Tag Archives: Best Sushi Los Angeles

Kinder, Gentler Sushi

Sashimi

Sasabune was one of my first great sushi loves. Originally located in a small house on Sawtelle, Sasabune served the freshest and tastiest raw fish west of the 405. Its warm-rice sushi was similar to the sushi served in the Valley by legendary “Sushi Nazi” Kazunori Nozawa (who trained Sasabune’s chef) and, like Sushi Nozawa, they wouldn’t make California Rolls or Spicy Tuna. But I’ve never witnessed customers getting kicked out of Sasabune like they did at Sushi Nozawa for not following the rules. It was the kinder, gentler Nozawa.

Sasabune eventually moved to a cavernous space in Brentwood and then to smaller digs down the street, but seemed to lose a little of its magic with each of those moves. But with an additional location in Beverly Hills presided over by sushi master Ei Hiroyoshi, Sasabune bounced back to the top. The Beverly Hills branch serves insanely good sushi and one of the best omakase meals in the city.

Sushi Sasabune is located at 9162 W Olympic Blvd in Beverly Hills and 11917 Wilshire Blvd in Brentwood. A third LA location just opened in Glendale at 101 N Brand Blvd.

Cucumber and Seaweed Salad

Cucumber and Seaweed Salad

Maguro and Toro

Maguro and Toro Sushi

Mussel with Japanese Mayo

Mussel with Japanese Mayo

Oyster

Oyster

Mussel with Garlic Butter and Seaweed

Mussel with Garlic Butter and Seaweed

Ikura (Salmon Roe) and Uni (Sea Urchin) Sushi

Ikura (Salmon Roe) and Uni (Sea Urchin) Sushi

Fried Shrimp

Fried Shrimp

Butterfish

Butterfish Sushi

Lychee Sorbet

Lychee Sorbet

Head Sushi Genius Ei Hiroyoshi

Sushi Master Ei Hiroyoshi

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Filed under Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Glendale, West LA

Do Not Pass Go’s

Kelp Halibut
When I arrived at Go’s Mart for the first time on the advice of a friend, I thought maybe I was being punk’d. Its name sounds more like a gas station convenience store than a highly recommended Japanese restaurant. Its location next to a massage parlor in a non-descript strip mall in the West Valley Hinterlands of Canoga Park further fueled my skepticism. Once inside, I found myself in a tiny space with mostly bare orange walls, two tables and a seven-seat sushi bar. One of the best sushi restaurants in the city? Inconceivable! But after my first few pieces of mind-blowing nigiri, I know that it was true.

Go’s Mart is not for sushi purists. The super fresh, melt-in-your-mouth slices of fish are topped with things like gold leaf, sea salt, truffle oil and caviar. The only menu is a list of exotic specials on a dry erase board, but you can order lots of things that aren’t on the board and it’s probably best to put yourself in Chef Go’s expert hands and get the omakase (chef’s choice).

If you’re a-la-carting it, there are a few must-have items. The Live Scallop Sushi is insanely good, the Kelp Halibut is unbelievably amazing and the Akimo (Monk Fish Liver with Sweet Plum Sausce, Scallion, Sesame Seeds and Goji Berry) is transcendent. One of the best and most interesting dishes is the “Holy Cow,” a seared slice of authentic Japanese Kobe or Wagyu beef served sushi-style on rice with lemon salt and truffle oil. Although he’s clearly ultra-passionate about his sushi, Chef Go is no Sushi Nazi and won’t eject you for ordering a Spicy Tuna Roll.

At the end of my meal, there was no doubt that, despite the low-rent location and decor, Go’s Mart was a high-end sushi establishment and the bill reflected this as well. It was very expensive but worth every penny.

Go’s Mart is located at 22330 Sherman Way in Canoga Park.

Akimo (Monk Fish Liver with Sweet Plum Sauce, Scallion, Sesame Seeds and Goji Berry)

Akimo (Monk Fish Liver with Sweet Plum Sauce, Scallion, Sesame Seeds and Goji Berry)


Kampachi Belly

Kampachi Belly Sushi


Baby Abalone Sushi, Baby Red Snapper Sushi and Japanese Sea Bass Sushi

Baby Abalone Sushi, Baby Red Snapper Sushi and Japanese Sea Bass Sushi


Live Scallop Sushi

Live Scallop Sushi


Holy Cow (Kobe Beef with Lemon Salt and Truffle Oil)

Holy Cow


Snow Crab and Vegetable Hand Roll

Snow Crab and Vegetable Hand Roll


Special Albacore Roll

Special Albacore Roll


Sushi porn?

