Nobu :: All Things Andy Gavin

Archive for Nobu

Nobu Malibu Now

Feb18

Restaurant: Nobu Malibu [1, 2, 3]

Location: 22706 Pacific Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90265. (310) 317-9140

Date: February 16, 2016

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion

Rating: Maintains it’s very high standards, and price.

My brother’s birthday again served as the occasion for some fine eating — this time sending us back to Nobu Malibu.

The various Nobus represent the corporate version of the Japanese-Peruvian fusion begun by Nobu Matsuhisa at his eponymous Matsuhisa (REVIEW HERE). While not quite as inventive as the original, the Xerox job is pretty darn good. Food quality is extremely high and highly consistant. The atmosphere is fun. The only deficit is the price, which is perhaps 40-50% higher than most similar restaurants, like say Takao (REVIEW HERE). And it’s not like these are cheap either!

The new location is really quite stunning. The outside is covered on 2-3 sides with couches and tables. Too bad it’s so cold along the ocean in Malibu, on all but the warmest of summer nights, even the heat lamps aren’t enough to make those girls in their little dresses comfortable.

The inside looks great too, and it’s huge!

And an inside/outside patio covered in heat lamps.

I forgot to photo the menu, but I’ll discuss for a second as they have mixed it up, splitting many sections into two halves, “nobu now” and “nobu classic”. This is a nice idea as the kitchen has developed the theme considerably in the now section, but allows all those old favorites when you feel like it. I tried to lean “new” tonight (to good effect).

2006 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons. VM 95. The 2006 Brut Cuvée Spéciale Les Chétillons wraps around the palate and never lets up. Apricot, peaches, wild flowers, butter and spices all flesh out in a dramatic, structured Champagne endowed with tons of pure energy and volume. Stylistically the 2006 brings together the opulence of the 2002 with the minerality and cut of 2004, a great combination in my book.

Grilled Shishito Pepper with Sweet Den Miso. Nice texture and both sweet and a touch spicy. A big upgrade over edamame in my book.

Whitefish mini taco.

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno. The total Nobu classic, but it still holds it’s own. This version is as good as any i’ve had.

Tai Sweet Shiso with Crispy Shiitake. Despite the almost outrageous $32 for the dish, the sauce and crunchy mushroom were amazing — certainly drowning out the red snapper. Really nice flavor profile and quite strong.

A Matsuhisa classic, Toro tartar with caviar and a miso ponzu. I’ve always loved the combo of the rich fatty toro and the acidic punch of the sauce. This theme of adding acidity to the fish is a consistent one.

Albacore with Meyer Lemon. A little less sexy, but certainly nice.

Kanpachi Basil with Roccoto Soy. Packing more “new style” punch. Lots of flavor again.

Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce. More classic. I’ve always loved these little fellows. Basically the normal Shrimp Tempura, but heavily sauced, and in smaller bite sized chunks. Addictive, but eat quickly before it sogs up.

1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. 92 points. An earthy medium-to-heavy weight Burgundy, with tastes packed with tar, tobacco, forest floor, mushroom and dark cherry. The fruitiness has mostly disappeared, and is replaced by a solid backbone redolent of the grape’s mother soil. Worth drinking to experience the capabilities of a well-aged burgundy.

Special fish and chips for my son! Cool looking F&C! Tempura too. Big win for drumming this up.

Black Cod with Miso. Another Nobu classic, and delicious as always.

Special. Lobster (and vegetable) tempura with black truffles. There were a bunch of greens and some ponzu, and the tempura went surprisingly excellently with the truffles. Really very tasty.

Ribeye with Truffle Butter Sauce and crispy onions. This is the way I like my steak, hidden under some crispy fries! Meat was super soft and flavorful too!

Our sushi plate. There is Hamachi (yellowtail), salmon, toro, scallop, freshwater eel, and uni.

The dessert menu.

For the birthday boy, Warm Chocolate Souffle Cake. Matcha ice cream.

Banana Miso Bar. Milk Chocolate. Hazelnut. Coffee.

