Koiso Sushi

The one restaurant that has eluded The Annoyer during the previous 4 times he visited Maui is Koiso Sushi.  It's one sushi chef manning an 11 seat sushi bar and one 4 top table.  It's sort of like your neighborhood sushi joint, but you can't just walk in any ole time you please and expect to be seated.  The diners next to us made a reservation 1-2 weeks ago.  I made reservations 3 months ago.  Even when I called, I only got my 3rd choice for reservation times.  Only after my arrival, did I discover that the place was so small, so accommodating such a large party is no easy feat.  I scoffed when an unknowing and obviously ill informed couple casually walked in and asked for a table that night.  Chef Hiro has been manning his restaurant for 19 years solo, taking few vacations or holidays.  He said he'd rather work than sit at home.  I just finished re-watching "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" during which Jiro also voices the same sentiments.  Is this a commonality among the older generation, older Japanese, or just anyone who is very passionate about his/her craft?

The fresh fish selection and the strong Japanese presence, albeit many generations old, is the perfect formula for delicious sushi in Hawaii.  If the quality of the sushi doesn't sell you on this place, then certainly the price tag will.  A 13 piece omakase will set you back about $45.  This meal, was by far, the best value for the entire trip.

My eyes lit up at the practically full tray of uni.

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Sushi Zo

Sushi Zo

9824 National Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90034

sushizo.us

Yelp

Boy have I been wanting to try out Sushi Zo for a long time.  It has been on my radar ever since I started to appreciate really high quality sushi, and when I became willing to drop a couple hundies on one meal.  Sushi Zo ain't cheap, and so it was a bit jarring to arrive and find it situated in a ghetto strip mall.  I mean, it's not like it was a surprise.  I always do my research, but reading about it and seeing it for myself are two very different things.  For a Saturday night, the place was pretty empty for a 7:30 reservation.  Slowly, parties began to trickle in, but it was by no means crowded.  Overlord and Carnivorous Lush joined BHD and I for a parade of sushi.  I'll keep the editorial brief since sushi is but a simple food.

Miso Soup
Standard fare.

Kumamoto Oyster homemade ponzu
This was our first taste of Zo's homemade ponzu which I liked at first.  BHD was a big fan of it, but after a while I found it a tad too sweet for my liking.  The oyster was lovely.

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Totoraku

Totoraku
10610 Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Yelp

I previously blogged about Totoraku, or what I referred to as the "secret beef restaurant."  Well if you look on Yelp, Totoraku isn't much of a secret to the 209 Yelpers who posted the mostly 5 star reviews.  But the policy still remains. You cannot eat here unless you are one of Oyama-san's "regular customers."  I've been here now 4 times, so I think that qualifies me as "regular" enough.  Honestly, each time hasn't always been worth the $$$$.  Smooth Obturator, who was my original "in" to Totoraku, says Oyama-san just "phones it in" sometimes.  So I was pleased to bring Fishing Zebra Man here, and have one of my best experiences.  I must say that this time was just as good as the first time, if not better.  

While every meal at Totoraku is reliably unchanging, the same cannot be said for the appetizers which have been different every time.  They are usually stunning on a presentation level, but can be a little lackluster or weird compared with the main course of meat upon meat.  This time, however, I was delighted by the presentation of little bites.

Shrimp with Caviar - simple with a zing of ocean salinity from the caviar

Black Sesame Tofu - smooth and nutty

Japanese Sea Bass - really clean and fresh

Okra squid, flying fish eggs - slimy okra paired with the firm texture of squid

Candy Stripped Fig prosciutto di parma, goat cheese - This was probably my favorite bite of the lot.  The sweet figs, the salty prosciutto, and the bit of stinky goat cheese made for a sophisticated and standout bite.

Egg mashed yams, crispy anchovy - I definitely liked the crispy fishy dried anchovy, which was a nice contrast to the soft sweet mashed yams.

