Hiring, theft charges close prominent city restaurant

A three-star Japanese restaurant near downtown Baltimore stopped rolling sushi yesterday after its owners were arrested on federal charges of employing illegal immigrants and stealing their tips.

Kawasaki Restaurant, which has served elaborate raw fish dinners for more than two decades from a North Charles Street rowhouse in Mount Vernon, remained closed last night. Its sister restaurant - a waterfront cafe in Fells Point - was also shuttered.

Reviewers have described Kawasaki's food as among the region's most delectable for Japanese cuisine. The Baltimore City Paper has frequently rated Kawasaki's as the city's best sushi, from its tame California roll to its more bold entrees of uncooked octopus and sea urchin.