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Crudo e Nudo

Aug16

Location: 2724 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90405. (310) 310-2120

Date: January 20, 2023

Cuisine: Raw bar & crudo

Rating: quite tasty!

I’ve been meaning to try this place since it opened. They serve very fresh modern seafood, mostly raw. But it’s not Japanese at all.

The seating is basically outside (although weirdly I’ve heard that recently they got rid of that, maybe stupid rezoning).

Inside there is nothing but a counter to order at.

The menu is on the board.

Striped bass. Smoked oil, za’atar, cilantro blossom. Very soft perfect fish. Interesting blend with the za’atar, but nice. Oil lent a silky quality.

Big Eye Tuna. Aleppo, Colatura, orange. Just a bit of kick. Quite lovely.

Kanpachi. Calamansi vinegar, piment d’espellete, pickled onion, sunflower. Bright citrus notes. These crudos were all good but this was the best.

Abalone. Rose, bay leaf, fennel pollen, yuzu oil. Super tender with interesting flavors. Great chew. I loved this.

Tuna Tartare Toast. Onion confit, shrimp stock, yuzu, sesame. Slick with a bit of an “interesting” taste. Not off at all, just different. Maybe it was the sesame as we had a version with and without the stock and it was the same.

Caesar goes Vegan. Little gems, scrappy croutons, avocado, furikake. Nice for being vegan. Great texture and very fresh. The nori added an interesting quality.

Chicory Salad. Apple, squash, miso maple dressing, hazelnuts, sesame. A little on the sweeter side but great texture and flavor.

Market Mezze Platter. Santa Monica Farmer’s Market veggies, black garlic hummus. The Za’atar took this up. Mostly bitter veggies which was great. Lots of pickles too.

Prawns a la plancha. Diavola, sesame, sunflower. Awesome prawns. Very fresh and full of flavor.

Squid Ink Fried Rice. Sofrito, shrimp stock, chili oil, herbs. Super addictive crunchy texture with a great brine quality.

Steamed Mussels. White wine broth, fregola, herbs, bread. Very nicely cooked with a delicious white wine broth.

Overall, extremely tasty. The outside patio (if they still have it) is very cute. Inside, not so much. I wish they took orders at the table — as I’m not a fan of counter ordering — but the food was very good.

Having a crudo focused restaurant is an interesting concept. Essentially it allows operating with a much smaller kitchen and possibly in spaces without a normal hood, or at least a much smaller hood. Plus it’s pretty protein forward instead of leaning on the carbs.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Crudo, crudo e nudo, fish, lunch, raw

This Location Again?

May16

Restaurant: Lady Yan’s

Location: 203 W Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 872-6677

Date: October 2, 2022

Cuisine: (Mostly) Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Medium level Szechuan

I’ve eaten at this location as at least 5 restaurants.

It’s the familiar spot that once housed Sham Tsem (Alahambra), New Bay, and Happy Table, and GV Yummy. That’s a lot of restaurant churn — probably the most different restaurants I’ve eaten at in a single location in the SGV. The current name seems to be Lady Yan’s, but the old signs are still up there. New Qing Dao seemed to have been the same as GV Yummy. Not totally sure. It was very confusing.

The menu. This time around I think it’s Szechuan, more or less.

Cucumber Salad. The typical smashed cucumber dish, but an excellent version being smashed, very garlic forward, and well sauced.

Jelly in spicy savory sauce. The Chengdu street mung bean jelly. Not a bad version at all. I would have preferred a slight extra bit of tanginess in the sauce, but it was good.

Sliced beef and ox tongue in chili sauce. Nice version of this dish with the appropriate cilatro and peanut vibe. Regular meat and what is probably tripe or lung. Not as good as at GuYi, but very good.

Spicy wonton “soup.” Nice, although as usual for this dish the wonton’s seemed a bit under-seasoned (maybe just overwhelmed by the chili) and the “soup” is slightly watery.

Our one claw 4lb live lobster.

Lobster with ginger scallion. This was by accident as it was supposed to by Tyhoon style. I think the chef just didn’t want to. The lobster meat itself was fine but the prep was meh. Heavy. One of the worst Chinese lobsters I’ve had in a while.

Live fish kung fu style. Very nice fish with plenty of meat, chilis, veggies, tofu, potato etc. Overall lovely.

Tea Smoked Duck. Excellent pastrami duck. Very juice and delicious.

Sichuan spicy chicken nuggets. Very nice salty/numbing version of this iconic dish. Quite enjoyable.

Double cooked pork belly. Twice cooked pork. Awesome version with a really nice smoke and black bean flavor.

Sichuan signature mixed meats in chili sauce. Pretty much the same chili “broth” as the fish etc. Included all sorts of weird parts. The spam and liver/blood type stuff was good. There was also the chewy tripe.

BBQ Lamb Ribs. Served piping hot. Very fatty and full of sizzling flavor. Nice. The sauces didn’t totally work.

Eggplant with spicy garlic sauce. A 7/10 version of this dish. Pretty nice.

Green beans with garlic. Fine but nothing special.

Shredded cabbage. This had the obligatory pork belly and was generally fairly delicious.

Dan dan mein. Pretty typical Chengdu version. No peanut or sesame but a fairly addictive flavor all the same.

Seasoned peanuts. Nice, although not like the crack peanuts at Haige Star.

MaPo Tofu. Surprisingly delicious. Solid 8/10 version of this dish.

Chengdu style fried rice. Not exactly sure what was in here (other than the obvious peas) but it was very tasty.

Free totally weird Chinese dessert. Pretty terrible.

Citron au Courant Sorbetto – Fresh squeezed Lemons blended with French Currants (Cassis) — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #lemon #cassis #currents #lemonade #citron

Overall, this place was solid, but slightly “uninspired” SGV Chinese. Now for outside the SGV it would be excellent, as it’s way better than somewhere like Szechuan Place. Lady Yan’s has a wide range of dishes and they do “pretty well” with most of them, very good with a few. The service was nice and MUCH better than at Happy Table or GV Yummy. The build out was identical. It’s fairly low rent and not super crowded. The space must be cursed. There are better Szechuan places, several, but I’d go back to Lady Yans happily enough. And they do have some lingering dishes from other regions (like the BBQ lamb ribs).

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Chinese cuisine, fish, Gelato, offal, SGV, spicy, Szechuan, Szechuan Chinese

Eating Porta Cervo – Renato Pedrinelli

Jan28

Restaurant: Renato Pedrinelli

Location: Piazza degli Ulivi, snc, 07021 Porto Cervo SS, Italy. +39 339 649 5114

Date: July 2, 2022

Cuisine: Sardinian Italian

Rating: Tasty

Another night in Sardinia, another Italian restaurant.

Renato Pedrinelli was well rated and conveniently located only a mile or two away from our hotel in a large ritzy shopping plaza near the Porto Cervo marina.

As usual for summer dining in Italy we ate al fresco, coperto be damned!

The menu.

They bring by a selection of barely or recently living sea creatures for your perusal.

Sardinia usually features crispy breads.

2018 Argiolas Vermentino di Sardegna Cerdeña. Gotta drink local.

Burrata pugliese e pomodorini. Burrata with cherry tomatoes.

Half lobster Catalan style. I was a bit apprehensive given all those raw tomatoes, but somehow with the acidity and the onions it was pretty awesome.

Classic penne pomodoro.

Paccheri with fish ragu, bottarga and courgettes. Cheesy and a bit fishy. Nice bite.

Sea Bream with tomatoes, olives, and capers.

Filleted.

Overall, while nothing spectacular, this was a solid meal. Everything in Porto Cervo is a bit focused on a tourist set — not necessarily American tourists (we didn’t see many of those) but mostly mainland Italians or other Europeans.

For more Italian dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Eating Porta Cervo, Eating Sardinia, eating-italy, fish, Italian cuisine, Italy, pasta, Porta Cervo, Sardinia, Wine

Tar and Roses Redux

Dec25

Restaurant: Tar & Roses [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 602 Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 587-0700

Date: July 16, 2021

Cuisine: American Tapas

Rating: Has not only held up but improved

Tar & Roses is a new American tapas-style place in Santa Monica, loosely in the vein of Rustic Canyon or Gjelina. Despite the relative crowding of this market, it’s an extremely popular addition.

The Chef & Owner is Andrew Kirschner, a Santa Monica-native who grew up in a family with a strong appreciation for travel, food and wine, Chef Andrew Kirschner initiated his cooking education at the age of fifteen with a summer job in the kitchen of a local restaurant. Like many great chefs, his culinary journey started as a job, but quickly turned into a passion. After Kirschner became the sous chef for Chadwick in Beverly Hills, and then a chef/partner at the popular neighborhood spot Table 8 in West Hollywood, where he met and bonded with his Tar & Roses sous chef, Jacob Wildman.

