The Sushi Feature

Stuck On (or with) Sushi

Where Do You Want To Be?

This Complete Review will Help You Make a Decision

In a recent article in the Business section of The Los Angeles Times, the writers reported that it has been difficult for Asian food to seriously penetrate the chain or fast food market in the same manner as Hamburgers, Pizza, Mexican and Chicken.

The explanation was that Wok cooking is not as simple as it seems ( It takes years to develop the skills) and it has been almost impossible to get a quantity of authentic Chinese chefs to cook for any budding chains. If you observe the chefs at places like the pseudo Asian P.F. Chang, the steam tabled and pitiful Panda Express, or the recently growing Pickup Stix, you will immediately note that there are no Chinese any where in sight. When you taste the food, you are even more certain. Most of it tastes just a touch above what you get in the frozen food section of the supermarket or in a Chungking or La Choy can. Why bother?

Bluntly, there is such an abundance of legitimate and authentic mom and pop Chinese restaurants all over Southern California with real Chinese chefs that you do have that great choice…. they are the places that deserve your support. The price will be right and you will participate in a real ethnic event including real Chinese waiters along with true chefs in the kitchen. Of course, the food is usually very good.

However the area of zero fast food penetration is authentic (authentic is the key word) Japanese Sushi bars. It takes so many years of training to create a true Japanese sushi master that no fast fooders make even a token attempt. Thank heaven for that. But while no national chains are attacking, there have been inroads by Asians of non-Japanese origin with very limited training flooding Southern California and especially Ventura County.

In the Conejo alone, at least 7 (count ‘em) 7 imposters have opened recently. They are the kings of the California and Ventura Roll. That is the limit of their skills. We have tried them all and they have been uniformly disappointing. We will not report on them. They are defined by omission.

The reason is that you have to do more than look Japanese and learn a few Japanese words of greeting to make truly exciting and authentic sushi.

It takes years of training and understanding and buying of fresh fish at 3 AM in the local central Japanese fish market in an area like Los Angeles. Being able squeeze some wasabi into rice and slice a California roll just doesn’t cut it.!!!!

So, for your legitimate and authentic sushi dining pleasure, here is a:

Serious Southland Sushi Situation Summary...........Stat

To begin: No Sushi report would be complete without the two all time big names in Southland Sushi. Then you can forget about them. Until recently they both were in the Trendy Beverly Hills area. Matsuhisa still is. It was started by Nobu Matsuhisa of the now famous Nobu's all over the world. Its Nobu branch in Malibu is over priced, overrated and poorly staffed by people that know nothing about Sushi. The original Matsuhisa is still very creative and very good but expect to spend well over $125 per person.

Ginza Sushiko, however, recently closed and moved to New York. Who cares? It was the most outrageously expensive restaurant in the United States. It sat 10 prox, served only Omakase (chef’s choice) and charged at least $300 for lunch or dinner …. without alcohol. Guess why we never attempted to review it? Marlon and Madonna were regulars.

After those two, the other L.A. cult sushi bar is Sushi Nozawa. It is in a strip mall on Ventura in Studio City. If you eat at the bar, it is also Omakase( See above).

The sushi is somewhat creative but absolutely the freshest in town. Nozawa buys it at 3 AM, serves it that day, sells off what he has left and starts over the next morning. If you question his choice, he points to a sign behind him which says “Trust Me”. If you ask him again he throws you out. I named him “The Sushi Nazi”. Zagat’s stole my line.

However in recent trips, the sushi seems just slightly above ordinary. Service appears designed only to get you in and out in 35 minutes with a minimum bill of $50 per. There was no pleasure to the experience. I think he is burned out and now only cares about turning the tables quickly. He appears to be living on his reputation with celebrities like Eisner, Katzenburg, Spielberg, Geffen and Ovitz, all of whom were forced to stand in line to get in like every one else.

Next in rank was Hirosuke on Ventura in Encino. It was close in quality to Nozawa but the owner aged and seemed ill. It seems that the rigors of delivering high quality fresh raw fish burns out most Sushi masters in about 15 years. Recent visits gave us the feeling of a downhill slide combined with some non-Japanese behind the bar. That is not a good sign.