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Uchi

Uchi

904 Westheimer Rd.

Houston, TX 77006

uchirestaurants.com

Yelp

Bair Hugger Deluxe made sure Uchi was the first dinner I had in Houston.  I guess it's a big deal here.  It is in Austin, where it was first opened up by Chef Tyson Cole.  He won Best Chef Southwest in 2011.  Uchi and its sister restaurant Uchiko might sound more familiar as the former kitchen of Top Chef season 9 winner Paul Qui.  He started there as an intern and over 7 years worked his way up to chef de cuisine.  Uchi can be thought of as a Nobu-esque restaurant.  Modern Japanese meets Asian fusion meets cool/upscale.  The place is super popular.  Bair Hugger makes it seem like restaurants of this caliber are few and far between.  He usually takes all out-of-towners here.

We got great seats at the bar.  I love sitting at the bar.  I love being a stone's throw from the action.  Sadly we didn't get to sit in front of this guy.  Only a bad ass can walk around with just one patch of hair on his head.  I believe he was the main sushi guy, cutting all the fish for sashimi/nigiri.  It's an interesting set up.  Each guy behind the bar mans a different station.  Our guy was actually just the roll guy.  There was another guy manning the yakitori type things.  There was another guy in the kitchen just making the Brussels sprouts.  

Sorbet
Refreshing, cool, not too sweet.  A pleasant way to start.

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Hakata Ikkousha

I think it's safe to say Costa Mesa is up there with Torrance and Little Tokyo as ramen house hotbeds.  Santouka, Kitakata, Ramen Yamadaya are at the top.  I'll throw Shin Sen Gumi in there, but it's technically in Fountain Valley.  Now Hakata Ikkousha can be added to that list. But at a starting price of $9 a bowl, it is sure to be the most expensive bowl in town.  Like any good Japanese restaurant, the place is frickin' small and you can expect to wait for a table.  It's not a horrendous wait (at least for me that night it wasn't), but I've heard there can be a line out the door even before the place opens for lunch.

Hakata like all the other aforementioned joints specialize in tonkotsu ramen.  Like Shin Sen Gumi, you can customize your broth and noodles.  You can also add extra toppings for few bucks here and there.  If you went to town, you could easily end up with a bowl over $30!  Lo-Ma Linda with Big Head TalksAlot's mini me in tow joined me for a first time visit here.

Table side accoutrements.  Can I say that in a Japanese restaurant?  I'm sure there's a better word for it, multiple syllables and probably ends in a vowel.  

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n/naka

April is turning out to be one of the best months of the year.  Not just because it is my birthday month, but also Mama H.o.P. and Baby G's birthday month too.  So April has become a month of celebrations, and in my family that translates to a month of eating.  Now that Baby G is old enough to voice his wants, he gets to indulge in a lot of cake and chocolate.  That kid doesn't usually feed himself or when he does it takes a lot of prodding to get him to finish his meals.  Put a piece of cake in front of him and he's double fisting frosting with the biggest smile.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, Triple T is expecting Double Trouble so she had to skip out on n/naka since they do serve raw fish.  No matter, since she has been before.  Smooth Obturator thought I would enjoy n/naka and it had been about 3 years since his last visit.  After watching the episode of Chef Niki Nakayama on Netflix's docu-series "Chef's Table," I learned that the restaurant keeps a log of all diners and previous menus to ensure that repeat visitors enjoy something different on subsequent visits.  I don't think I have ever heard of a restaurant going to such great lengths for diners.  The docu-series definitely highlighted Chef Nakayama's mission to put diners and their experiences at the forefront of her restaurant.

The food at n/naka is undoubtedly Japanese, but it's not just sushi, or izakaya, or tempura.  They serve Kaiseki, which is a Japanese multicourse dinner that balances taste, texture, appearance, and colors of food.  It tends to use seasonal and local ingredients.  There is a certain order of dishes and types of dishes included in the modern Kaiseki.  I've had a Kaiseki experience at Next, when they were serving their "Kyoto" menu.  I was certainly quite impressed with my meal there because it was clean, simple, and perfectly executed considering the chef is not Japanese.  But now I feel n/naka delivers a much better Kaiseki experience, probably because the approach is more modern, while Next was probably trying to be a bit more traditional.