Years ago (2015) I had a few issues with service here, but after some good takeout experiences during lockdown decided to head back in summer of 2021 with my parents and family.

The space is airy and pleasant.

There is a nice patio too (not pictured) which is actually where we sat on this particular day.
The current menu.

YELLOWTAIL CRUDO. Citrus / Avocado / Jalapeño / White Soy. Very zesty.

OXTAIL DUMPLINGS. San Bai Su / Chili / Green Onion. Super tasty with a lot of umami.
MOORISH MARINATED LAMB KABOB. Banana Raita / Harissa. Nice grilled lamb flavor.

BABY ARTICHOKES. Garlic Confit / Parmesan / Lemon Yogurt / Mint.

BALSAMIC GLAZED RIBS. Aleppo Pepper / Fried Basil. Awesome.

Wood roasted baby carrots.

SQUID INK FETTUCINI. Octopus / Blistered Tomato / Basil.

From my cellar: 1996 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. 91 points. Hazy, sour cherry, sous bois.

I brought another wine too a NV Krug Champagne Brut Grande Cuvée Edition 168eme — but forgot to photo it.
SHELLFISH POT. Scallops / Clams / Mussels / Shrimp / Maitake / Curry. The broth was awesome with a very strong southeast Asian flavor.

ALASKAN KING SALMON. Tiny Beans / Escarole / Tomato / Salsa Verde.

WHOLE FRIED SNAPPER FOR TWO. Cold Soba Noodles / Dipping Sauce. Fabulous dish. The fish sauce (not pictured) really made the dish.

EGGPLANT. Crispy Garlic / Chili / Slivered Almonds. Hints of both Middle Eastern and Chinese.

KING TRUMPET MUSHROOMS. Soft Egg / Rosemary.

Overall, this was an excellent meal. The patio was great in the “mid-late covid era” and service was good. I think the food has tightened and brightened up a bit since their early days. I liked the variety of mildly exotic influences — and the flavors were strong.

Everyone really enjoyed it.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Champagne, Family, fish, Kurg, Tar & Roses, Volnay, Wine

Post OOToro

Sep03

Restaurant: OOToro [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

Location: 1569 Fairway Dr, Walnut, CA 91789. (909) 598-8299

Date: May 22, 2021

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi (with slight nod to China)

Rating: Ends of the earth, but very good

Chef Kaz of Totoraku, an occasional hedonist, sent us far east to this Sushi restaurant in 2016 and it was such a fun time that we had to return again for a sixth visit — it’s now become a twice a year thing. This is my first return since the pandemic — although some in the group went once in the middle for a meal that was supposedly not quite up to snuff.

And by far east I mean REALLY REALLY far east — to Walnut California. 40+ miles from my house. 20 miles past Alhambra (which most people consider to far to drive for food). It took an hour and twenty minutes on a Saturday night!

The slick looking location is in the heart of the affluent Chinese American San Gabriel Valley. But yes, it’s Japan, if perhaps catering to Chinese taste. This photo was shot at about 10pm after everyone else had left.

Here is the private room — the only way to go.

2008 Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut. VM 99. The 2008 Cristal is one of the most complete, most dazzling Champagnes I have ever tasted. A stunning wine from any and all perspectives, the 2008 simply has it all. Spherical in construction, with superb persistence. The 2008 takes hold of all the senses and never gives up. One of the many things that makes the 2008 special is a combination of ripe fruit and bright, piercing acidity. Marzipan, lemon confit, dried flowers and orchard fruit all build into the explosive, resonant finish. “We learned from the mistakes of 1996, when we picked more on acid than ripeness, as was the norm in Champagne back then” Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told me recently. “In 1996, the best fruit turned out to be the last picks, where the fruit was physiologically ripe. Today, we aim to pick all our fruit with that criteria.” (Drink between 2020-2050)

Caviar, scallop, and sulf clam “salad”.

2015 Ultramarine Blanc de Blancs Heintz Vineyard Sonoma Coast. VM 94. The 2015 Blanc de Blancs Charles Heintz Vineyard from Michael Cruse’s Ultramarine is a rich, powerful wine. Orange peel, almond, chamomile, butter and tropical overtones give the 2015 a good bit of raciness to play off its creamy, ample frame. The 2015 is overt and quite rich, with tons of the breadth that make Charles Heintz wines so distinctive. The radiance of the year really comes through nicely. Observant readers will note the 1% Pinot Noir listed in the blend; in 2015, the topping wine used was Pinot. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. (Drink between 2020-2025)

agavin: Eric, who brought this tried to make the case that this is in league with real Champagne. I was not convinced. Far from it. Basically barely better than a Mumm’s Sparkling wine. Only Champagne does Champagne right! And it’s the price of a Comtes or Grand Cuvee!

Edamame Tofu with Hokkaido Uni and Dill — awesome little combo.
From my cellar: 2007 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 97. The 2007 Comtes de Champagne Rosé is a total knock-out. Racy and exuberant in the glass, the 2007 wraps around the palate with stunning textural depth and resonance. The 15% still Pinot adds structure and persistence to a creamy, inviting Rosé Champagne that will leave readers weak at the knees. Hints of rose petal, dried cherry, cinnamon and dried flowers meld into the sublime finish. This is about as good as it gets. Wow! (Drink between 2018-2038)

Chu toro and otoro sashimi. These tasted as good as they look.

2000 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut. BH 96. A wonderfully layered and nuanced nose features an intense yeasty character to the maturing fruit that displays interesting phenolic characters, in particular petrol, along with aromas of apple, pear and soft citrus hints. In contrast to the nascent maturity expressed by the nose the flavor profile is still tight and backward with a genuinely gorgeous texture, all wrapped in a strikingly persistent and highly complex finish. For my taste the 2000 Brut is at an inflection point as the nose does offer enough maturity so that it’s really quite pretty whereas the palate impression is substantially younger. As such it really just depends on how you prefer your Champagne because I suspect that the nose will be very mature by the time the still very youthful flavors attain their majority. For my taste preferences it would be no vinous crime to begin enjoying this now but be aware that this will age for a very long time. The best approach is probably to buy 6, or even 12, bottles and enjoy them over a longer period of time. (Drink starting 2014)

Baby peach, fish cake, mollusk, abalone, baby squid, shrimp.

Kutamoto oysters with uni and ikura.

Toro tartar on toasted baguette.

The champagne lineup.

2004 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot. BH 91. Extremely generous wood treatment that includes toast, vanilla and oak spice frames ripe floral and white peach aromas and rich, full and sweet flavors that have added lift from the citrus-infused finish that displays racy acidity. This is an impressive wine but it’s not really a Raveneau-styled wine and it’s certainly carrying more wood than I can personally warm up to. Still, this is a wine of obvious quality. (Drink starting 2010)

Goldeye snapper with yuzu.

2015 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux. BH 91. An elegant and pure nose is notably ripe but evidences ample classic Chablis aromas that include pear, white flower and tidal pool hints that are also trimmed in enough wood and menthol characters to warrant noting them. The rich and vibrant flavors possess good volume and muscularity before concluding in a clean, dry and mildly austere if slightly warmer finish. Like the Montée de Tonnerre this is an excellent 2015 1er and worth considering – plus it should age well. (Drink starting 2022)

Ruby snapper, charred.

J & B generously brought: 2007 Coche-Dury Meursault. VM 92. Bright, pale yellow. Tangy aromas of orange, peach and spices. Broad and lively, with intense fruit lifted by a near-perfect sugar/acid balance. Finishes with excellent cut. This is awfully good for a wine from seven-year-old vines.

Santa Barbara Spot Prawn.

Kama Toro — even better than o-toro.

From my cellar: 2008 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. BH 93. A textbook Pucelles nose of honeysuckle and citrus is trimmed in a discreet application of oak and a trace of exotic fruit, neither of which continue over to the delicious, round and quite generous medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent depth on the focused and unusually powerful finish. There is an ample amount of underlying tension that adds relief to the otherwise densely concentrated dry exact. This is quite simply terrific and while there is good power, the ’08 Pucelles remains a wine of finesse. (Drink starting 2016)

Uni Chawanmushi.

Marcassin Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard. Can never read the darn year on these bottles.

Halibut with shiso.

2002 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux. VM 93. Bright medium red, with little sign of amber. Expressive aromas of redcurrant, cinnamon, mocha, leather and earth, with complicating ferrous notes of iron and tobacco. Wonderfully silky and fine-grained, showing lovely class and lift to its red fruit and spice flavors. Not a powerhouse but remarkably suave and smooth for Pommard. Really rises and lingers on the highly aromatic finish. Still on an upswing. (Drink between 2018-2028)

Chu toro and otoro sushi.

