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Archive for Morihiro Onodera

Hard to Find – Inn Ann

Jan06

Restaurant: Inn Ann

Location: 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. (323) 677-5557 (inside Hollywood & Highland)

Date: November 19, 2019

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: Great sushi, hard to find

_

We Foodie Club guys always like to try great sushi, so when we heard that Mori — founder of Mori Sushi — had taken up in Hollywood, off we went (took a bit of rescheduling too).
7U1A2062
Translating to “hidden retreat,” INN ANN offers a high-end, seasonal Japanese tasting menu dining experience within JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles, evoking a serene sanctuary on the fifth floor of the bustling Hollywood & Highland. Bringing a taste of Japan to Hollywood, the innovative new dining room fosters discovery and curiosity, showcasing Japanese culture, traditions, and rich heritage through the lens of its cuisine. Rooted in the revered Japanese culinary philosophy, the menu incorporates local ingredients embracing Californian farmers’ market elements.

7U1A2059-Pano
They weren’t kidding about the hidden retreat — Japan House is located in the deepest hardest to reach bowels of the top floor of the super annoying to reach and park at Hollywood & Highland. Past the junk shops and box stores and Forever 21, way up top, behind the elephants.
7U1A2061
Then you must progress down a service coordidor into a realm you suspect that no one but mall staff ever go, beyond trash dumpsters to your sanctuary.
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And while the build out is gorgeous, spacious, and sports a lovely Hollywood view there isn’t even a bathroom. You have to hike back through the strange Japanese library in Japan House proper. Very weird.
7U1A2066-Pano
But it is chic (although not crowded. haha).
7U1A2065
An esteemed sushi master, Chef Mori Onodera once told Los Angeles Magazine, “Rice is 70 percent, fish is 30 percent,” highlighting the importance he places on the quality of the rice he serves. He grows his own short grain rice in partnership with Tamaki Farms in Uruguay, further establishing his renown as a rice connoisseur. Chef Onodera also meticulously sources fresh fish for his signature sushi, placing a major emphasis on sustainable seafood. At INN ANN, Chef Onodera brings his expertise in sushi and rice to the table, as well as a singular “mobile” sushi cart of his own design.
7U1A2064
The menu is omakase. We just told Mori to bring us everything!
7U1A2082
Erick brought: 1993 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. JG 92+. I have drunk a few magnums of the 1993 Dom Pérignon to start off tastings in the last handful of months and this is at a lovely place in its evolution at age twenty-five. This is not a great vintage of DP, but a very good one that has retained a nice sense of its “good green” personality, as it offers up an aromatically complex mix of green apple, menthol, stony minerality, lime peel and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied and still quite steely in personality, with a good core, elegant mousse and lovely grip and cut on the long, complex and energetic finish. This was a slightly leaner vintage of Dom Pérignon in its youth and it has retained this personality as it has started to blossom, but it remains a fine drink with a long future ahead of it. (Drink between 2018-2040)