White Chocolate Namelaka. Grapefruit. Shiso. Strawberry. Sounded great, but while fine, it was basically panna cotta with fruit.

Hazelnut Cookie. Vanilla. Caramel. These were little ice cream sandwiches and really good.

Overall, the food is just like is always was here at Nobu. The atmosphere is stellar and it would be really cool to eat outside on a hot summer night (although they don’t usually serve dinner outside due to the cold). There must be an army in the kitchen too because the stuff appeared minutes after we ordered (except for the sushi). All in all, it’s a great experience, if a tad manufactured and divorced from its chef driven origins.

Service was excellent. We had a birthday, a young child, a gluten free person, and they handled it all nicely.

However, the chef du cuisine has been busy over the last 2-3 years, as the new dishes were plentiful and they really stood out flavor-wise. They still have that same basic technic of piling together sashimi, or tempura with various Peruvian / Japanese sauces, but the flavor profiles have broadened out, pulling in more eclectic elements for a lot of flavor punch. The Shiso Tai and Truffle Lobster really stood out.

Worth noting. Nobu is expensive. This meal for five adults was $650ish before tax and tip.

Check out more LA Sushi places I’ve reviewed here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Nobu, Nobu Malibu, Sushi, Wine

The New Nobu

Jul02

Restaurant: Nobu Malibu [1, 2, 3]

Location: 22706 Pacific Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90265. (310) 317-9140

Date: May 29, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion

Rating: Maintains it’s very high standards, and price.

In my continuing quest to eat the oceans of the earth clean in the form of sushi I returned to one of my “old” haunts, Nobu Malibu — but in it’s new glamorous ocean-side location.

The inside looks great too, and it’s huge!

Just two of several wood lined chambers.

And an inside/outside patio covered in heat lamps.

2003 Domaine de la Vougeraie Vougeot Clos du Prieuré. 90 points. Pleasant wine, golden hued with a clear ring around the base. Sticky pitted fruit and white florals on the nose, with a bit of light oak. Wet slate minerals also pleasant on the nose. Lower in acids than some newer vintages, but it does still make my mouth water. There is a pleasant mouth feel, with the orchard fruits joined with some nuttiness and wood. More like a West Coast wine than and aged bourgogne blanc. I wouldn’t think this refreshing as some whites, but enticing nevertheless. Decent fruit on the finish with that touch of acid keeping my mouth wanting something wet to refresh it.

“Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno.” The total Nobu classic, but it still holds it’s own. This version is as good as any i’ve had.

A Matsuhisa classic, “Toro tartar with caviar and a miso ponzu.” I’ve always loved the combo of the rich fatty toro and the acidic punch of the sauce. This theme of adding acidity to the fish is a consistant one.

“Miso Soup.” Classic, and as expected.

Special “salmon sashimi” with ponzu, onion, and mayo. Very tasty.

“Red snapper carpaccio” with ponzu, salt, and a bit of chili. Great, but a little salty.

2009 Raul Pérez Rías Baixas Muti. IWC 91. Bright yellow-gold. Deeply pitched aromas of smoky lees, bergamot, apricot pit and salty minerals. Viscous, palate-coating orchard and pit fruit flavors are enlivened by juicy acidity and complemented by honeysuckle and a hint of spun sugar. Wild, complex and singular wine with strong finishing cut and sappy persistence. This is far removed from your classic albarino.

“Sashimi Salad.” Another Nobu classic. The dressing has this nice flavor and texture I’ve always liked, and the mildly seared tuna is succulent. The overall salad is a bit salty, but Japanese cuisine usually is.

“Lobster taco.” Slightly underwhelming.

“Tuna taco.”

“Tai sweet shiso with cripsy shiitake.” Tasty and crunchy.

“Cauliflower special.”

“Shrimp Tempura with Ponzu Sauce.” More classics. I’ve always loved these little fellows. Basically the normal Shrimp Tempura, but pre sauced, and in smaller bite sized chunks. Addictive, but eat quickly before it sogs up.

“Black Cod with Miso.” Another Nobu classic, and delicious as always.