Seared toro sushi.

King Crab with a bit of sunomono.

2009 Domaine des Lambrays Clos des Lambrays. BH 93. An intensely floral and spicy nose that is wonderfully elegant and admirably pure speaks of red currant, blue berry, game, smoke and warm earth. The silky-textured, precise and mineral-inflected medium-bodied flavors possess copious extract that does a fine job of buffering the very firm tannins and allowing for perfect balance on the mouth coating and impressively persistent finish. A seductive and relatively accessible Clos des Lambrays that should be approachable with only a decade of cellar time yet last for 25 to 40 years. (Drink starting 2021)

A5 Wagyu with potatoes.

Seafood tempura.

Shrimp head miso soup.

Mango cheesecake.

Thai Red Curry Sorbetto — I made a version of this in 2017 and it was a dismal failure, but haunted me since and so this one is redemptive. Made a (no salt) red curry paste from scratch (chilies, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro roots, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, Asian shallots etc) and then cooked it into a pure Thai Coconut Milk base. Sweet and Spicy! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto#Thai #red #curry #spicy

Buko Pandan Gelato — Infused the milk with fresh Pandan Leaves and then crafted it into a dairy coconut base as my take on the Filipino favorite. Unusual and soothing. — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #buko #pandan #coconut

Hpnotiq Blue Hawaiian Sorbetto — like a frozen cocktail — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Thai Coconut Milk, Pineapple, Lime, and Hpnotiq liqueur –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #Hpnotiq #BlueHawaiian #pineapple #coconut #lime

The full wine lineup.

Yarom scaring the waitresses.

Overall, OOToro — while always good — showed again that the private room is really the way to go. This was a great meal and much more subtle and sophisticated than some of the front room fare. Really great stuff — although we should have gotten the largest omakase for max variety, but even one down I was more than full (mostly because I ordered a couple extra tempura plates). The kitchen tonight was as good as ever despite the pandemic, however, we didn’t have a few of the more interesting items like the shabu shabu or tuna collar. Gotta get them to do the big one some time!

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: BYOG, Champagne, fish, Gelato, hedonists, ootoro, Sushi, walnut california, Wine

Mr. Miyagi’s Sushi Bar

Oct23

Restaurant: Sushi Miyagi

Location: 150 S Barrington Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (323) 382-5635

Date: Sept 10 & October 1, 2019

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Top Shelf Omakase Sushi

Great sushi is always a good excuse to pull out the beloved Champagnes and White Burgundies.

And I was excited to hear that a new high end omakase sushi place had opened in Brentwood — in the conveniently located but anoying to park at junction of Barrington Ave and Place.

The space is small but attractive.

This is chef focused serious sushi, and so we pre-ordered the largest omakase possible — Erick even egged them on to a larger than offered menu.

Chef Shinichi Miyagi says about himself on his website:

Born in Osaka, the art of sushi mesmerized the chef at an early age and decided to devote his life as a “Decchi” (apprentice) under Master Higuchi at the age of 16. He opened his first “Kappo” (traditional style of cooking in front of a crowd) restaurant at the age of 25, and moved to LA at 29, working in numerous well known Sushi restaurants in West LA, Beverly Hills, and San Diego.

Through managing a Sushi restaurant in Manhattan Beach (i-naba), now in present day, he found an opportunity to try his skills as an executive chef in Brentwood/Los Angeles. The chefs many years of experience in choosing the freshest fish, will surprise even the most sophisticated pallets of this beautiful city.

His methods and techniques in preparation follows the traditional Japanese style, bringing out the true flavors of the fish. The chef also prepares two styles of rice, AKAZU SHARI (Red vinegar sushi rice), and SHIROZU SHARI (White vinegar rice). The SHARI (Sushi rice) will alternate depending on the fish being prepared, and we hope you enjoy the eclectic flavors of the different vinegars being used.

2017 Guillaume Selosse Champagne Ville-sur-Arce Largiller Extra Brut.

From my cellar: NV Jacques Selosse Champagne Rosé. VM 94. The NV Rosé is laced with the essence of crushed rocks, mint, chalk. white pepper and cranberry. Chiseled and vibrant in the glass, with tremendous energy, the Rosé is fabulous. This release is based on the V.O. blend of 2011, 2010 and 2009 vintages, with a touch (3-5%) still Pinot from Francis Egly, vintages 2011 and 2010. Disgorged November 7, 2018. (Drink between 2018-2026)

Marinated Sardines from Japan with dashi. Lovely soft delicate fish with the strong sardine oil flavors in perfect balance with the vinegary marinade.

Shigoku oyster from the pacific northwest. On the left with uni and on the right with caviar and yuzu. In the front is Japanese plum.

Buri with ponzu, daikon radish and green onion. Delicate and delicious sashimi.

On the left, monk fish liver. To the right, octopus (tako) with mozzarella, then tomato and on top seaweed from Okinawa with mountain yam. All scrumptious.

Toro tartar with caviar and wasabi ponzu. The nobu classic but perfectly executed.

Fresh king crab, grilled. Simply sweet crab meat.

2005 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières. VM 92. Complex, leesy aromas of stone fruits, flowers, smoke and nutty oak. Dense, suave and ripe, with nuanced, lightly sulfidey flavors of white fruits, flowers and nuts. Layered and quite long. This, too, has turned out very well.

Tai sushi.

King mackerel sushi.

2010 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Pucelles. VM 95. The 2010 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles 1er Cru is an absolute killer wine from the late Anne-Claude Leflaive. Lucid in the glass, it has a crystalline bouquet with crushed stone, a touch of oyster shell, Nashi pear and citrus peel. The terroir seems to just burst from the glass. The palate is cool, calm and collected. The acidity is nigh pitch perfect, the tension palpable from start to finish. This is a live-ware Les Pucelles: edgy and citrus fresh, yet utterly composed and befitting a wine that frankly is Grand Cru in all but name. Tasted at Fook Lam Moon in Hong Kong. (Drink between 2019-2035)

2010 Pierre Morey Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 92-95. Here too there are vestiges of the malolactic fermentation present. The palate impression though is completely different compared to that of the Perrières as the intense and overtly powerful flavors are substantially bigger and even more intense, indeed almost painfully so, before terminating in a citrusy, explosive and stunningly long finish. While this is certainly large-scaled it is not without a certain refinement and this should amply reward long-term cellaring, in fact it will require it as this will not, in all likelihood, drink well young. (Drink starting 2020)

Baby barracuda sushi.

Blue fin tuna sushi.

O-Toro sushi. The rich tuna belly never disappoints — at least not at a place this good.

Shima Aji (striped jack) sushi..

Black throat sushi.

Golden snapper sushi with truffle paste.

2008 Giuseppe Quintarelli Cabernet (Franc) Alzero. 94 points. This was great. Shared with me at a restaurant. Had an Italian feel for a Cabernet. Very red fruit driven, with some roses and balsamic. Closest other wine I’ve had to this was the 2007 Sassicaia, but this wine has more energy and elegance. A different take on Bordeaux blends then most Bordeaux and even less like most Super Tuscans or Napa Cabernet. Elegance, acidity, and polish. Drinking nicely now.

This bottle has an unusual story as we had all of the sushi bar but one seat and that last chair was occupied by an older gentleman in the music business. We got to talking during dinner and he was extremely nice. Turns out he doesn’t really drink wine anymore but was a collector and he went out to his car and brought back two bottles of this extremely are Giuseppe Quintarelli. Now I’m a GQ fan — I even use his olive oil in some of my creations — but I didn’t even know he makes a Cabernet. It was great though.

The gentleman also picked up a huge portion of our tab too — just because he was that kind of guy! Thank you!

A5 Wagyu, truffles, uni, Mizutaki mushrooms.

A Yama-like bite of quail egg, uni, and toro.

Ikura (salmon roe) sushi.

Uni sushi.

t

Sardine sushi.

Torched butterfish sushi.

Seared Toro with shoyu koji. So rich it tasted like beef.

Fermented squid guts — I gotta say, I like these.

Toro handroll.

Green tea ice cream. Much denser and less creamy than my gelato.

I brought these though, homemade old-fashioned chocolate fudge — made by me.

The wine lineup.

And the people lineup.

Sushi Miyagi is exactly the kind of sushi place I like best — all omakase and very traditional. This is some seriously good fish. Mostly just straight nigiri and a bit of spectacular sashimi and a handful of cooked dishes. This is really really good and instantly catapulted into the top westside sushi joints. Very friendly too. Intimate as well. Sushi at this level is all about the chef and Shinichi Miyagi is very talented.

