Restaurant Review #222: sugarFISH, Marina del Rey

Tuna Sashimi

sugarFISH is a sushi restaurant by Chef Kazunori Nozawa (of the cult favorite Sushi Nozawa in Studio City) that emphasizes simplicity and quality over trendiness and pretention. You won't see the words "spicy," "crunchy," "rainbow," or "California" anywhere on the menu. In fact, you'll see very little on the menu, period--it's so basic that it's only a page long.

In addition to simplicity, sugarFISH emphasizes the omakase concept, where you let the chef choose everything you eat. But unlike most restaurants, at sugarFISH, omakase is not synonymous with super-expensive or with surprise. The price is clearly stated on the menu ($23 at lunch, $27.50 at dinner) as are the fish you'll be eating.

The dining room is colorful and narrow, with booths for two or four people lining one wall and a sushi bar on the other. What's unusual about this sushi bar is that there are no sushi chefs and no fish behind it. The chefs only work in the kitchen. If you find it intimidating to sit at the sushi bar, or if you want to have a private conversation during your meal, the arrangement at sugarFISH is a good thing--it means that half the seating in the restaurant isn't automatically off-limits.

My friend and I met for lunch at 12:45 on a Saturday afternoon, and the restaurant was virtually deserted, with only four other patrons. Emptiness is usually a bad sign in a restaurant, and I hadn't bothered to read any reviews before I went--I saw "Nozawa" on the website describing the place and assumed that was all I needed to know. That the restaurant is in a popular Marina del Rey shopping center off Admiralty Way that was bustling with shoppers made the emptiness all the more disconcerting. But, continuing to place my faith in Chef Nozawa's reputation, I ordered as I usually would, rather than testing the waters with a small order first to see if the fish was any good.

Snapper with chili ponzu

We opted to share an omakase (called "Trust Me"), sans shellfish, which neither of us can eat. The waitress didn't hassle us about substituting the crab roll for a yellowtail roll. We also added an order of snapper. A la carte sushi is priced at $4.25 to $5.75. Nothing carries the dreaded "market price," and nothing costs $5 per bite. It's probably the most affordable, patron-friendly sushi menu I've ever seen. The portions are smaller than they are at many sushi restaurants; however, sugarFISH is one of the only sushi restaurants I've been to where the sushi was the appropriate size to eat comfortably in one bite, the way it is supposed to be eaten.

The first dish we were presented, edamame, was cold--not refrigerated cold, but obviously not just cooked. Truthfully, I am not sure what the proper temperature to serve edamame at is, but I prefer mine warm and was turned off by the idea that my edamame might not have been freshly prepared. Thankfully, the soybeans turned out to be an aberration.

Salmon nigiri

Despite what many people think, nigiri is actually supposed to be about the rice, not the fish. The rice at sugarFISH is incredibly fresh--maybe too fresh, because the rice underneath the first fish, the snapper, was almost hot. But it was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and loosely formed. Chili ponzu sounds like it might be an overwhelming sauce for a fish as delicate as red snapper, but it came through as a subtle enhancement. I thought nothing of the sesame seeds sprinkled on the salmon when the dish came out, but on tasting the pairing, I wondered why more chefs don't see the brilliance in combining light, toasty, and nutty flavors with this fish.

Unlike the best omakases I've had, the kitchen didn't pay any attention to the timing of sending out the dishes, so we weren't really eating everything at peak freshness and our table became cluttered. We hadn't finished the tuna sashimi when the nigiri started arriving, and we hadn't finished either when the handrolls came out. Also, the Trust Me, as we learned the hard way, is not really designed to shared--we had to cut the two hand rolls with an ordinary table knife, which was a little annoying and kind of ruined the presentation. At least we were encouraged to eat the hand roll right away, while the nori was crispy.

Toro, the fatty underbelly of the tuna, is supposed to be a standout among cuts of raw fish. I'll admit that it rarely excites me (unless you count the spike in my heart rate when I see how expensive it is). This toro handroll was no exception. Maybe I just don't have enough appreciation for subtle flavors, but the yellowtail handroll didn't taste like much to me, either.

Scallop roll

At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I actually don't understand why virtually every sushi restaurant, including, surprisingly, sugarFISH, feels compelled to mix its scallop sushi with orange mayonnaise. Raw scallop is naturally sweet and can easily hold its own. The mayo was used sparingly, though, and the roll was not bad.

