Snow Crane is back on Capitol Hill — and serving a $300 melon
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Snow Crane, a Japanese ice cream pop-up, returns to Little Pearl near Barracks Row with artful treats and designer melon. Photo: Courtesy Snow Crane
Snow Crane, the summer's hottest cold treat pop-up, returns to Capitol Hill this Sunday through September.
Why it matters: Chef Takeshi Nishikawa is drawing long lines to a takeout window at Little Pearl for his artful Japanese ice creams, floats and matcha — so popular he's adding a second residency on Barracks Row.
Dig in: Nishikawa, the former culinary director for Michelin-anointed Rose's Restaurant Group, launched his own ice cream venture: hyper-seasonal, minimalist and wildly addictive.
- Sourcing is everything. Nishikawa approaches matcha like wine, highlighting different styles and flavor profiles, while planning menus around 52 "micro-seasons" instead of the usual four.
The intrigue: Menus stay under wraps until they drop, but the format never changes: two ice cream flavors, two beverages (one always matcha) and two ice cream floats.
- Nishikawa shared one preview with Axios, and you'll want to arrive early.
- He scored a single Ukiyo-Banare melon from a recent collab dinner with Uchi — one of just 30 grown each year in Japan's Aomori Prefecture from Hanakotoba Farm. They aren't sold in stores.
- So yes, it's one of those luxury fruits that sells for around $300.
Japanophiles can also pick up bottles of Okinawan black sugar syrup to take home.
If you go: Snow Crane at Little Pearl (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE). Sunday through Tuesday, 10am–2pm, August 16 through September's end.