Not for the sushi neophytes and roll loves, but fabulous for those of us who really enjoy great fish being showcased in a straightforward and delicious manner.

I also came in here a few weeks later for a quick lunch. The lunch menu is very reasonable given the (exceptional) quality.

Lovely little salad with homemade onion vinegar dressing.

Miso soup, of course.

BATTERA. Saba mackerel box sushi, salad and miso soup.

OMAKASE SASHIMI. Chefs best choice of today, 8 pieces of sashimi, salad and miso soup.

OMAKASE CHIRASHI BOWL. Chefs best choice of Sashimi pieces over a bed of sushi rice, salad and miso soup.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Brentwood, Chef Shinichi Miyagi, fish, Sashimi, Sushi, Sushi Miyagi, Wine

Eating Tel Aviv – Shila

Aug16

Restaurant: Shila

Location: Rehov Ben Yehuda 182, Tel Aviv 6347122, Israel. +972 3-522-1224

Date: July 3, 2019

Cuisine: Israeli

Rating: Great

The end of our trip brought us to bustling Tel Aviv.

Only about 100 years old, Tel Aviv is a radically different kind of city than Jerusalem.

For our first restaurant we went to Shila.

The restaurant was established ten years ago by Sharon cohen and his wife Adi. At the first years Sharon worked with 2 cooks and Adi with 1 waitress. Year after year, step by step the restaurant grows and expanded its size, staff and culinary vision. Today shila became a home for people that love to eat and have fun, Sharon Cohen, the chef, manages his kitchen with laughter and humor behind the Flame, Seasoned with grace and serves with love.

The interior is decidedly more modern than most of what we’ve seen in Israel up to this point. Space was crowded and buzzy too.

The menu.

Bread.

Tahini and spicy sauce.

Fisherman’s Caaprese. Mozzarella di Bufala, cherry tomatoes & Spanish anchovies.

Iron salad. Spinach, endive, walnuts, beetroot carpaccio & Feta cheese.

Yellowtail Sashimi. Sliced apricot, cherries, wakame seaweed & Labaneh stone.

Sea fish tartar. wrapped in avocado, served with almonds and a mint Aioli.

Tel-Aviv mix of fish on top of tzatziki & pita bread.

Green Tortellini. filled with a homemade Ricotta. Served with Crystal shrimp and crab meat.

Fish Fillet and Lobster Ravioli in a Swiss Chard Stew with a lemon butter sauce served with mussels, Tiger shrimp & calamari.

Seafood spaghettini. Shrimps, mussels & calamari in crab stock & pickled caper leaves.

The dessert menu.

Entremet. Dark & Milk Chocolate Mousse, Salted Caramel Cremeux, Sesame Crumble & Sesame Nougatine.

Caribbean Crème Brule. Crème Brule, Almonds Crumble, Coconut ice cream & tropical fruits.

Overall, Shila was great. It was young, hip, loud, crowded, and full of energy. Service was good. The food was more unusual and more contemporary than many places we visited up until this point. The presence of so much “seafood” (aka tref, shellfish) was a pleasant change too. It was definitely rich, but didn’t come off as heavy.

Click here to see more Eating Israel posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Eating Israel, Eating Tel Aviv, fish, Sharon Cohen, Sharon Cohen's Kitchen & Bar, Shellfish, Tel Aviv

Salty Saturday 2014

Dec06

Part of the tradition for the ThanksGavin weekend of gluttony is a Saturday deli brunch. As we celebrate in Philadelphia, we have access to all sorts of great deli and the like.

For the second year in a row, the location is the house of my cousin Matt and his wife Andrea. They’ve picked up a lot of the load, having also tackled the Friday Night Feast.

The main event for Salty Saturday is bagels and cream cheese the Philly way.

Capers and olives.

The third return of the olives and artichokes from Thursdays night.

Hard boiled eggs, elegantly sliced.

Parmesan and red onions.

Cream cheese with scallions.

Regular (boring) cream cheese.

Munster and Jarlsberg (swiss).

Tomatoes and cucumber.

Creamed herring.

Pickled herring. I like this sweet fishy stuff, although it isn’t to everyone’s taste.

Chunky whitefish salad. Love it!

Lox of course.

Bagels, including the amusing black and whites.

Toasted.

Here is my plate, with a bagel or two under construction.

I like cream cheese AND munster under my fish.

I’m also going to cheat and show these breakfast items that Matt whipped up on Thanksgiving day, including this frittata.

These amazing challah french toast.

And this sausage from the old school sausage make downtown, Fiorella’s. This place has been making sausage the same way since 1892!

Plus syrup that can go on BOTH French Toast and sausage. I love syrup on my sausage.

Oh, and fruit salad.

The Salty Saturday in progress.

For more ThanksGavin dining, click here.

Miriam says “wow!”

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Bagels, fiorella's, fish, Lox, Salty Saturday, Sausage, ThanksGavin

Shunji Sushi – Nonstop Nigiri

Sep08

Restaurant: Shunji [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 12244 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. (310) 826-4737

Date: September 4, 2014

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: First rate traditional sushi

Somehow, straight nigiri sushi is mostly a lunch thing for me. And oh do I love it, perhaps no other savory food offers such a consistent yummy bite factor.

Shunji, which took over for the “Mr. Cecil’s BBQ” in this oddball looking building on Pico has developed quite a reputation. Chef Shunji Nakao was an opening chef at Matsuhisa in the day, then opened Asanebo, then The Hump (one of my old favorites). It has quickly risen to the top of the LA Japanese scene.

At night, Shunji offers an amazing and advanced mix of traditional and modern raw and cooked dishes, but at lunch it’s straight sushi.

It might be noon, but great food enjoys some great wine.

1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused round intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.

Tai (red snapper) with salt.

Seabream. Note that like most recent great LA sushi places, Shunji sauces all the fish.

Shima-aji.

This chef cut for me many many times at Takao.

Here is Shunji himself.

Magaro (Big eye tuna).

Japanese Baracuda. Not my absolute favorite.

Belt fish.

Sea Trout. Sadly, I missed a couple before this. It’s hard at sushi places to remember to snap every fish.

Chu-toro (medium tuna belly).

O-toro (fatty tuna belly). This is actually super uber o-toro and was some of the best I’ve ever had.

Ikura (salmon roe). Nice and sweet.

Uni (sea urchin). Left is from Japan and right from Santa Barbara. The local one is sweeter and less briny.

Ama-ebi (sweet shrimp). It was alive about 15 seconds before we ate it. The head was still wiggling on the counter in front of the chef.

The heads come back as miso soup.

And fried.

Geoduck clam.

Himejako (giant clam).

Unagi (freshwater eel).

Hotategai (scallop from Japan).

Crab hand roll. This was good, but I probably prefer the kind that the Nozawa disciples make (like at Sasabune and the like).

Albacore hand roll. Nice.

Mixed berry sorbert. Lots of flavor.

Grapefruit sorbet. Intense bitter grapefruit flavor. Very refreshing.

Chocolate mousse. Very dark and strong.

Traditional tea.

All and all Shunji is rather fantastic, joining the large repertoire of top LA sushi restaurants. I really have to come back here at night and get a big mega omakase to sample his more “modern” fare. Not that I mind the nigiri, because as I said at the beginning, it really is a classic for a reason.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: fish, Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Nigiri, Shunji, Shunji Nakao, Sushi, Wine

Apocalypse Dhou

Mar28

Restaurant: Ngoc Gia Trang

Location: Mekon Delta

Date: March 23, 2014

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Crispy Elephant Ear fish!

Hundreds of miles of snaking river was like a circuit cable plugged straight into…

A good meal.

Low and behold, after snaking up the (now) bucolic byways of the Mekon delta, we come across (well, our guide takes us to) this lovely little luncheon (and a low water table, good thing its not mosquito season).

We got the special lunch.

The specialty here is the crispy Elephant Ear Fish. I’ve never quite seen this prep, pinioned up for display.

Like the fish we get at the good Vietnamese place back in LA, and much of Vietnamese cuisine in general, it’s intended to be eatern wrapped in rice paper with various condiments: basil, mint, baby banana, onions, etc.

You take this, roll it up tight, and dip it in fish sauce.

The fish might look like a piranha, but the human piranhas sure got to it.

The soft rice paper rolls are filled with crispy pork skin and the meat is a delicious roast pork. Awesome.

On the left are Vietnamese tater tots, or more specifically, fried sticky rice balls. On the right are fish balls (like gefilte fish) coated in puffed rice.

Special soup, which is a simple broth with fish balls.

And one adds these fresh noodles.

For dessert, a small local breed of banana.

Overall, an unexpected (and delicious find deep in the jungle).