In the Conejo, Takahashi in the Trader Joe center opened about 15 years ago to glowing comments and standing room only business. 45 minute to 1 hour waits after 7 any night and all weekend were the norm.... and he deserved it. He was great. But he aged, His ngiri cuts became thinner, service was less than amiable. He sold out and returned to Japan. There now may be better overall sushi experiences.

Akio’s, the first sushi bar in the Conejo, however is amazing. The owner Akio is still loaded with energy after about 20 years of serious slicing. It is jammed all the time and so he gets great turnover and the fish is very fresh. But the big thrust of the business is family priced basic Japanese dining so even if you sit at the bar which is somewhat hectic, you don’t get the classic intimacy that you can expect in the classic Shinjuku area of Tokyo.

There are, however two local sushi bars that deliver a complete package. Kaminari in Westlake in the shopping center near Bauducco’s where the airlines offices were located is one. The owner has been a sushiya for 35 years, but he has two long time sushimasters doing the heavy lifting. His experience and competence shows. The sushi is among the most creative in all of Southern California and is very, very fresh. When you enter, you think you have been transported to an offbeat area of Tokyo.

Sushi Yusho is located in Newbury Park off Borchard in the Times Square Center. It is staffed by the Kuge brothers who opened the first sushi bars in the County about 30 years ago. They both sold out, took some time off and refreshed themselves. The atmosphere is authentic, service is excellent and the sushi is very fresh. I am not a big roll eater. I concentrate on the traditional, uni, toro, hamachi, hotategai and sa'ke, but their special Yusho Roll and their Love Roll still wind up shared on my plate every time. Sushi Yusho is very popular with the long time Japanese farmers of the Oxnard Plain. That’s good enough for me.

Cho-Cho San is sort of Japanese and is for the California roll eaters. It not to be taken seriously.

However, one of the great values in Sushi is in Agoura in the Mann Theater complex. It is called Sushi Agoura. It is always crowded. There is always a wait but the prices are great, sushi is fresh although the cuts are less than generous and personal service is almost non- existent. It is, however, worth trying.....at off hours.

IFinally, if you have wanderlust and are near the Los Angeles harbor, try to go to Tsukiji in Gardena at Redondo Beach Blvd and Western. It is named after the famed Tsukiji fish market in downtown Tokyo, the largest in the world where you have seen the photos of those Giant Tuna. They have both a bar and semi- private tatami rooms. Mostly Japanese dine there. It is a current unchallenged real thing as is Kaminari and Sushi Yusho locally.

Two other Sushi bars to consider are Yatsuya in Tarzana and Shibuya in Calabasas. We have not yet visited either but have had very strong feedback on both. Yatsuya is expensive for "omakase only" at the bar. But afficionadoes say it is worth it.

See below for further information and worthwhile ideas for Sushi lovers including ................

Words to use in a Sushi Bar -Thank you "Arigatoo Gozai Masu". Please "Doozo" Very delicious " Taihen Oishii" I'm finished eating "Tsumi Mashita"

Good NIght "O Yasume Nasai"

Ori Shabu Shabu andSushi- Sort of New

There are 110 Sushi Bars within a 30 mile radius of Westlake Blvd and the 101. 110!!! My latest count places at least 20 of that 110 within the Agoura-Newbury Park dining strip alone, and .......each seems to be a very personal and untouchable favorite for many passionate and perhaps self-avowed sushi aficionados. From where are they getting all that rice? Even more important is...... from where are the highly skilled Japanese sushi chefs coming?

Enough is enough. So, why bother reviewing another one? This is a good question, especially since one of the sushi masters at Ori is not Japanese, which according to FAF is an automatic no-no. Well, Ori Sushi Bar and Japanese Cuisine is somewhat different from the rest in a number of ways.

