A fish-filled roll fits perfectly in its custom stand. | Rey Lopez/Maru San Three years in the making, James Beard Award-winning chef Carlos Delgado (Causa, Amazonia) just busted out with a surprise new Capitol Hill counter dedicated to Peru’s Japanese-influenced Nikkei cuisine. Hand rolls , sashimi, and a 15-course tasting menu option ($115) are all in the mix at Maru San. The neighborhood is already hooked, with a steady queue forming out front nightly. What to order Grab that yellow golf pencil and start checking away boxes on its paper menu. We suggest the endless-summer option of Old Bay-meets-aji crab and shrimp huacatay (black mint). Hand rolls run $8-$13 apiece.  Or, opt for pre-set orders in 3- to 6-count portions ($22-$37). A recent evening included everything from leche de tigre wrapped around the fish of the day to hamachi slathered in smoky salsa. Keep the complimentary mounds of pickled ginger coming. A polished plate of pulpo al olivo ($21) is presented with Delgado’s favorite childhood snack in Lima: red packages of Field Soda crackers. What to drink Pick-your-own sake outfit: a server hands you a wooden tray of glassy cups in all shapes and colors, each ready to wear a carafe of Fukocho Seaside Sparkling ($15). Japan’s Hitachino Nest beer is elusive stateside, but Maru San offers five varieties of the koji-brewed cult favorite. Baby-blue cans of its white ale, which double as bar art, are poured in frosty glassware ($12).  The vibe The 25-seat counter is literally just that: no sit-down tables, which encourages shoulder-to-shoulder strangers to interact. It’s a common way to dine in New York, but not here (until now).  It’s easy to fly solo and find entertainment in the hand-rolling symphony happening a foot in front of you. Insider tip Going to the bathroom is an adventure; walk all the way to the back through a steel door to encounter a maze-like portal to the “ocean” with an immersive underwater mural of swimming fish giving life to its stark cement walls. ...read more read less