Sushi 90069
If neurotheology’s basic premise holds water, then a healthy brain is essential to a healthy spirit. And what better food to feed the brain than sushi, that quintessential Japanese classic, marrying the fruits of the sea and the rice paddy? Besides, it tastes good.
It helps that West Hollywood, our home, may have the highest concentration of sushi restaurants anywhere in the world—many within walking distance for us.
The sushi-ya closest to us, a mere three-minute walk, right across from the towering Pacific Design Center, is Nishimura, which I reported on here five years ago. This is the best sushi restaurant on the West Coast, or possibly in the US. Unfortunately, I can’t give you any recommendations for what’s best here, since Nishimura-san will decide that for you on any given day, piecing together ultra-creative, mouth-watering dishes from the supremely fresh neta he flies in from Japan. The problem is that a once-a-week meal here would consume a huge portion of my disposable income.
Down La Cienega we find Yabu (website), where it’s hard to go wrong with their competent sushi, good jizake collection, reasonable ambience, and dishes such as the Osaka-style pressed sushi which we love. Yabu also boasts a good soba menu, if you’re in that kind of mood.
As of late November, 2005, our all-time favorite, Murakami, right down at the end of our street on Santa Monica, where we had spent many an enjoyable evening bantering with the master and wolfing down his imaginative concoctions, has been sold to a new chef/owner. A recent visit demonstrated that all is not well at our favorite Japanese sushi shop. The old Murakami ambience is completely gone. The entire wait staff is new, and very shaky. The service has now slowed down by a factor of two. It may be my imagination, but the fish itself—possibly the single aspect the chef/owner is most responsible for, on his daily buying trips—is of lower quality. The lovely flower arrangements the previous owner’s wife did are gone—replaced by a cold, barren wall. Murakami-san took with him not only the spirit of the restaurant, but also its name; it now goes by the undistinguished moniker “Ari-ya”.
A bit west on Santa Monica we find Ajisai, just up Palm, where chef Shoei presides over his tiny fresh fish empire, with friendly service, superb catches of the day, background jazz, and good conversation. Our favorite is the boiled squid stuffed with crab.
Down Beverly is Hirozen, also reviewed in this space last year. Although you can eat à la carte , you cannot go wrong with Hiro’s omakase chef’s selection. Highly recommended.
North of Santa Monica on La Cienega we find Wa Sushi & Bistro, the subject of considerable oohing and aahing in the local press when it opened last year, possibly because its chefs are graduates of the legendary Matushisa just a few blocks away. But we found the food overwrought, the service spotty. The albacore salad we had was drenched in an overly assertive miso sauce. They can’t just serve sea bass—it has to have foie gras on top. They can’t just serve soft-shelled crab—it has to have caviar on top. Price performance is poor. We won’t be visiting this place again soon.
The king of 90069 sushi places, of course, is the iconic Sushi Roku , down on 3rd just off La Cienega. It’s also a celebrity hangout; once I saw David Spade there, a fine actor, although I didn’t get the chance to tell him how much I liked him in Joe Dirt. Sushi Roku has long outlived its never justified reputation. Service is perfunctory. The only thing high-end about it is its prices.
Koi (website ) also made a big splash when it opened last year right near us on La Cienega across from L’Orangerie. This is definitely the place to go if you want to try “hamachi fusion soy citrus truffle essence” or “yellowtail carpaccio grapeseed oil and ponzu wasabi tobiko”, consumed in a space that boasts of being a “stylish, harmonious blend of of custom furniture, earth tones and soft light”. Of course, it’s not really a sushi place, instead its cuisine is “Japanese-inspired with California accents”. Its cavernous interior seats over 200 aspiring movie moguls and 20-something would-be models.
Given all the sushi joints in LA, one wonders why anyone with no sushi-making skills and not even from Japan would even bother trying the genre, but still there are those that do. One we recently had the misfortune of trying was Niko Niko Sushi, right next to Barney’s Beanery, famous as Janis Joplin’s favorite hangout when she lived down the street. Suffice it to say you’d be better off crossing the street to IHOP and getting their $2.99 pancake special.
Of course there are lots of sushi places up on Sunset which I make a point of never patronizing. They can’t decide whether they want to be overpriced tourist traps or starlet-encrusted sushi discos. However, Katana is worth a mention, and a visit. Although definitely awash in Hollywood glitter, and owned by the Sushi Roku crowd, it serves a reasonable menu of kushi—things on sticks, one of mankind’s most basic food formats. I like the stuffed mushrooms and rib-eye, and the lamb is worth a try. I wouldn’t recommend their sushi, though.
The granddaddy of upscale nouvelle cuisine Japonaise à la mer is, of course, Matsuhisa itself, on restaurant row on La Cienega. I’ll regale you with Matushisa stories in another post.
July 9th, 2006 at 11:54
You liked Joe Dirt? Your opinion means nothing then.
July 11th, 2006 at 19:11
I was really offended by the comment pertaining to Niko Niko. You are not unfortunate if you go there. Not only that, I don’t recommend going across the street to IHOP for the $2.99 pancake special. I’ve had the $2.99 pancake special and it is not good. I mean seriously if you are going to go to IHOP, get the club sandwich or an omlette, everyone knows their pancakes are overrated. Not only that, there are a lot of ethnic people at that particular IHOP. I felt sort of like I was in “da hood” if you know what I mean.
July 11th, 2006 at 19:28
In response to Dominic’s comments, I have to agree that IHOP is indeed overrated. However, I do enjoy the delicious cobb salad on a warm summer’s night. The ethnic people have never been a problem though like dominic stated. I really belive IHOP does a fine job of “separating them” from the rest of us. You know, them on one end, us on the other. It works quite nicely so I don’t see what Dominic’s gripe is.
And in regards to sushi, I really enjoy the packaged rolls they have at the PAVILIONS on Santa Monica Blvd. I was upset that the reviewer failed to mention the PAVILIONS as a fine place to go for sushi, but I’m sure that was just an oversight on his/her part.
Hope this was helpful!
July 11th, 2006 at 19:41
Can we stop with all this? I’ve been a devoted follower of this blog for the last 11 months and I don’t like to see you people treat each other like this. I think we should all just take a chill pill and have some sushi. Right? I mean, I hate blacks like all the rest of us, but you still have to live around them. Why not make the best of it? So I’m there with you Cedric, proud and strong!
July 11th, 2006 at 19:55
I actually wanted to comment on Nishimura. It is such a beautiful restaurant. The decor is simple yet profound. The ambiance is powerful yet reserved. And the food is Potent yet light. I give it a 5 star rating. Thanks for the post.
July 12th, 2006 at 12:08
Let me just say that this is appalling. My two interests are Neurotheology and Sushi and those two roads have guided me to this informative website only to have racism and hate-speech spewed upon it’s hollowed pages. Fuck you people…just fuck you and fuck off. Sushi Roku has an excellent rainbow roll.
July 12th, 2006 at 12:56
So are you saying we need to try Nishimura tonight? Because I’m in. Wait, what? Now we’re just getting crazy! Can it really be better then the Niko Niko? I’m so confused.
June 13th, 2007 at 19:51
You are so right…except Nishimura is pricier than Matsuhisa..
November 30th, 2009 at 17:55
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