a brick in my tummy.

    Photos
    Pizza Monkey - Inside ordering/pickup window

    Inside ordering/pickup window

    Pizza Monkey
    Pizza Monkey - Large (8 square)

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    Large (8 square)

    Taco Dirty To Me

    Taco Dirty To Me

    5.0(2 reviews)
    2.1 miBrookland

    If you have not had the chance to stumble upon this stand when it pops up near you, shame on you…read more My god are these tacos delicious and made fresh when you order. But word of caution, get to them early, like almost as soon as they set up, because the goods go fast. We were lucky that for our lunch the one day they were set up on the Georgetown Capital Campus. We love when a food vendor is nearby. Especially here, they rotate who will be there and our luck was Taco Dirty To Me (love the name too). By the time we got there, between noon and one, we were made aware they were already out of two proteins. Not to worry, we still were able to satiate our need for tacos. What they did have left made for some happy bellies and repeat customers when they pop back up. With the limited selection I ended up with a Honey Sriracha Shrimp and two Bang Bang Cauliflower tacos. Then you just get to stand off to the side and watch them make the tacos fresh. As you wait to hear your number be called the smells makes your mind wander. Once they were ready they have foil available to keep them warm until you get to where you want to devour them. The shrimp taco was amazing. The lime slaw, scallion, and cilantro mesh well with the flavors. The Panko breading really makes the honey sriracha stick to the shrimp. Bang Bang Cauliflower, same breading, same mixture of items, but the sauce on this one has a bit of a kick, and it is so good. I can't wait for them to come back around the office. Check their socials for their monthly calendar on where they will be. You might be surprise just how near to you they might be. They are also available to cater an event to, so keep that in mind.

    I've primarily had them from the GU Farmers Market. Each time, I've enjoyed them. They have…read morecreative options and the tacos themselves are substantial and filling. Definitely recommend!

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    Taco Dirty To Me
    Taco Dirty To Me
    Taco Dirty To Me

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    Huncho House - Huncho fire roll

    Huncho House

    4.0(332 reviews)
    2.0 mi
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    I was greeted with a complimentary glass of champagne by three smiling professional hostess. It…read moretook a little while for my waitress to come to my table, but another waitress was kind enough to not only greet me but get my ordered started as well. The ambiance, the decor and the vibe was very nice. I ordered the wagyu egg rolls for an appetizer, the short rib and risotto for my main and a don Julio margarita. The food was very good. The mac and cheese was a little on the salty side and the drinks are pretty pricey. Overall, I had a great experience and I would definitely come back and try out some different things on the menu. Oh, and my actual waitress was very sweet and attentive. I wish I remembered her name!

    My wife and I had heard of honcho house for a while and had planned to visit. Today we finally made…read morethe decision to try it out. And to say it was underwhelming would be an understatement. I mean this experience might have been worse than the season finale of game of thrones. My wife ordered the oxtails and green jollof rice. First off, the rice tasted like wet grass. The oxtail was a sad excuse for oxtail. For context my wife is Caribbean so I've had my share of delicious oxtail, their oxtail tasted like they simply didn't even try. Now let's get to my food. I ordered the simplest thing on the menu the Steak and Frites. I'll give it to them the frites were pretty decent, but that's where my compliments end. I ordered my steak medium like a decent human being. The first steak came out and tasted like what I imagine an old used tire taste like, it was well done by the way. The next steak that came out 20 minutes later although closer to medium was surprisingly worse. It's was extremely rubbery with zero flavor. All together I would not recommend. The fact they sell this sad excuse for food is baffling. Sincerely, A concerned customer

    Photos
    Huncho House - Lovely decor! The ambiance is so nice!

    Lovely decor! The ambiance is so nice!

    Huncho House - Crab Mac and cheese

    Crab Mac and cheese

    Huncho House - Lollipop jerk chicken

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    Lollipop jerk chicken

    Lei Musubi - hawaiian - Updated May 2026

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