For more Vietnam dining reviews, click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: eating-vietnam, fish, Fish sauce, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekon Delta, Mekong Delta, Vietnam, Vietnamese cuisine

Jer-ne to the center of the Marina

Oct31

Restaurant: Jer-ne

Location: Ritz-Carlton. 4375 Admiralty Way. Marina del Rey, California 90292 USA. (310) 823-1700

Date: October 29, 2011

Cuisine: Californian

Rating: Solid

When the Ritz-Carlton Marina Del Rey renovated and opened its new restaurant in the early 2000s the naming committee was obviously inspired by Steve Martin‘s classic LA Story (and its 80s restaurant, lee-dee-oh — spelled l’idiot). In any case, the original Jer-ne actually served up top notch California Asian Fusion when it opened. Like most hotel restaurants, there has been chef turnover — who knows how many times in the last decade. I hadn’t been in a few years (except for the pretty amazing Sunday brunch) and when an old friend from High School Facebook IMed me that he was in town, we headed on over.

The menu is mean and lean, all streamlined modern Californian.

From my cellar. Parker 96 points. “The 2008 Flor de Pingus offers up an enticing nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, espresso, black cherry, and blackberry. On the palate it displays outstanding volume, intensity, and balance. Rich, dense, and succulent, it has enough structure to evolve for 4-5 years and will offer prime drinking from 2015 to 2028.”

The Ritz always had good cheesy cracker things.

“caesar. organic romaine, santa barbara olives, tomatoes, crouton.”

“oyster. pacific oysters, crispy potato, spanish ham, sambuca hollandaise.” The sauces were really good, but the oysters had that bitter note that fried oysters often have. Every time I have them I’m reminded that I like my oysters raw.

“halibut. sautéed leek, double smoked bacon, corn, potato, clam chowder sauce.”

“salmon. green bean, glazed carrots, potato puree, parsley butter.”

“lamb. sirloin, heirloom tomato, organic ratatouille, tomato mustard chutney.” Some very tasty and relatively lean lamb. The sauce was one of those meaty jus reductions that I love.

The dessert menu.

“greek yogurt panna cotta. slow roasted market stonefruit, corn praline, thymje.”

“spiced peanut butter mousse. crunchy peanut butter chocolate, candied ginger ice cream, spicy caramelized honey.” This was a nice dessert. A good interplay between the fluffy peanut butter, crunch, and the ginger ice cream.

Overall the food at this new Jer-ne was good. It didn’t blow me away or anything, and it’s very different than it used to be 8 or so years ago (full of Japanese influenced dishes), but it was a very solid take on conservative but well executed the New American. Even the desserts show plating influences that are very contemporary — what I think of as geometric and dust — the use of cubes, spheres, and ovals in a sort of post war art kind of arrangement, often dusted with granular flavor components. Red Medicine’s desserts are typical examples, but I suspect it’s really a Ferran Adrià thing.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Admiralty, California, Dessert, fish, lamb, Marina del Rey, Marina del Rey California, Oyster, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Ritz-Carlton, Steve Martin, vegetarian

Takao Top Omakase

Oct18

Restaurant: Takao [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: 11656 San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049. (310) 207-8636

Date: October 16, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: 9/10 creative “new style” sushi

I’ve already covered Takao in some detail HERE and then separately here, here and here. The full menu and some information on the history of the place can be found through the first link. This particular meal covers a full $120 Omakase, which actually is a very good value compared to ordering ala carte.

We started off with a lovely “shaved rice” style cold sake. I’ve become increasingly fond of this old-school premium form of sake.

Ankimo (Monk Fish Liver) with ponzu, scallions, and slightly spiced daikkon radish. An excellent example of this classic dish.

White fish with a bit of micro greens, citrus zest, and red peppercorns. A very light and delicious “sashimi salad.”

Toro tartar with caviar. A takao (and Nobu) classic.

Baracuda with ginger, scallions, in a light ponzu. This is not normally my favorite fish, but this preparation was very nice, with a light hint of char on the partially cooked fish.

Grilled Alaskan king crab legs. A sprig of pickled ginger. Very fresh and not frozen tasting, but the sweet vinegar sauce (in the back) totally made the dish.

A classic Japanese style unami flavor. A autumn broth of three kinds of mushrooms and some kind of light fish. The two sauces were a sour plum sauce (I think traditional with this fish) and a really tasty vinegary ponzu.

Sweet Santa Barabara prawn and asparagus tempura. The batter had little crispy riceballs in it which gave the whole thing a different texture. Plus there was both curry salt and sea salt and the traditional tempura sauce for dipping.

Salmon slices, marinated in a miso broth, served sizzling hot in this cast iron pan. You could cook as little or much as you liked. The sweet miso sauce was very tasty too.

A sushi flight. Starting at the left: red snapper, gizzard shad, blue fin tuna, toro, and in front, Santa Barbara uni (sea urchin).

Clam miso. Like regular miso, but with an extra hint of brine.

And for dessert, green tea creme brule with strawberries. It’s very green, with a fairly intense creamy tea flavor.

This was probably my best official omakase at Takao yet (and it’s always good). A very nice meal.

Check out other Takao reviews: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

For more LA area sushi, see here.

By: agavin
Comments (6)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Alaskan king crab fishing, Dessert, fish, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Omakase, Restaurants and Bars, Sashimi, Sea urchin, Sushi, Takao, toro, Zest (ingredient)

Eating Santa Margherita – Antonios

Jul30

Restaurant: Antonios

Location: Santa Margherita, Italy

Date: June 27, 2011

Cuisine: Ligurian

Rating: Best we had in Liguria

ANY CHARACTER HERE

I did my best at internet research to pick this restaurant in the heart of “downtown” Santa Margherita. It was #2 on TripAdvisor. Now this is a review source that I take with a block of salt, but in reading the reviews I got the feeling I’d like the place — and I was right.

You can see a hint of the quaint little garden inside. Like the rest of Liguria it was a little steamy, even late at night (the weather was 88 degrees and 100% humidity, shades of my youth in Virginia).

The “pre-bread” which look like donut balls but tasted salty — and delicious. After all, they were fried.

The regular bread.

We started with a romantic glass of “special cocktail,” which was probably more or less a Kir Royale.

A special appetizer of raw seafood. Two types of prawn, tuna tartar, and some yellowtail like lighter fish. It was all delicious and exceedingly fresh.

Another nice local white.

This was a marvelous example of a very traditional ligurian pasta. Cheese inside, with “salsa con le noci” which is a pesto of walnuts, milk, butter, flour and pepper. Totally delicious.

An unusual “seafood lasagna.” This was a fairly typical lasagna with a kind of lobster/shrimp ragu. Also wonderful.

Branzino Genovese. Fresh local sea-bass baked with a thin scallop of potatoes.

This was a fairly simple meal, and only for two (so less photos) but the food was pretty impeccable, showing a light seafoody Italian with just a hint of modernity. All very much to my taste. Bravo.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Antonios, Cinque Terre, Cooking, eating-italy, fish, Italian cuisine, Italy, Liguria, Olive oil, pasta, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Margherita Ligure, TripAdvisor, Virginia

Eating Colle di Val d’Elsa – Arnolfo

Jul09

Restaurant: Arnolfo Ristorante

Location: Colle di Val d’Elsa , Italy

Date: June 16 & 23, 2011

Cuisine: Tuscan

Rating: Awesome, but hard to find

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Just fifteen minutes from our villa and Siena lies the city of Colle di Val d’Elsa and its two star rated Michelin restaurant, Arnolfo. So we went twice! This is an amazing restaurant in a gorgeous location atop the old city. The rub, however, is getting there. The first time the GPS insisted we drive into a masonry wall (closed road). We gave up with that, parked, and ended up walking over a mile, including taking the elevator up to the old city. The walk back wasn’t no fun either and the staff told us that to actually drive here you have to go 6km out of your way to the next town and then come back by one particular approach — but then there is no parking in the old city.

So the next time, feeling all smart, I tried to park in the “close” (only 500m) lot below the old city. But the first entrance I tried was so narrow that I almost got stuck and had to back up my 9 seater van down 200m of alley and around a 90 degree turn — only took 30 minutes and soaked through my suit in the 88 degree humid weather. Then we had to hike up the half mile.

But it was worth it.

They have a gorgeous patio which far from “being in the middle of a city” looks out on the Tuscan hillside.

Even the non-view direction is lovely.

Grissini, first of several bread courses.

The menu on June 16 (the last of the “spring menu”).

And the new “summer” menu on June 23, as we luckily straddled the change.

Compari and soda.

Stating with a little prosecco to cool off.

In the glass.

Then comes a tray of amuses. From left to right. Green pea mouse, tomato stuffed with mozzarella, apple disc with prawn, veal croquet, and gorgonzola and fig jam sandwich. These were all good, but the last was incredible.