First of all, it is in an imposing completely free-standing (see above) and attractive Asian style building on Skyline Drive just off Thousand Oaks Blvd. You may well remember this as the former location of Hiyama. That restaurant, Akio’s on Moorpark and the still dreaded ChoChoSan on T.O were the Conejo pioneers 20 years ago, serving what was then looked upon by most as “weird stuff” to eat.

http://westlakevillageinn.com/dining/le_cafe.html

It did, however, take the Hiyama owner almost all of that 20 years to drive away most customers with his abrasive attitude. That was sort of sad. While eating sushi at the bar may not have been a pleasant experience, Hiyama did offer the best basic Japanese food served in a very attractive and enveloping Asian garden dining atmosphere. Think crowded store front for most of the others. Further, in a remarkable and paradoxical reversal of trends, Hiyama was only 1 of 4 authentic Japanese restaurants serving the unique Shabu-Shabu in that above 30 mile radius. Shabu-Shabu is a much more sophisticated take (freshness counts) on the Mongolian Hot Pot or the recently revived (why?) Fondue Pot. More on this later.

In our classic testing style, we ate first at the sushi bar now manned by the current veteran owner Kazuhiro Orikono, trained in Kyushu, Japan and Misael Aguilar, a normally dreaded non-Japanese sushi chef… but with 17 years of training and experience at Hiyama . Further Misael absolutely adds to the fun experience with his virtually professional deadpan sushi humor.

We carefully tasted and savored all of the classic premium ngiri sushi including Uni (Sea Urchin) Hotategai (Scallops) Ebi (Sweet Shrimp), Toro ( Bluefin Tuna Belly), Hamachi (yellowtail) and finally Kimo (Monkfish) Sashimi. The above are true tests of a serious sushi bar. All were extremely fresh and perfectly prepared for us by Orikono with side comments by Aguilar. Of course there are all the basic rolls found in the other 110 spots plus unique Ori creations. If you are serious, (and adventuresome) consider his sign behind the bar which also says “Trust Me” and put yourself in his amiable hands. Be sure to indicate the target amount to be spent per person. That is not bad form and in fact is respected. The tone at the sushi bar is very friendly and inviting.

As one would quickly surmise, Orikono had owned and successfully operated a Mon Sushi in the super competitive and picky Tarzana area for 20 years and knows how a sushi bar should function. His equally experienced wife, Keiko Orikono oversees the main dining room and also supervises the kitchen with the same verve and care that exists at the Sushi Bar.

All basic Yaki and Tempura Japanese dishes are attentively served in the very pleasantly spaced main dining room ( in need, however of some minor repairs) which surrounds an unusual Zen style outdoor Japanese garden,,,,,,,,actually designed by a leading graduate of the highly esteemed Kyoto University School of Horticultural Design.

The Tempura offered has a very light, non-greasy coating. Yose Nabe, a wonderful fish stew is one of my favorites. But my wife and I eagerly opted for that elusive Shabu- Shabu which we had 12 years ago at Hiyama and then could later find only on Sawtelle at Olympic in the mini-Japantown of West Los Angeles.

Shabu-Shabu is served for a minimum of two people ($19.95 each) at the table via a large divided pot of steaming broth on a very hot burner. On the side is a generous serving of thin slices of rib-eye steak and a very wide assortment of wonderful and often unusual vegetables. You put the vegetables into one side of the pot and the meat into the other side and in a minute or less you remove the just cooked food , dip it into a choice of sauces and then eat it or place into a rice bowl At the very end, you have two wonderful multi-flavored soups. The resulting tastes are superb.

However, we do have a dining suggestion!!!

There is a lot to eat with all the vegetables, meat and soup. Again all good to the last drop. Thus, we suggest that if you plan on having Shabu-Shabu, go with 4 people and order an assortment of lighter appetizers such as sushi or tempura and then order the full size portion of Shabu-Shabu for just 2 but for all to share.

You will then have the fun of creating an unusual and varied initial "small plates menu" right at the table and thus experiencing a tantalizing selection of tastes at a cost of about $20 prox per person without alcohol.

We had cold sake with the meal and found it to be a perfect counterpoint to the very hot main course. Japanese beer would also be an acceptable choice but perhaps it would be better to save your capacity for liquids for the delicious broth at the end of the meal.

Ori Sushi and Japanese Cuisine

74 Skyline Drive Thousand Oaks 805-496-1067 Easy Parking Most Credit Cards
Open Every Day for Dinner- Mon-Fri for lunch. Food to Go.