A highlight of the meal, besides the freshness of the fish, was the sauces (mayo notwithstanding). The house-made ponzu that came with the tuna sashimi was maybe the best I've ever had. The yuzu sauce that graced the halibut was equally good. At the end of the meal, I wouldn't say we were full, but then, it's hard to get full on sushi. As my out-of-town friend commented, "In New York, you go out for sushi, then you go out for pizza." sugarFISH doesn't offer any desserts, but there are a Pinkberry (for however much longer it can last) and a Starbucks in the same shopping center--handy if you always crave ice cream after sushi like I do.

Yellowtail nigiri

Another unique feature of sugarFISH is that a 16% gratuity is included with every meal and the menu says that no additional gratuity is expected. Since I leave 15% even when the service isn't good (more if it is), I really don't mind having 16% added to my bill automatically. I also like that there's no pressure to leave more than 16%. Some restaurants, I've noticed, now calculate "suggested gratuities" of 18, 20, and a whopping 22% at the bottom of every receipt. Perhaps the best part of the automatic gratuity, though, was that when it came time to pay the bill, I didn't have to do any extra math. And the bill was that it was only $44 for 2 people--one of the least expensive sushi meals I have ever had and with plenty of variety and no sense of deprivation.

Though I was satisfied with my meal overall, and certainly with the quality of the fish and the prices, I'm not sure I would go back. With the lack of other patrons, the atmosphere was a bit of a downer. I'd also prefer a menu with a wider selection. Of course, there is little else to complain about. The service was the best I've had in ages--granted, our waitress didn't have much else to do, but at some restaurants the waitstaff seem to disappear into the back and do nothing the whole meal if business is slow. And they also have special meals designed for takeout--a rareity among sushi joints.

sugarFISH has another location in Brentwood that opened on July 10--perhaps it's busier. Though the Brentwood location is a little closer to me, I assumed that parking would be a nightmare and opted to drive the extra miles to the Marina del Rey location because of the copious parking I could see in the satellite view on Google Maps. The two restaurants have completely different interiors, so it doesn't feel like a chain: see photos here. sugarFISH is also one of the only quality sushi restaurants I could find in the general vicinity of West LA that was open for lunch on a Saturday.

sugarFISH
4722 1/4 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Phone: 310 306-6300
Mon-Sat 11:30 am - 10 pm Sun 12 - 9pm
sugarFISH website

Restaurant Review #215: O2 Sushi, Simi Valley

Hawaiian ceviche

I found O2 Sushi on Yelp! while looking for a nice, independent restaurant in Simi Valley, land of many casual restaurants and chains. Simi Valley actually has a surprising number of independent restaurants - you just have to work a little harder to find them since they aren't in freestanding, multi-thousand-square-foot buildings with giant red signs. Perhaps even more surprising are the number of sushi restaurants in Simi - at least ten by my count.


Albacore roll (front) and scallop roll (back)

I will admit that I am skeptical of eating sushi in a place that doesn't have the culinary reputation of Beverly Hills or West LA or West Hollywood because for me, sushi doesn't have a middleground--sushi that's just okay is not okay. But after examining O2's online menu and prices, I felt confident that the odds would be good with this place.

We went early, around 6:30, thinking we would beat the rush, but when we got there and found the place full, we thought perhaps people in Simi like to eat earlier than people in LA. Like all sushi restaurants, you can choose between a table or bar. The sushi bar is the focal point of the restaurant, brightly lit with a backdrop of blue-grey fabric mimicking water and a school of silver fish swimming energetically toward the ceiling. Almost all of the tables run around the perimeter of the restaurant, so there is a considerable amount of privacy. I could even push my chair back without hitting the person behind me.



The teriyaki filet mignon ($20) cooked medium rare is a nice change of pace from the usual teriyaki chicken (which they also serve). Since teriyaki sauce can be very sweet, I wasn't sure it would be a good match for such a fine cut of meat, but this sauce was very subtle and the steak was beautifully presented on an oblong plate with vibrant green asparagus, an orange pepper, a single curled shrimp and a rectangle of cantelope. The entree came with standard-issue miso soup and a fresh green salad with a tasty soy vinaigrette--not quite Maggie's Farm quality (my favorite salad purveyor at the Santa Monica Farmers Market), but not bad for the middle of winter.



Teriyaki filet mignon

The Hawaiian ceviche (lead photo) was a ring of wafer-thin half slices of lime heaped with voloptuous wedges of whitefish, tuna, salmon and yellowtail, interspersed with cilantro and almost unnoticeable slivers of red onion and marinated in a succulent citrus-soy vinaigrette. I didn't care for the whitefish, which was a bit crunchy, but the tuna was especially supple. And for $11, it was plenty of fish, too.