Like most great restaurants Arnolfo caters to every restriction. This is a variant amuse plate for vegetarians.

For example this beet and goat cheese mini.

Bread course number two, tomato bread and with lardo (sliver of pig fat).

And for those not so into the pig, the one on the right is onion.

Nor are the gluten free left out. Various potato and rice triscuits!

I’ve come to like Vernaccia, which is a D.O.C. white from San Gimignano. Very light, but with more flavor than a Pinot Grigio.

“Scampi, Goose Liver Escalope, Strawberries.”

“Sea Bass, Strawberries.” A variant for the shellfish impaired.

My notes failed me a little here, but I think it’s some kind of fish (possibly a pork belly though) in a pea soup.

Heads up, bread course three!

“Red mullets, Peas, Silver skin Onions.”

“Asparagus, Ricotta Cheese, Eggs.” Now this was an interesting dish. The white asparagus were grilled and wrapped in pancetta (bacon). The white and yellow stuff is deconstructed egg (yolk and white as powder). The ricotta is in the upper right and was delicious. The powder wasn’t as successful as the bonus egg, shown below.

This is more or less a coddled egg. I dipped the asparagus for extra umph.

This was a small production local Chianti Classico that the sommeler recommended. Good too, and like 30E. Try to find a decent wine at that price at a French 2 star!

“Guinea-Fowl, Chick-peas, I.G.P. Tuscan Ham.” Good stuff.

“Spinach soup with sea bass, tomato.”

“Perlina Aubergines, Tomato, Watermelon, Buffalo Mozzarella I.G.P.”

“Prawns, Peaches, Yellow Pepper.” Yummy. The pairing of the delicate shellfish was delicious with both the fruit and the peppers.

Arnolfo has very nice presentation, which I couldn’t photo every aspect of.

“Goose Liver, Red Onions, Spices, Cherries.” Oh wow yum. And that is some kind of cheese foam/ice cream on top. This was really good stuff.

And two extra goose liver preps for good measure. A sort of Napoleon and a little pistachio coated truffle, solid fois inside.

“Rabbit, Bloack Olives, Ratatouille.” Not your everyday Ratatouille. Notice the white asparagus too.

“Turbot with mozzerella.”

“Tortelli with chicken from Val d’Orcia, with asparagus and red pepper soup.” These are serious homemade pastas.

“Tortelli, Red Onions from Certaldo, White Beans from Sorana.”

“Mezzelune pasta, Courgettes flowers, Wedge shells.”

“Tagliolini, Rabbit, Black Olives.” In the front, out of focus, are discs of rabbit meat to go with the chunks of bunny in the pasta.

“Ravioli, Aubergines, Ewe’s Ricotta, Red Pepper.”

Gluten free pasta too!

“The 2006 Badia a Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva is a pretty, juicy red laced with cherries, dried flowers, tobacco and underbrush. The tannins dry out a touch on the finish, which is the only thing that keeps the score from going higher. Still, this forward, fruit-driven Chianti should drink nicely over the next few years. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2016. “

“Cod, with onions.” And some other stuff.

“Fish soup, Crustaceans, Mollucs, Vegetables.”

“John Dory, Asparagus, Datterini Tomatoes, Capers from Pantelleria.”

“Dentex, Gazpacho, Aubergines.”

“Swordfish, Roasted Peppers, Candied Tomatoes.” You can see that each dish is quite complex.

A brunello recommended by the sommelier.

“I.G.P. Chianina Veal Steak and cheek.”

“I.G.P. Chianina Veal Tartar and vegetables.”

I didn’t used to be into tartar, but it’s really been growing on me over the last several years. Quail egg on top.

“I.G.P. Chiania Veal Steak, Potatoes.”

“Cinta Senese Suckling Pig, Porchetta, Leg, Loin, Leaf Cabbage, Beetroots.”

This town evidently produces 14% of the world’s crystal. Italian shopping hours being what they are, despite three visits, we never saw one open.

Ah the suffering involved in dining in one of the world’s great wine regions. 93 points from Parker. “Consulting oenologist Carlo Ferrini has turned out a beautiful wine at this historic estate, a property which he speaks of in effusive terms. Talenti’s sublime 2001 Brunello Pian di Conte exhibits a deep, translucent ruby color. It opens with captivating, vibrant aromatics, with notes of freshly cut roses, raspberries and licorice. Gorgeously expressive yet delicate on the palate, it offers layers of dark fruit, earthiness and sweet oak supported by a refined, classic structure, with exceptional length and fine, silky tannins on the fresh finish. It is a superb effort. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2021.”

We are assaulted by a battery of pre-desserts. Vanilla ice cream with cherry rhubarb “soup.”

“Almond Mascarpone, pistachio ice cream.”

“Ricotta Cheese, Orange, Honey.” Tart and sweet.

“Selection of Tuscan Sheep’s-milk and Goat’s-milk Cheeses.”

And some nice condiments.

I can’t even remember what this one was.

“Zuccotto, Star Anis, Coffee, Fennel Ice Cream.”

“Grand Dessert Assortment.” Because one isn’t enough. Chocolate cake, Passionfruit sauce. Coffee something. Strawberry flan. A bit of the above Zuccotto, and something else.

“Zuccotto, Pinenuts, Alkermes, Chocolate Sorbet, Fleur del Sel.” The central thing was basically a meringue.

“Fruit and custard mille fueile.”

“Apricots, Almonds, Lavender Ice Cream.”

Worth a bit of zoom.

And this too.

We also had a birthday (mine more or less), so there was this bonus cake!

And just a few petite fours. Lemon jelly in the center. A little fruit tart on the right.

More, on the second night. Berry tart. Ricotta vanilla dome. Pistachio burger. Blackberry mouse. Almond marzipan.

Our second meal here was slightly better than the first for some reason, but both were top notch. Service was spectacular all around. Highly recommended as a very updated medium modernist take on Tuscan cuisine. The quality of local ingredients was impeccable, and they know how to modernize playfully without letting the techniques get out of control.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Arnolfo, beef, Bread, Breadstick, Chianti, Colle di Val d'Elsa, Colle di Val d’Elsa, Cooking, Dessert, eating-italy, fish, Gluten-free diet, GPS, Italian cuisine, Italy, Michelin, Michelin Guide, pasta, pigeon, pork, Shellfish, Tomato, Tuscany, veal

Eating Milano Marittima – Lo Sporting

Jun20

Restaurant: Lo Sporting

Location: Milano Marittima, Italy

Date: June 9, 2011

Cuisine: Trendy Italian

Rating: Decent food, but overpriced

ANY CHARACTER HERE

One of the cool things about the beach town of Cervia / Milano Marittima is that there are a lot of shops and restaurants on a lovely tree lined promenade stretching through town.

Notice how the old Italian Stone Pines grow right through the shops!

We stopped for lunch at a likely looking place called Lo Sporting.

The menu was huge, but I only photoed the part that was relevant. Really we had wanted pizza, and the place had the world “pizzeria” on the sign, but when we sat down they told us that the pizza oven was only available in the evening!

So it had to be pasta. My young son got this garginelli pomodoro.

Grilled tuna in balsamic sauce. They were surprisingly cold, and very rare. The sauce was tasty but I think it might have been better with warm fish and cold sauce.

Spaghetti pomodoro.

Mixed fish. On the left tuna in balsamic, in the back sepia (cuttlefish) in a vinegary sauce, and in the front right some white fish — possibly sardine fillets — marinated. This was all very tasty.

Lightly breaded shrimp and octopus skewers. I didn’t try it, but it was reportedly excellent.

Mozzarella salad.

Afterward we went across the street for some gelato. I often find in Italy that the gelato is much better than the restaurant desserts.

This is hazelnut and bacio (hazelnut chocolate with liqueur).

Coconut and pineapple.

Some chocolate being spooned in. Some of these places have 3-5 different chocolates to chose from!

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cervia, Dessert, eating-italy, fish, Gelato, Ice cream, Italian cuisine, Italy, Milano Marittima, pasta, Pizza, Restaurant, Sauce

Eating Cervia – Locanda dei Salinari

Jun18

Restaurant: Locanda dei Salinari

Location: Cervia, Italy

Date: June 8, 2011

Cuisine: Adriatic Seafood

Rating: Great seafood

ANY CHARACTER HERE

After three days in the Modena/Parma/Bologna area we relocated west to the Adriactic coastal town of cervia/Milano Maritima. While technically still in Emilia-Romagna this is a beach-side community with a much greater emphasis on seafood.

Our first night we check out this Michelin bib-gourmet restaurant.

The menu.

Starting with a nice white.

Note the cool antique interior.

A sub selection of the wine list.