Saki Zuke 

a pairing of something common and something unique

Fanny Bay Oyster uni, ikura, orange, kumquat jelly, fennel vichyssoise
Sometimes the sweet salinity of uni can be easily overpowered, but the oyster and ikura all made for a tasty bite.

Zensai 

seasonal ingredients presented as an appetizer

Fried Renkon Lotus Root lobster
I really enjoyed the tempura lotus root here.  Generally I find lotus root to be an odd texture since I never grew up eating it.  Here it played nicely against the light crispy tempura.

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Nana San

Nana San keeps company with Ohshima, San Shi Go, and Ikko as Orange County's best sushi spots.  I've been here before for dinner omakase and was thoroughly impressed with the offering.  It's definitely the most bang for your buck compared to the other 3 places.  Lunch was no exception. Fishing Zebra Man has become my sushi compadre and will never turn me down when it comes to sushi.

Kanpachi (left)

Blue Fin Tuna (right)

Kanpachi was clean, but I've had better blue fin tuna.  I did not like the shiso of course.

Trio of Snappers red, black, goldeneye
Really great sampling.  Goldeneye was my favorite, probably because it was served with a bit of charred skin.

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Kinjiro

Oishi Nazi, who I dined with at my first visit to Totoraku, is the brain child behind Kinjiro, Little Tokyo's newest izakaya restaurant.  He actually operated b.o.s., the restaurant which previously occupied the same space.  b.o.s. had some amazing food, but it didn't quite get the following it deserved.  So Oishi Nazi, being the passionate and ambitious restauranteur that he is, is back at it again with this new concept, a slightly higher end izakaya.  At first, I was reluctant about Kinjiro because the whole point of izakaya is small eats, grilled things, a mish mosh of stuff to be enjoyed over beer.  So the idea of paying more for food that's meant to be casual and inexpensive did not seem appealing.  Smooth Obturator and Triple T went and gave it their seal of approval, so I figured I needed to give it a shot. 

Kinjiro Agedashi Homemade Tofu mushroom ankake sauce
Triple T talked up this dish saying it was as good as the agedashi tofu at Raku.  It didn't quite hit the mark, but it was still pretty tasty.  I wasn't used to the thickness of the ankake sauce, but it brought a delicious umaminess.

Kinjiro Free Range Chicken Maki-Age
I had a similar dish at Raku, but I think they did a better job here, though I can't pinpoint the reasons. It was just very juicy.

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Sushi Ota

I have heard about Sushi Ota for a long time.  I have always had the sense it was THE sushi place in San Diego.  I couldn't tell you what that is based on or where I got that notion from.  In any case, when I finally made my way down to San Diego for a tennis tournament of sorts I wanted to be sure to hit up this spot.  Lucky for me, Token Bear and Care Bear call San Diego their home so they gladly joined me here even though they've dined here before.  Unlucky for me, there were no reservations for the bar.  I was pretty disappointed, but I still wanted to take my chances and see what quality sushi could be had at the tables. 

Edamame

Spicy Tuna Roll
I rarely eat rolls these days when I sushi it up, so it's actually nice to eat them.

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San Shi Go

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Orange County has some pretty good sushi.  When Pushy & Stubborn told me his go-to sushi joint is San Shi Go, I sorta scoffed.  I had been to the location in Laguna Beach and was totally underwhelmed by their large selection of rolls and other sushi options doused in sauces.  I own up to being a snob about many things.  Don't hate.  I just like sushi in its purest form.  At this Newport outpost of San Shi Go, which is super far down the Balboa penninsula, Fishing Zebra Man and I opted for the everything omakase meaning hot dishes and sushi.

Golden Snapper yuzu kosho, lemon juice
Beautiful presentation eh?  Clean taste and clean complementary flavors.

Yagara Trumpet Fish
The chef's response to the puzzled look on my face when I was told about our next dish.