Our sushi plate. There is Tamago (egg), salmon, albacore, scallop, freshwater eel, and king crab.

Our dessert spread.

“Chocolate and banana spring rolls,” plus various ice creams and sauces, a crepe.

And this “coffee shaved ice” with coffee cake crumble and coffee/chocolate sauce.

The only problem: the price. Nobu is expensive. This meal for four was $600 with tax and tip. Given that the food isn’t that far off from Paiche, it hardly deserves to be three times as expensive!

Check out more LA Sushi places I’ve reviewed here.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Dessert, Japanese cuisine, Japanese Peruvian, Malibu, Nobu, Nobu Malibu, Nobu Matsuhisa

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
Comments (5)

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

Food as Art – Nobu

Feb19

Restaurant: Nobu Malibu [1, 2, 3]

Location: 3835 Cross Creek Road # 18, Malibu, CA 90265 (310) 317-9140

Date: February 16, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese Fusion

Rating: Maintains it’s very high standards, and price.

In my continuing quest to eat the oceans of the earth clean in the form of sushi I returned to one of my “old” haunts, Nobu Malibu. The various Nobus represent the corporate version of the Japanese-Peruvian fusion begun by Nobu Matsuhisa at his eponymous Matsuhisa (REVIEW HERE). While not quite as inventive as the original, the Xerox job is pretty darn good. Food quality is extremely high and highly consistant. The atmosphere is fun. The only deficit is the price, which is perhaps 40-50% higher than most similar restaurants, like say Takao (REVIEW HERE). And it’s not like these are cheap either!

From my cellar, parker gives this Rhone white 94 points. “The 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape blanc (80% Roussanne and the rest Marsanne, Picpoul, and Bourboulenc) possesses classic notes of orange marmalade, honeysuckle, and rose petals, a full-bodied, unctuous texture, gorgeous purity and richness, and a stunningly long finish. It can compete with the finest full-throttle, dry whites of France as well as the world. It is difficult to find a better white Chateauneuf du Pape than Beaucastel. Much like their reds, their whites are made in a style that is atypical for the appellation. It is put through full malolactic, and one-third is barrel fermented, then blended with the two-thirds that is aged in tank. Extraordinarily rich and honeyed, it is ideal for drinking with intensely flavored culinary dishes.”

In the glass, this has a nice yellow/amber color not seen in duller (read generic Chardonnay) wines.

“Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno.” The total Nobu classic, but it still holds it’s own. This version is as good as any i’ve had.

“New Style Sashimi.” Classic again. Apparently this is very Peruvian, although I wouldn’t know directly as my closest contact to that country was an hour spent in Lima airport. However, the halibut is supremely tender, and the warm olive oil, ponzu and sesame thing gives it a toasty richness.

“Rosemary crusted Scallops in sweet and sour crust with cilantro sauce.” This was my first new dish of the night, and it was pretty incredible. The pseudo fried crisp on the scallops was a bit sweet, and the cilantro sauce mild, but it all went together perfectly, and inspired marriage of textures and flavors.

“Lobster Sweet and Sour.” Another new dish, and pretty delectable. Tender lobster on a spinach bed, with a subdued sweet and sour sauce and then the whatever-it-was on top adding a bit of texture.

“Austrialian Wagyu Beef, butter truffle sauce and crispy onions.” Yum. The beef was almost like candy, sweet and rich. The onion-ring-like crisps were good for soaking up the sauce.

Marbling!

“Miso Soup.” Classic, and as expected.

A bit of sushi.

In the front, Tai (red snapper) with shiso, toro (tuna belly). The white thing with frisy stuff on top I can’t remember.

In the middle, Kani (king crab leg) sushi.

In the back, Unagi (Fresh Water eel).

The white stuff in the middle. Ika (squid) with shiso leaf and a bit of ginger.

The yellow chunks Tamago (sweet omelet).

On the left Ikura (salmon roe) and on the right Uni (sea urchin).

Completely stuffed, we rolled out of here well satisfied. My only complaint is that Nobu is so expensive. For example the “Toro Tartar w/ Caviar” is $36 compared to $25 at Takao — identical too.