Great breads are an Italian staple.

Carpegna ham and fresh ricotta.

Scallops with grilled tomatos and spring mushrooms.

Local fish crudo. This was super tasty, basically sashimi with a slightly Italian twist.

Some kind of snapper, local giant shrimp.

Some other crustacean (scampi?), and I think a halibut.

Special toast to go with the crudo.

Insalta misto.

Swordfish skewers, with parmesan.

We moved on to a Masi Amarone. I love Amarone, and Masi is one of my favorite vineyards. This was surprisingly cheap too. “The entry-level 2005 Amarone Classico della Valpolicella Costasera is made in a fairly straightforward, fresh style, with perfumed bright red fruit supported by silky tannins. This harmonious red offers excellent depth and lovely balance. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2015.”

A kind of local pasta with fish.

Passatelli with scampi and asparagus. This is a local style of thick worm-like pasta.

Rissotto with peas and raw red shrimps. There was an interesting red sauce in the center that might have been made from their shells or roe.

Rissotto with pheasant.

A zoom-in so that you can all can revel in the rissotto-ness of it all.

Turbot with ricotta and aubergines on potato cake with truffle sauce.

Frito mixto: fried mixed vegetables and fish. These were really lightly friend and delicious, although there was a lot of bone action.

The dessert menu.

Semifreddo of fig ice cream with orange sauce. This was super yummy too, as I particularly love the cool soft texture of semifreddo.

They have a few grappas and the like.

Overall this was a wonderful transition to the more seafood oriented cuisine of the coast. This was a great place.

Click here to see more Eating Italy posts.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cervia, Cooking, Dessert, eating-italy, Emilia Romagna, Emilia–Romagna, fish, Italian cuisine, Italy, Locanda dei Salinari, Michelin, pasta, Sashimi, side dishes, vegetarian

Matsuhisa – The Private Room

May08

Restaurant: Matsuhisa [1, 2]

Location: 129 N La Cienega Blvd Beverly Hills, CA 90211. (310) 659-9639

Date: May 6, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion

Rating: As good as it’s always been!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Some good friends were in town who had never tried Nobu Matsuhisa‘s particular blend of Japanese Peruvian Fusion. As popular as this has become in the last fifteen years, and how every derivative restaurant in America throws a few of his dishes on the menu, the original still rocks. I also scored a Friday night reservation in the coveted and private “Omakase only room,” where his cooking is showcased to the best effect.

The original storefront.

This aged 1st Cru white burgundy from my cellar was the very expression of mature chardonay.

As you can see from the color. This wine is ready, more than ready, as it might have been a tad better two years ago. Still it had a wonderful floral perfume to it.

The private room seats eight, and has it’s own sushi bar and kitchen.

“Seafood springroll with heirloom tomato and caviar.” This is the only repeat of the night, a Matsuhisa classic.Fry is always good, but it’s actually the combination with the spicy tomato chutney/salsa that really sells the dish.

One of the private kitchen chefs working on the appetizers.

Grilling up some conch!

Different members of our party got slightly different versions of this quartet of amuses.

“Seared salmon, new style.” That is with sesame, ponzu, and warm olive oil.

Kanpachi (young yellowtail) with a bit of red peper and ponzu on a radish.

Red snapper carpaccio, with chives, garlic, and vinegar.

A second version of the plate.

Lobster cerviche.

Tai (red snapper) sashimi, new style.

Yellowtail collar marinated in miso (a Nobu classic), baked, and then served with a bit of garlic and texture on letuce. You wrap it up and eat it like a soft taco.

Japanese baby conch, sauteed in garlic butter (escargot style).

The creepy crawly himself. Chewy and a little bitter, in a good way.

Burgundy goes very well with the Matsuhisa flavor profiles. The first time I ever went here, in 1996, I brought a Gros Frere Clos Vougeot. This 2005, Parker gives a 92. “The 2005 Clos Vougeot from Drouhin’s two parcels in that famous cru, is much more earthy and less fine-grained than the majority of their wines from this vintage, but it exhibits impressive concentration. A bone meal-like meld of mineral and meat dominates the nose and suffuses the palate along with black raspberry, plum and cherry fruit accepted by faintly bitter fruit pit notes. This is quite full and rich, but without being heavy; overtly tannic and chewy, but without being coarse. A promising more tart than sweet juiciness of black fruit mingles with roasted meat and stony, chalky minerality in the finish.”

Sashimi salad, with yellowtail, seared blue fin tuna, various dressings, and hearts of palm.

Par boiled Santa Barbara prawn with a tiny bit of salad (including hearts of palm). This was really yummy, even better than the cooked version we had last time. The meat is very sweet and succulent, delicious warm but essentially raw.

Sea bass on a bed of mushroom “risotto” with white truffles. The little spears are pickled ginger shoots.

“Fois gras, seabass, mushrooms, in a very rich reduction sauce.” Very meaty and tasty, the sauce was a pretty awesome blend of all three contributors of yum: salt, sweet, and fatty. The little red fruit is a pickled leeche.

Another very nice, red burgundy, this one (unlike the others) from the restaurant’s list. We drank more than I thought. 🙂

Grilled Toro, with enoki, aspargus, and other mushrooms.

American Kobe Beef with asparagus, garlic, and a spicy sauce and mustard. Really yummy (and rich) dish.

Each person gets a little sushi plate, there were a couple variants, this one has no shellfish.

A version where everything is cooked.

The “normal” plate for those who eat everything.

Chu-toro (medium tuna belly). Perfect!

Kanpachi (young yellowtail). Like butter.

Orange giant clam.

Uni (sea urchin).

Anago (sea eel), in the classic sweet BBQ sauce.

The pretty laquer soup container.

Inside is snapper soup. I haven’t had this one before, although it’s a classic mild Japanese fish broth with cilantro and scallions. The fish is soft mellow whitefish in this context.

My brother got a special surprise, the eye. The chef’s convinced him to try it. “Good for the sinews and joints.”

Taco (octopus). Very tender.

Japanese Sea Scallop sushi, with a bit of yuzu. Always one of my favorite sushis, and this didn’t disappoint.

Kohada (gizzard shard).

Baby squid, battleship style. They’re raw, but tossed in a kind of sweet miso-lemon dressing. Really tasty.

And we finally make it to desserts. Fruit tart with ginger ice cream. This was a total fan fave with the ladies.

Green tea tiramisu with chocolate gelato. Both were good, with the pastry having a nice creaminess and the ice cream a deep richness.

Butterscotch cream brulee with a citrus ice cream. Also really nice and creamy.

Coffee ice cream with chocolate crunch. This was great too, probably my favorite. The crunch added a really nice texture.

Shave ice. Below are a couple balls of vanilla ice cream (very good vanilla ice cream), red bean sauce, and very finely shaved ice.

Then green tea sauce (or maybe just tea) is poured over it. In the end, a very interesting (and Asian) mix of flavors and textures.

Even the urinal is cool.

The main room.

The chefs at work back in our private room/kitchen.

This was probably the best meal I’ve ever had at Matsuhisa, and I’ve had a LOT of great ones. Because I’m jaded now, and used to the cuisine, it wasn’t utterly mind blowing innovative like the first time I ever ate here. But the cooking is as good here as it ever was. Nobu (and his sucessor cooks) still really know their stuff.

For a previous meal at Matsuhisa, see here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beverly Hills California, California, Dessert, fish, Fusion cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Japanese Peruvian, Los Angeles, Matsuhisa, Nobu, Nobu Matsuhisa, Olive oil, Omakase, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sashimi, side dishes, Sushi, vegetarian

The Lobster claws at the pier

May07

Restaurant: The Lobster

Location: 1602 Ocean Ave. Santa Monica, California 90401. 310.458.9294

Date: April 29, 2011

Cuisine: Seafood

Rating: Great view, decent food.

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Every couple months we go to the Lobster. It’s located right at the top of Santa Monica Pier and has a tremendous view of the pier and the ocean, lots of seafood, and a lively scene. It is a little overpriced, but view spots tend to be.

The top of the pier.

The main room inside, with views of the ocean.

The menu.

Typical sour-dour seafood resteraunt bread.

A kind of chimichuri dipping sauce for the bread.

The wine list. I got a couple glasses of the ever reliable J.J. Prum Kabinet Riesling.

“Organic Country Fresh Farms Baby Greens. Fennel, Cherry Tomatoes & Shaved Parmesan with Red Wine Vinaigrette.”

“Manila Clam Chowder. Applewood Smoked Bacon & Weiser Farms Fingerling Potatoes.” This was a slightly different take on the New England clam chowder. I liked the clams in the shell factor, certainly makes it pretty. The broth had a nice flavor, but without the thick creamy whiteness of the totally traditional variant. It was a bit more like a corn chowder, or certain types of traditional Irish soups.