7U1A2091
Tofu and wasabi.
7U1A2094
Then covered in special soy sauce. Simple, but scrumptious. Gorgeous soft tofu texture.
7U1A2118-Edit
Japanese seaweed, Japanese sunchoke, Pumpkin, Mountain peach, blanched peanut,  chestnut, burdock, eggplant. The giant bowl of Japanese veggies. Kinda nice and very Japanese tasting.
7U1A2123
Sunomono. Red clam. Cucumber. Japanese shallot. I always love marinated stuff, particularly with the sweet rice vinegar typical of sunomono.
7U1A2134
Sashimi. Buri. Japanese mackerel. Saba. Maybe some clam thing.
7U1A2141
Dobin mushi. Seasonal soup. Harvest season. Matsutake mushroom. Fried shrimp ball. Rock fish. Mitsuba. Ginko nuts. Slightly Smokey. This was one of those really like Japanese mushroom broths with a bit of seafood flavor (from the shrimp ball) and a good dose of Japanese citrus.
7U1A2083
Larry brought: 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.
7U1A2151
Grilled King crab. Grilled Yellowtail. Wild arugula.
7U1A2160
Tempura. Abalone. Abalone liver. Shisito. Baby corn. Mission figs. Matcha salt. Very rich and delicious.
7U1A2168
The Matcha salt and tempura sauce.
7U1A2171
A5 wagyu. Wasabi. Purple Okinawa. Homemade radish pickles. 2 year old yuzu kosho. The yuzu kosho and wasabi stands in for “mustard” with the beef.
7U1A2084
Erick brought: 2008 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. BH 94. Readers may remember that last year the ’08 Combettes had not even started its malo at the time of my February visit (more than 16 months after the harvest!) and thus it was not rated. Well, I am very happy to report that it has turned out marvelously well with an ultra-fresh nose of mildly exotic yellow orchard fruit aromas trimmed in floral and wood components. There is excellent richness, size, weight and punch to the medium weight plus flavors that brim with dry extract that both coats the palate and buffers the very firm acidity on the driving, even explosive finish that is stunningly long. This is quite simply an extraordinary wine and it is not an exaggeration to say that the ’08 is the best young Leflaive Combettes that I have ever seen.
7U1A2181
Really good homemade ginger.
7U1A2184
Tai snapper. Sea bream from Japan. Wasabi.
7U1A2187
Needle fish from Japan.
7U1A2189
Chu-toro.
7U1A2194
Marinated Kohada.
7U1A2195
Aji. Spanish Mackerel.
7U1A2198
Marinated tuna from New Jersey.
7U1A2202
Ikura (salmon eggs).
7U1A2147
From my cellar: 2008 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet. BH 91-94. A subtle touch of pain grillé highlights citrus notes that, like the Pucelles, exhibit hints of honeysuckle and fennel nuances that complement perfectly the textured, rich and sweet medium plus weight flavors that are quite supple yet remain detailed, energetic and strikingly long on the explosive finish. This is a relatively powerful Bienvenues. In a word, terrific. (Drink starting 2018)
7U1A2207
Santa Barbara Uni (sea urchin).
7U1A2210
Hokkaido Uni.
7U1A2216
Golden snapper. Seared skin. Nice smoked seared taste.
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Special sea eel.
7U1A2221
Lovely bowl.
7U1A2224
Contains miso soup. Nice dashi flavor.
7U1A2229
Clam and Cucumber roll.
7U1A2230
Dashi whitefish shrimp tamago. Salty version, not sweet at all.
7U1A2234
Chu toro again. How could we not.
7U1A2235
Buri belly from Hokkaido.
7U1A2240
Persimmon. Fruit.
7U1A2247
This pair of gelati I made for my son’s birthday:

House favorite and my son’s birthday pick: Triple Chocolate Cloud – As usual the base is made with Valrhona 62% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache and the rotating ingredient is crushed Oreos — 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 #Valrhona #chocolate #creamcheese #ganache #icing #Oreos

Strawberries and Cream Gelato — A dairy strawberry base with Avignon Strawberries plus Strawberry Jam Ripples and Strawberry Wafer Cookies — 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 #strawberry #cream #jam #wafer #cookies

simple but awesome.
7U1A2239
Chef Mori.

Hard to find place, but outstanding sushi. Some of the best classic sushi in LA. Pricey, as it always is, but worth it. Mori is one of the local masters.

NOTE: apparently as of 12/31/19 Inn Ann is now closed. Perhaps the ridiculously weird location didn’t help! I’m glad we got to go!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for epic Foodie Club meals, here.

Related posts:

  1. The Valley’s Secret Sushi|Bar
  2. Chateau Hanare — Death Free
  3. Hayato Redux
  4. Last Minute Shunji
  5. Second Kass
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Champagne, Dom Pérignon (wine), Foodie Club, Gelato, Hollywood, Japanese cuisine, Morihiro Onodera, Omakase, Sushi, White Burgundy

Mori Sushi – A Top Contender

Sep17

Restaurant: Mori Sushi [1, 2]

Location: 11500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. 310.479.3939

Date: September 14, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: Top sushi, but not cheap

_

In a town full of top grade sushi, Mori Sushi is consistently regarded as one of the best. It has it’s own particular style, somewhere between the Osaka school types like Sasabune and the classic Sushi Sushi.


The interior and sushi bar.

The following meal represents the “Omakase” the largest and most expensive ($170) of the chef’s options. Several truncated or more sushi centric variants are available. This is basically a series of hot dishes followed by flights of sushi.


Kohlrabi greens.


Housemade tofu, with homemade wasabi and soy. This is the soft silken tofu that I’ve had a number of times recently, like at Moko and Ozumo. This particular example was very nice and light.


Sashimi. Left to right: marinated sardines, abalone liver, baby abalone with yuzu/pepper sauce, shitake mushroom, pike eel jelly, marinated Japanese onion, and Japanese okra. The sardines were really good and sweet. The liver reach, like an ugly blob of chicken liver. The abalone tender. And the jelly like a cube of flavorless jello.


One of those subtle Japanese soups. Pike eel (the white stuff), yuzu (the green sliver), and Japanese eggplant.


Santa Barbara sweet shrimp (with the roe), red peppercorns, and in front: scallop, halibut, and octopus sashimi. All this is dressed “new style” with a bit of olive oil and pepper. The shrimp was very sweet and tasty.


Uni (sea urchin) tempura with salt. I forgot to photo it, but this photo is of the same dish at a different restaurant. It was nearly identical, and very good.


Halibut with kelp on the left. Seki buri (wild yellowtail) on the right. Both solid “normal” fishes of extremely high quality.


Big eye chu-toro on the left and blue-fun toro on the right. Yum!


Kohada (Shad gizzard) on the left, pickled in vinegar, and Spanish Mackerel on the right. Also very nice fish.


Grilled baby barracuda on the left with a really nice charred flavor and mirugai (geoduck jumbo clam) with miso sauce on the right.


An uni (sea urchin) duo. Santa Barbara on the left (sweeter), Hokkaido in the middle (very fine also) and very fresh Ikura (salmon roe) with yuzu zest on the right.


Tamago (sweet omelet) on the left and anago (sea eel) on the right, grilled, with a bit of BBQ sauce. The eel had strong grill flavors and less of the cloying (but yummy) sweet sauce than usual.


Toro cut roll. Soft and velvety.


A pair of homemade ice creams for dessert. This is sesame, which tasted it but was a bit gritty and not very creamy.


And ginger ice cream which was very soft and pleasant, like a french vanilla with a ginger kick.


Hojicha, roasted green tea to finish.

Overall, I found Mori Sushi to be top notch. But it’s not cheap (not in the least). The ingredients are top notch and you pay for it. It has a subtle restrained style. I slightly prefer Sushi Sushi with it’s larger pieces or Go Sushi with it’s more over the top flavors. It hands down beats out Sushi Zo in my opinion. Certainly Mori is in the top five or so places in town — and that’s saying a lot as LA is unquestionably the best place in America for sushi.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

Morihiro Onodera (old owner) in the palm shirt. Masanori Nagano left (new owner).

Related posts:

  1. Sushi Sushi Sushi
  2. Food as Art – Sushi Sushi
  3. Takao Sushi Taking Off!
  4. Sushi Sushi – Small Omakase
  5. Sushi Sushi = Yummy Yummy
By: agavin
Comments (9)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Asian, Atlantic Spanish mackerel, California, Caviar, Dessert, Japanese cuisine, Los Angeles, Masanori Nagano, Mori Sushi, Morihiro Onodera, Omakase, Ozumo, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Restaurants and Bars, Roe, Sashimi, Sea urchin, Sushi, tempura, Tofu
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