The albacore roll and scallop roll were sloppily presented compared to the other two dishes, but that didn't affect their flavor. The portions were generous, the rice was loose and moist, and the fish was top notch. The albacore roll had the perfect amount of wasabi packed in, and the mayo in the scallop roll, despite looking a tad menacing, didn't actually have any flavor (and that was fine with me).

The service was slightly erratic, but friendly. The waitress seemed to expect us to know what we wanted to order almost instantly, and the arrival of the food wasn't well-timed. But honestly, I'd rather have the minor shortcomings of this restaurant than a technically perfect meal where I can't hear the person sitting across from me, I'm bumping elbows with my neighbor and I'm being rushed through my 7:00 reservation to accommodate the next reservation at 8:30. And, like every place in Simi, parking is plentiful and free, and there's no need to contend with a valet.

Overall, I was very pleased with the high-quality fish, the relaxed ambiance, and the reasonable prices.

O2 Sushi
2902 E. Tapo Canyon Rd. Unit A
Simi Valley, CA 93063
805.527.0202
O2 Sushi website

Restaurant Review #202: Sushi Roku, Santa Monica

I've been to Sushi Roku, a small chain with locations in Santa Monica, Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Las Vegas, more times than I can count. I suppose I always choose it in an attempt to fulfill a sushi craving when I'm in downtown Santa Monica and don't feel like fighting rush hour traffic to Brentwood or West LA or the Santa Monica Airport, where there are considerably better options (but it can take a terrible hour to make the four-mile drive).

I've always found it perplexing that a place as close to the ocean as Santa Monica doesn't have better fish. There are those who will argue that I should go to Sushi King (too much wasabi, no atmosphere, I say), and I used to be a big proponent of Noma until they gave me some dried-out hamachi, but for the most part, all the sushi options in the area seem more focused on being trendy than on serving top-notch fish. I'm surprised that there are still restaurants serving sushi rolls that contain mayonnaise, but I guess there are still people who enjoy that.

Sushi Roku is, in fact, another one of these not-so-good sushi options, and on top of that, it's overpriced. I like the decor, the low lighting, and perhaps the familiarity, even though the fish is sloppily cut and I never leave feeling satisfied. Once, three years ago, I had the tasting menu and was quite impressed, but that was in my considerably more naive days and pre-Foodie Universe. My tastes have changed considerably since then. How could they not have, now that I've eaten pad kee mao at Krua Thai, mole coloradito at Monte Alban, fresh tofu with sea salt at Musha, and sweet corn ravioli at Melisse?

Even though Santa Monica is a beach town, you'll probably feel under-dressed here unless you're wearing business attire or trendy LA clothes. Sushi Roku's service is often a bit snobby, which seems to be a requirement to work at a wannabe trendy restaurant. Some of their tables are awkwardly positioned in the middle of the room, and you're likely to get stuck at one of these as punishment for not having a reservation, even if it's a Monday and none of the better tables are occupied at any point during your meal. Also awkward is the bathroom situation--Sushi Roku is located in a large office building, and their bathroom is not actually in the restaurant--it's in the office building, and it has a bathroom attendant. Not only do I have having to pay money to have someone hand me a paper towel, I find the whole bathroom attendant thing to be incredibly backward.

Sushi Roku's specials are generally more interesting and more flavorful than simply ordering from the sushi menu, but I didn't order any on my last visit. Instead, I tried the crunchy tuna avocado roll, the albacore scallion roll, the spicy scallop roll, and a few pieces of nigiri. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach--even with a friend's help, I couldn't eat it all.



Our food took an unbelievably long time to arrive, particularly considering that the restaurant was only half-full and almost everything we ordered did not require any cooking. The crunchy tuna avocado roll arrived first, but it seemed like it had been sitting out for a while before it made it to our table. It was soggy, not crunchy, especially because someone had the brilliant idea to put something that was supposed to be crispy in a pool of orange mayonnaise. The sauce was good and the roll was flavorful overall, but it might as well have contained chicken since the delicate flavors of the avocado and the tuna were totally overwhelmed by the fried flavor and the sauce. A million years later, the rest of our food arrived. The albacore scallion roll tasted bitter--something had to have been wrong with it, though I wasn't sure what. I'm not sure why I didn't send it back--maybe I just figured that Sushi Roku couldn't do any better.

The toro jalapeno roll was also disappointing. Toro, the fatty belly of the tuna, is supposed to be the king of sushi, but here it just tasted watery, and I should have known better than to expect heat from the jalapeno--without its ribs and seeds, jalapeno doesn't rank very high on the Scoville scale.