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Sushi Tsujita

It's so awesome how Little Osaka, or the area on the Westside I'm used to referring to as "Sawtelle," has totally exploded into this mecca of delicious Japanese-centric dining destinations.  I'm actually envious and wish I could turn back the clock to be a UCLA student now.  Back in the day, the only thing I really went there for was Hurry Curry.  Volcano House was also a popular hang out for their ultra milky milk teas.  There was Sawtelle Kitchen, which has since closed.  Asahi Ramen, which has been able to stay open all these years to my shock, served a totally mediocre bowl of ramen.  Everything else was either too pricey for the poor college student that I was back then, or just meh.  Now there's all these new and hot places like Tsujita Ramen, and its new high end sister sushi restaurant Sushi Tsujita.  The place is omakase only with a choice between $120, $150, and $180 menus.  Triple T, Smooth Obturator, Quadruple T, and I went for the mid range option.  Obviously, this place ain't cheap.  

Agedashi Tofu sesame tofue, bonito, ginger

While usually a huge fan of agedashi tofu, I found their take on this with a heavy hand on sesame to be a bit odd.  I guess I'm a traditionalist here.

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Ohshima

I'm coming realize that Orange Country has some pretty darn good sushi at an amazing price point.  While I've never been to LA's high end sushi places like Sushi Zo or the bang-for-your-buck joints like Hama Sushi, I have been to the ever popular Sushi Gen.  I was quite impressed with the omakase at Sushi Gen, but I was a bit miffed by the price tag.  I was kinda hungry after $75 worth of sushi.  So I've been pretty happy to find a place like Ohshima, where $50 gets you about 8 pieces of high quality sushi.  It's key to sit at the bar to enjoy the best fish because I was unimpressed with my dining room experience.  This applies to ALL sushi restaurants.  If you haven't been sitting at the bar when you eat sushi, you are doing it all wrong.  I liked that Ohshima serves many of their pieces as-is meaning, no extra soy sauce for dipping is needed.   Some people might find the put off by the nazi-like style, but I don't mind being told how to eat my food.  I guess they embody the true meaning of omakase, "to entrust."  Keep in mind, the following is a mix of 2 separate meals at Ohshima so it's more pieces than $50 will buy you.

Sea Bream
Light.  Clean.  Always a good way to start.

Blue Fin Tuna chu toro
Particularly delicious without being overly fatty and lingering on the tastebuds.

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Raku

There are 2 off strip restaurants that people always talk about in the Sin City, Lotus of Siam and Raku.  While the former fell just a bit short of expectations, the latter was well worth the cab fare.  Some people say Raku is one of the best izakaya restaurants they've been to.  Smooth Obturator and The Boss Man really raved about this place.  So I dragged Teety, Soprano Man, and The Pouter to this distant dining destination to start off our Vegas weekend.

Yellow Tail
...at least I think that's what it was.  In any case, it was wonderful.  Fatty with just a hint of flavor from the yuzukosho and soy sauce in the little spoon.  That's one of the most umami packed soy sauces I've ever tasted.  Soprano Man, who doesn't partake in raw delicacies, really missed out here.

Fried Shrimp

Here was another special of the night.  I LOVE shrimp, so I liked this preparation, but my dining companions probably didn't like having to gnaw through all the shrimp skins.  If you're not a giant shrimp fan, you probably can do better.

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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.

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Angotei

So the next few posts are gonna be all sushi.  I guess I ate a lot of it in the month of April.  The one good thing about Orange County is the pretty decent Japanese food.  Costa Mesa has a number of good sushi restaurants.  I had been to Angotei once before and I was pretty impressed by the omakase so I took Mama H.o.P. here for her birthday.  We actually sat in front of the same sushi chef, so I dunno what was up.  Maybe the novelty wore off?  But Mama H.o.P. didn't seem all that impressed either and it was her first time.

Toro

It was a bit heavy to be starting off with toro, but it was delectable.  Not the best, but at least not that oily fishiness I've had with not so good toro.

Kanpachi
Clean and refreshing.  Probably shoulda started with this one.

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Orsa & Winston

I was a bit puzzled walking into Orsa & Winston.  I had heard its Japanese-Italian, which seems like 2 completely disparate cuisines.  I couldn't imagine how they could merry harmoniously on a plate, let alone in my mouth, but the food this night certainly went far beyond my expectations.  There were definitely elements of Asian and European flavors going on here.  The food was unique and delicious.  The style of dining is omakase, so it's the chef's choice.  What you can choose is how many courses: 5, 8, or super omakase at 25!  We opted for the 8.

