Re: The Sushi Thread
My favorite places for sushi in Los Angeles:
1. Saito's Sushi - In a sketchy strip mall at the corner of Fountain and Sunset in Silverlake/Los Feliz. It's a tiny hole in the wall with two employees, but has the freshest, simplest sushi in a neighborhood atmosphere. This is not a place to go for your fancy rolls with all manner of stuff in them. Favorite dishes: albacore salad, spanish mackeral sushi, snapper sushi, spicy tuna hand roll, toro sushi.
2. Sushi Nozawa on Ventura in Studio City (I think). Also knows as the "Sushi Nazi". When you sit at the bar, don't ask for a menu or you'll be told to go sit at a table (where you also shouldn't ask for a menu, but you won't get booted). Instead, just take what he gives you and be glad. Also, Nozawa is a proponent of the commandment "SUSHI ONE BITE". This means you put the whole piece of sushi into your mouth at once. He's adamant about this. Also a pretty simple affair like Saito's. Strangely, not open on weekends. Favorite dishes: whatever he gives you.
3. Katsu-ya (3 locations). I list this only because I'm often forced to go with my wife, who is physically addicted to the baked crab roll. This is a distinct departure from my top #2, in that Katsu-ya is famous for it's more creative dishes like the baked crab roll, tuna with jalapeno on crispy rice, etc. You need to make reservations a couple of weeks in advance and will probably still wait for your table. I called last Tuesday to get a table for two Saturday night and they laughed at me. I'm bitching because it's such a scene, but the food is delicious.
On the sake discussion, hot sake tastes like medicine water to me. I go with cold unfiltered sake and I'm very happy with it.
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