Sashimi porn. Nice pair…of scallops!


A tiny place with bare orange walls

A tiny place with orange walls


Don't judge a book by its cover.

Don’t judge a book by its cover.



Go's Mart on Urbanspoon

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Filed under Canoga Park

Sayonara Sushi Nazi

If you read this blog regularly, you know how much I love Japanese food. So it’s not a surprise that I’m going to be attending the Japanese Food and Sake Collection this Sunday. Many of the best Japanese restaurants in LA will be serving up some of the city’s finest sushi, ramen, okonomiyaki, tempura, yakisoba and yakitori. Endless amounts of premium sake and beer will be flowing. There will be sushi-eating and sake-tasting competitions, cooking demonstrations from Nobu Matsuhisa (of Nobu and Matsuhisa restaurants) and Katsuya Uechi (of Katsu-ya), and traditional Japanese entertainment. The Festival is being held at the Hilton in Universal City from 11-4. Tickets (which are $60 for adults) and more information can be obtained by clicking here.

Speaking of Japanese food, I hear that legendary sushi chef Kazunori Nozawa is going to retire and close his revered eponymous restaurant, Sushi Nozawa, on February 29th. Lovingly dubbed the “Sushi Nazi” because of his similarities to the “Soup Nazi” character on Seinfeld, the stern Nozawa demands that his patrons follow his rules (no talking on cell phones, no dipping of sushi which has been prepared with sauce, no eating only the fish and leaving over the sushi rice, etc.) and show the proper respect to the master and the sushi he meticulously prepares. On more than one occasion, I have seen Nozawa kick diners out of his small and sparse mini-mall restaurant who blatantly disregard his rules. I was almost evicted once myself when my wife insisted on ordering a Vegetable Roll, even though I warned her ahead of time about that kind of thing. Nozawa is a sushi purist and things like Vegetable Rolls, California Rolls and Spicy Tuna are anathema to him.

However, if you put yourself in Nozawa-san’s hands and follow his advice of “trust me,” which is prominently displayed on a wooden placard behind the sushi bar in reference to the omakase (chef’s choice) special, you will experience incredible life-alerting sushi prepared by a sushi genius. Nozawa’s sushi has pretty much ruined me for almost all other sushi in the city. The rice is warm and delicious and the fish is super fresh and of the highest quality. It literally melts in your mouth. I hear sushi chefs from other restaurants follow Nozawa around the fish market because of his mastery of seafood selection. Everything I’ve ever eaten at Sushi Nozawa (including the Baby Tuna Sashimi in ponzu sauce, the Blue Crab Hand Rolls, the Toro, the Baby Yellowtail and the Uni) has been nothing short of amazing.

But it should be noted that even after Nozawa retires, a bit of the magic will still live on. For the past couple years, Nozawa’s son Tom and a couple partners have been opening locations around Los Angeles of Sugarfish, a somewhat less expensive spin-off of Sushi Nozawa where the decor is modern and the chefs, who are trained by Kazunori Nozawa himself, prepare your sushi in a back kitchen, hidden from view. I hear that Sushi Nozawa will be turned into a Sugarfish. I like Sugarfish quite a bit and the sushi there is very similar to Sushi Nozawa, but nothing beats the mothership and I will be devastated when Nozawa retires. It will truly be the end of an era.

Sushi Nozawa is located at 11288 Ventura Blvd in Studio City. It is not open on weekends. Sugarfish has locations in Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Brentwood and Downtown.

Baby Tuna Sashimi in Ponzu Sauce


Yellowtail Sushi

Crab Hand Rolls


Toro (Fatty Tuna) Sushi


Uni (Sea Urchin) Sushi


Red Snapper Sushi



Sushi Nozawa on Urbanspoon
SUGARFISH by sushi nozawa on Urbanspoon
SUGARFISH Brentwood on Urbanspoon
SUGARFISH Marina del Rey on Urbanspoon

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Filed under Brentwood, Downtown, Marina del Rey, Santa Monica, Studio City