Amuse Bouche fennel panna cotta
These days, the amuse never really fits the definition of a "one bite" treat from the chef.  I'm not really bothered by that anymore because its just extra food anyways, and who am I to turn down extra food just because the portion size is too big??  I love panna cotta and one of my goals is to learn to make the perfect panna cotta, one that is just perfectly jiggly and most silky soft.  There were definitely some sweet savory flavors going on here.  A delightful first start.

Trout Crudo gingered cucumber gelee, radish, orange, creme fraiche

It looks like salmon huh?  It was both light and refreshing, yet rich and flavorful.  There were so many subtleties with the ingredients and flavor profiles.  One of the more distinctive and memorable crudos.

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Ramen Yamadaya

My quest to find a more awesome ramen joint than Santouka always disappoints.  I swear Santouka must use MSG in their broth.  It's just way too tasty.  Somehow that's where every other places seems to fall short.  The Rock Dweller accompanied me here.  Usually when we dine together, it's difficult to pay attention to the food because we are usually talking each other's heads off and get so distracted.  So it was quite out of the ordinary, when it was the food itself that was distracting me from the conversation, and not in a good way!  

Yamadaya Ramen 3 kinds of chashu, dried seaweed, egg

So the ramen here isn't actually that bad.  The noodles were pretty standard.  The broth was fatty, salty, the usual.  Definitely not as tasty as Santouka.  But man oh man, they served me old ass chasu!  Like it had that old refrigerated made who knows how many days ago "aged" taste.  It was not pleasant.

Kara-Age Chicken
The chicken wasn't old tasting fortunately.  It was actually juicy, seasoned and fried well.  Was it the best kara-age I've ever had?  No, not really, but it hit the spot.

Would I go back to Ramen Yamadaya after they served me "too many days old chasu?"  I am a forgiving eater, so probably yes, but only if someone wanted to go here.  Heck, I've been back to places where I've had food poisoning.  For the time being, let's just say good ole food court ramen at Santouka still has my heart.

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Oumi Sasaya

The South Bay has its fair share of excellent Japanese restaurants.  Triple T being the stereotypical Taiwanese Japan-o-phile, feels right at home here.  Why do Taiwanese people love everything Japanese?  I have no idea, but it's like they were brainwashed from the womb to worship anything and everything "made in Japan."  If you're reading this, and you're a true Taiwanese at heart, then you know this is true!  Anyways, I digress.  This is a food blog here, so on to the food...

Cold Tofu
Oumi Sasaya is solid udon oriented joint, but we had to have some starters to kick things off.  I think this was a standard amuse bouche for everyone.  Nothing really spectacular here.

Fried Garlic Chicken Wings
You can't wrong with wings.

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Nozomi

I don't get too excited to write posts about sushi.  Its discouraging to write a post when you have limited adjectives to describe something you know is so delicious and special.  But sushi is just one of those baffling types of foods that words do not do justice.  Audio Monkey sans wifey and The Anti-Exerciser   plus wifey joined me for an omakase experience at Nozomi.  I do love tasting menus and omakase because it just takes the burden off myself to figure out what to order.


Sweet Lip 
I never had this before, but it was clean tasting.

Yellow Fin Sea Bream
Another fish I don't commonly eat, but it was solid.

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Roku

Triple F and Running Man really love this place. Apparently the guy who opened up Roku actually had a food truck serving Japanese curry and was successful enough to open up a brick and mortar joint serving a larger selection of food, izakaya style. The menu is surprisingly extensive here so I was a bit wary of the quality. I mean the place serves pretty specialized Japanese dishes like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and ramen so it could easily do it all wrong. Fortunately, it does it all right!

Mentai Bowl crab meat, spicy cod roe paste, rice

I'm not sure why Triple F loves mentaiko so much. It's quite fishy funky and Triple F is not usually one for unusual foods. Anyways, this was ok but I'm not a fan of mentaiko I guess.

Mochi Bacon

Running Man loooved this, which again was not my thing. The bacon wasn't crispy enough and it wasn't enough meat to balance out a big hunk of starch.  

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