By: agavin
Comments (3)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beaucastel, Château de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape, Cooking, Food, Fusion cuisine, Home, Japanese, Japanese cuisine, Japanese Food, Malibu, Malibu California, Nobu, Nobu Malibu, Nobu Matsuhisa, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Sushi

Food as Art: Sushi House Unico

Nov13

Restaurant: Sushi House Unico (SHU)

Location: 2932 1/2 Beverly Glen Circle – Bel Air, Ca 90077 (310) 474-2740

Date: Nov 12, 2010

Cuisine: New Style Sushi

Rating: A great “Nobu” clone with some dishes of its own.

Nearly 15 years ago now when I first ate at Matsuhisa I was blown away. I was already a veteran Sushi eater, having started going to Washington D.C.s one (then two) places in the late 70’s, and having been to Japan 2 or 3 times at that point (now it’s around 20). At the time it seemed like a culinary breakthrough. Classic sushi was great, but here was a whole new cuisine based on “modernizing” and combining Japanese elements with some other sensibility. Fundamentally it seemed intensely creative. But nowadays half the restaurants in LA have Miso Cod or Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno. In Food just as in any other art, creativity is surprisingly rare. SHU is very much derivative of this tradition, but unlike many of the places (Sushi Ryoku & Katsuya you know who you are!) does add a dash of its own style. Now we had read that SHU combined Japanese flavors with Italian. As a lover of both cuisines I didn’t really see this. It was more like a 95%/5% split in the Japanese favor. A few dishes had an occasional ingredient pulled from the Italian palette (like Olive Oil), but that was about it.

The menu, left half.

And right. There is also a separate Sushi menu and a specials of the day menu.

“Edamame,” the usual. They just put it on the table, which some places do.

This is unfiltered Sake, served cold. It looks like the Japanese soda Pocari Milk. I liked it, smoother than many filtered Sakes, with a nice “rice” flavor.

“Miso Soup w/ Tofu & Green Onion,” the classic. Certainly well done, but I object to the presence of the spoon.

“Tuna Carpaccio. Thinly sliced Tuna w/ arugola, extra virgin Olive Oil, Yuzu & bottarga,” was very tasty, bright, soft, with a pronounced citrus zing and a good dose of black pepper. While it did have Olive Oil, I’d hardly call it Italian — but I liked it!

“Wild Yellowtail: Tomato Sashimi,” was nice. The sauce had a LOT of zing to it, very vinegary in a good way, with a little hint of spice afterwards.

“Heirloom tomato salad with Jalapenos, onion, cilantro and Jalapeno dressing.” I only tried the dressing, as I detest raw tomatoes (one of 2 foods I don’t like). My wife liked it, although it was a chopstick challenge. The dressing was on the side and I used it on some other dishes as it had a great, very bright citrus, vinegar, jalapeno tang.

“Salmon Carpaccio, thinly sliced Salmon, w/ capers, arugolo, extra virgin Olive oil, sea salt & lemon,” I didn’t try. In fact, I didn’t order, but it was so pretty I photoed it from the next table over.

“Crispy Risotto w/ Spicy Tuna Tartar & Sliced Jalapeno” was a very nice dish, but the Risotto name was a total misnomer. It’s the standard “friend crispy rice cake,” topped with spicy tuna. But it was very good, even though I’m not a spicy tuna fan. Spicy tuna is to Sushi as Spaghetti and Meatballs is to Italian.

“Broiled Miso Marinated Black Cod,” the Nobu classic and one of my wife’s favorites.

“Roch Shrimp Tempura w/ spicy creamy mayo” is another Nobu classic, but it was done just as well here.

Click the pic for a zoom. Starting left to right across the top: Toro, Salmon, Albacore, Uni, Japanese Scallop, Eki (squid), Fresh Water Eel, and Tamago (Egg Omelet). The sushi was excellent. It was just a notch below what you get at Nobu, the late Hump (sob), or other extremely top LA places. So extremely yummy, but not totally sublime. Bear in mind that I am an extreme sushi snob with over 30 years of practice.