Sushi Sushi

The birthday festivities continued with my birthday at Sushi Sushi.  Originally, Smooth Obturator wanted to go to Maude or Trois Mec, but was unable to snag a rezzie.  No worries because Smooth Obturator fell back on his trusty Sushi Sushi.  Let's be honest, LA is riddled with expensive sushi places.  Smooth Obturator and Triple T have been to many of them, but Sushi Sushi is the stand out spot for them.  It might be hard to take a place called Sushi Sushi seriously, but the sushi here is SERIOUS.  For omakase, I was supremely stuffed.  I'm not sure if it was because it was towards the end of the night and the chef was trying to clean house or all the beers he was drinking was causing him to be excessively generous.

Squid
I never had raw baby squid like this before.  I guess squid has some innards and guts that area usually removed when you buy them in the store?  I'm actually not totally sure, but something was different tasting about it and it felt like I was eating squid guts but it was so delicious!  Not off or fishy tasting. It was also lightly dressed in some ponzu.  Wow, I couldn't believe squid could taste this way.

Tuna okra, quail egg

Okra is really slimy and this preparation of it reminded me of why people dislike it (I'm looking at you, Tom Colicchio).  I actually don't mind the slime, which was actually magnified by the added raw egg.  

Geoduck roe

The fresh salty sweetness of the geoduck was well matched with the pile of roe.  Maybe too much roe, though I'm actually begin to appreciate it.

MaguroNow onto the sushi!  One thing I've learned from watching documentaries on sushi, is that "fresh" sushi isn't necessarily caught and served to you within a day.  Fish is caught, flash frozen, shipped half way across the world, and the art of a great sushi master starts there I think.  I guess fish can be aged just like steak is aged.  I guess that is what is done differently here.  The sushi definitely tasted very flavorful.

Tai Toro

This is not a cute I've had before.  It was luscious and delicious.

Kanpachi (front)

Chu Toro (back)

Again, more tasty lusciousness.

O Toro

Hamachi

The o toro was only more fatty, in the best way.  Mama H.o.P.  loves hamachi and she was quite impressed.

Clam Soup

This was a nice break from all the sushi.  It was piping hot and tasted so simple yet delicious.  The herbs in there were not something I liked.  It looked like cilantro but didn't taste anything like it.

Salmon

Aji

Most of the sushi we had was already dressed and ready to eat.  There was no need to dip in extra soy sauce.  It made eating so easy.  These were also so good.

Stewed Yellowtail

This totally tasted like beef or pork.  It had the traditional Japanese flavors of soy, mirin, sake, sugar.  

Tuna Handroll

I love handrolls, but the shiso leaf or whatever that green thing here was offputting as shiso usually is for me.

Tamago

When I have omakase, they usually ask you what you don't like and I'll usually say tamago.  Eggy, sweet, cakey, doesn't taste good to me for some reason.  But I was actually glad to see tamago because that usually signifies the end of the meal.  By this point I was pretty damn stuffed.  I was a bit bummed there wasn't any uni, which is shaping up to be my favorite type of sushi these days.

Medley

This is when I started to feel the chef was unloading extra food on us because the night was winding down and there obviously weren't going to be anymore customers that evening.  This felt like I was starting with an appetizer again!  I finally got my uni though.  Man, was he generous with the roe too!  There were some repeats like the geoduck here.  Triple T and Mama H.o.P. did NOT finish their portions.  What a shame huh?

Veggie Handroll

None of us really liked this handroll much.  Had some weird things in it.

Anago

It still wasn't the end!!  Holy crap!  The anago was tasty.  I'm beginning to like anago over unagi.  

I forget what this was.  Some weird root vegetable?  I didn't like it.  I guess it was suppose to be a palate cleanser of sorts.

Matcha Parfait green tea ice cream, matcha pudding, fruit

Simple and not too sweet.

Mango Sorbet

Again, not too sweet.

Sushi Sushi did not disappoint.  It was loads better than Angotei, but then again it was double the price.  For all that food, it was a great value.  Dessert was included mind you!  The sushi definitely tasted like more was done to it than just being cut from a bigger fish.  It had depth and flavor.  I really appreciated the variety of the omakase with composed appetizers and hot dishes, in addition to sushi and sashimi.  The place wasn't too crowded for a Friday night, but the place also seemed to have some regulars.  I am still waiting to try Sushi Zo, which is probably double the price as Sushi Sushi but doesn't really win the favor of Smooth Obturator.  I just want to know why!  Anyways, if you live in the area, stop by and check this place out!  I would definitely go back.