“Grilled Wild Columbian River King Salmon. Coleman Farms Baby Broccoli, Caramelized Onion, Weiser Farms Fingerling Potatoes & Tart Cherry Gastrique.” This would have been good except for the fact that while it was ordered medium well, it was medium-rare, and the pink inside didn’t have the firmness it should, but had turned into that kind of salmon mush. We actually sent it back. Cooked right it would have been fine.

“Butter Poached Lobster. Tutti Fruitti Farms Sweet English Peas, Wild Mushroom Ragout & Lobster Mash.” I usually get this, and there’s a reason. I love lobster. I love buttery bisque-style lobster sauces. I love pees, and mash potatoes go well with all of the above. Really, what’s not to like.

The hopping bar scene. It was even more crowded outside on the patio.

The Lobster is fairly typical of mid-high end ocean-view American places. The food is better than Gladstones (see below), and if you order right can be very good, but it certainly isn’t a stellar kitchen. Still, it can be a fun place and a very enjoyable meal, particularly if you enjoy our favorite North Atlantic crustacean.

For two reviews of Gladstones, check HERE and HERE.

By: agavin
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Sushi Zo

Apr15

Restaurant: Sushi Zo

Location: 9824 National BlvdLos Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 842-3977

Date: April 8, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: Top warm rice style sushi.

LA is a sushi town. I eat a lot of sushi (just take a look at my LA Sushi review page!). People say Zo is the best in town. I finally went.

Unfortuantly, this outside shot is all you get, because they don’t allow photography. Bummer, because the sushi was good.

Zo is omakase only. You sit down. They bring you stuff. They charge you by the piece but don’t really tell you how much. They keep bringing you sushi. Eventually you get full and they hand you a (stiff) bill. It’s closest in style and format to Sasabune (my detailed reviews of that, with photos, HERE and HERE).

This is Osaka-style “warm rice” sushi, like Sasabune, and presumably descended from the same Chef Nozawa source. The individual pieces are made one at a time, no precutting, and given to you in a hurry. The fish is superlative, although each piece seems to have been placed in a miniaturization machine set to 70%. I’ve never seen sushi this small. This was particularly humorous when it came to the “battleship” style ones like Uni (sea urchin). They just looked so cute and diminutive (maybe 50-60% size for these). But I’m not sure this size issue resulted directly in less value. At the end I was still just as full as at Sasabune, although it cost perhaps 10-20% more. I perhaps had more pieces numerically. But each was certainly smaller.

The fish was a bit better than Sasabune, and certainly better than Echigo. The preps are very similar, with 90% being “no soy sauce” — a fact of which we were emphatically reminded each and every time. There was a lot of use of vinegar, yuzu and other brightening flavors. I do like these, but I think it did tend to distract slightly from the fish — which was stellar.

The chef had a bit of an attitude. Bordering on brusk. First the no camera bit. Then the sushi-nazi style directions on the table about proper sushi etiquette, the hurried pace, and the “no soy sauce” or “yes soy sauce” commands — barked.

But food wise, this is overall the best warm-rice style sushi I’ve had in recent years. I really should go back to Nozawa, but it’s been way too long for me to give him proper perspective.

But I’m thinking I prefer Sushi Sushi (reviews HERE, HERE, and HERE). The deal is a little better, it has more variety of style, the fish is just as good, and I prefer the more traditional Tokyo (cold rice) style, the friendly chefs, and the emphasis on the taste of the fish.

For more sushi reviews, check out my LA Sushi page.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: fish, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Osaka, raw fish, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Rice, Sashimi, Sea urchin, Soy sauce, Sushi, Sushi Sushi, Sushi Zo, Uni

Food as Art – Sushi Sushi

Feb13

Restaurant: Sushi Sushi [1, 2, 3, 4]

Location: 326 1/2 Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 277-1165

Date: February 11, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Old school sushi – fantastic fish and presentation!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Last week I ate at this new (to me) sushi place in Beverly Hills, the redundantly named, “Sushi Sushi.” It was great but I didn’t have my camera. So with a bit of arm twisting — not — I convinced my brother to head back for a repeat.

The storefront, on Beverly Dr just south of Wilshire.

A small subset of the sushi bar. “Sushi sushi” is a pretty old-school looking Japanese place inside. Small room, small tables, and a sushi bar of about 12-15 seats. We decided to get the middle Omakase and let the chef work his magic.

He started out with this sashimi plate!

Ankimo (monkfish liver), with scallions and pickles in a ponzu. Perfectly fresh, with that rich creamy texture that it’s supposed to have, a hint of grainy, a hint of fishy, but very mild (no such thing as monkfish liver with NO taste of the sea — what would be the point of that?)

Perfect Santa Barbara Uni (sea urchin) on a bed of soft Ika (squid). A bit of wasabi mixed with something, and some sauce (had a little citrus in it I think). Both fishes are sweet, with the uni being delectably so. The squid was very soft with that slightly pasty texture squid is supposed to have. While this is not a dish for the land-lubber, it was awesome!

Fresh raw Hama oysters, with a bit of soy vinaigrette. Yum too.

My brother isn’t so into the Uni, so he got sweet shrimp instead.

Blue fin tuna. The chef here “pre-sauces” the fish, so no soy sauce is needed. In this case it’s already been put on. I had this done a number of times in Japan, and at high end places here like Urwasawa (HERE FOR REVIEW). The tuna melted in the mouth. Sushi Sushi uses big pieces of fish and a small ball of rice too. The rice is traditional, not the warm rice favored by Sasabune (HERE FOR REVIEW).

Tai (Red Snapper), with a slightly citrusy sauce. This is a lighter fish, but I’m very partial to it.

After this we had another course pairing a piece of Chu-toro (medium grade fatty tuna belly) and a piece of Kampachi (young yellowtail). Tragically, somehow I forgot to photograph it. /cry /cry

The toro was soft and delicious, the kampachi firmer, but also very tasty, just not nearly as rich.

The chu-toro was just a warmup for this o-toro, the even more fatty toro. It melted in the mouse like butter. Always one of my (and everyone else’s) favorites.

Then there was a piece of scottish salmon which I also missed a photo of. Maybe I’m going crazy, maybe it was just the hangover from Saam the night before, I don’t know. In any case it was one of the best pieces of salmon I’ve ever had.

And another missed one, aji (Spanish Mackerel), with only the very slightest bit of fishy. Again, a great mackerel.

And a fourth miss. Kohada (Japanese Herring) I swear I photoed these, but they’re not on my camera. This was great herring, but is certainly a bit fishy — herring always is.

Saba mackerel, not as good as the Spanish one, but nothing to mock either.

Another sashimi course. Sweet shrimp, Japanese scallop, giant clam, and taco (octopus). Are were prefect examples of the breed, and doused with a little bit of yuzu (just the fruit, not with the pepper) to test them up.

My brother got albacore.

Kampachi cheek. This was marinated in one of those sweet broths I would frequently get in Japan. There was a bit of bone but the meat was incredibly soft (consistency like tuna fish?) and delectable. I really enjoyed the heavily marinated root vegetable. I don’t remember what these are, but I’d get them in Japan all the time.

Asari miso (clam broth miso soup). This is a very light miso, with a clam brothy quality. Not too salty, very nice.

They say you should judge a sushi chef by his tamago (sweet omelet). By those standards Sushi Sushi rules.

Ikura (salmon roe). Perfectly fresh, with just the slightest hint of brine (good). Wonderfully taught, they explode in the mouth like little brine balls.

Uni (sea urchin) sushi. I can’t get enough of this. It amazes me to think that even just a couple years ago (bear in mind that I have been eating sushi since 1978) I didn’t like the stuff.

Seared Japanese scallop.

Diced Toro handroll. This had yellow pickles and shiso leaf inside, which added texture and the exotic and wonderful flavor of the leaf.

Unagi (Fresh water eel). BBQ, with the sweet eel sauce. This was some damn fine eel, as good a piece as I’ve had.

Our chef. I think he’s been working the knives for a while.

The omakase included dessert, this concoction of fruit, green tea ice cream, green tea panna cotta, sweet bean sauce, and whipped cream. Oh yes, and with a “mens pocky” as garnish and corn flakes underneath. Pretty good, and all Japanese.

Sushi sushi is a new favorite place of mine. This place is GOOD! Not only because the fish is totally delectable, but because it offers that relative rarity now in LA, the “traditional sushi bar.” I like the warm rice Nozawa/Sasabune school and the modern Nobu school, but there is something satisfying about the original.

A second and third Sushi Sushi meal review can be found HERE and HERE.

Or for the LA sushi index, HERE.