The spicy scallop roll was probably my favorite, even though it was one of those blasphemous mayo-fish rolls and it was dotted with a Sriracha-like sauce--two things that can't help but overwhelm the delicate flavor of scallop. Instead, I focused on enjoying the flawlessly smooth texture of raw scallop.

After my latest experience, I think the spell has finally been broken. Whatever used to draw me to Sushi Roku despite my better judgment will draw me there no more. If I'm going to spend $40 or more on dinner, I might as well brave the traffic and go to my old standby Kiriko, where I can get more food that tastes better for the same price.



Sushi Roku
1401 Ocean Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.458.4771
Sushi Roku Website and Menu

Restaurant Review #6: Nobu Malibu

At Nobu Malibu, I died and went to sushi heaven. I savored the following:

Mushroom salad
Kelp Salad
Tiradito (Peruvian-style sashimi)
House Special Roll
Spicy Yellowtail Roll
Red Snapper nigiri
Mackrel nigiri
Kanpachi (young yellowtail) nigiri
Yellowtail nigiri
Avocado tempura
Shiitake tempura
Pumpkin tempura
Matcha (yes, it was!)

My friend had two shrimp tempura rolls and the kobe steak. He doesn't like seafood, so the fact that he liked his first roll enough to order a second definitely says something.


Rock shrimp with creamy spicy sauce

On a previous visit, before I realized I was allergic to shrimp, I had the rock shrimp, and those were the best shrimp I have ever had.

Nobu Matsuhisa is known for his Peruvian-influenced sushi dishes. His innovative creations have inspired many a roll gone bad at lesser restaurants, but the real thing is divine.


Tiradito

The tiradito cold plate consists of thin slices of halibut with a drop of hot sauce in the center of each piece. I enjoyed putting a single cilantro leaf on top of a piece of the tiradito and rolling it up with my chopsticks. I appreciated the presentation, originality, and intense flavor of this dish, but I would have prefered a more flavorful fish. Would the dish have worked with mackrel, I wonder? I could see the mackrel going with the spicy sauce, but I'm not sure about it going with cilantro. Of course, hot sauce and cilantro are strong flavors that might overpower or clash with a more flavorful fish.

The mushroom salad was to die for if you are a mushroom fan. It had a variety of sauteed mushrooms--shiitake, enoki (alien mushrooms), oyster, and more.

I tried to eat the kelp salad as a leftover the following day. I didn't like it at all, and thought the tangy dressing was a poor match for the seaweed. Not eating the dish fresh was probably part of the problem. It had white, yellow, bright green, and bright pink seaweed, making it surprisingly colorful for a seaweed salad.

The nigiri was all great. It was what it was supposed to be. Need I say more? Maybe not, but I will anyway. I especially enjoyed the red snapper, which I hadn't had before because while many places list it on their menu, it's not always available. It most closely reminds me of yellowtail, but I think I liked it even more than yellowtail (my favorite).

I didn't enjoy the kampachi, though it wasn't an issue of quality, just an issue of personal taste. I really hate the texture of shiso leaves. It's kind of like putting a think slice of scratchy cat tongue under my fish. And this fish, to me, tasted kind of soapy. Odd, I know.


Yellowtail and jalapeno cold plate

At Nobu, you can order a multitude of different kinds of vegetable tempura in sets of two instead of just getting a huge plate of mixed veggie or shrimp tempura, so I got the stuff you can't usually get - shiitakes, pumpkin, and avocado. I don't really think avocado tempura is a good idea, but I think mushroom tempura is heavenly. The high heat from deep frying seals in the mushroom's moisture, creating a fantastic and rare combination of crunchy and juicy.

I was excited about the tea because rather than dunking a bag of green tea in boiling water, it was obvious that this was real matcha, a powdered green tea mixed with a special bamboo whisk. It was a bit frothy on top--something that regular tea just doesn't do. I've never seen another restaurant serve this.

I really enjoy the atmosphere of this restaurant. The low lighting gives the restaurant a warm glow, and the place isn't too big or too noisy. It's in a somewhat secluded (and difficult to find) location, so there isn't outside noise from the highway or nearby businesses (most of which are closed at night). Our table was plenty far away from everyone else's, making it ideal for private conversation, but we did specifically request a quiet table ahead of time.


Nobu's dessert offerings include a banana filled crepe, dark and white chocolate spring rolls, a trio of creme brulees, a flourless chocolate cake, and homemade ice creams

As if the great food weren't enough, when it came time to leave, staff asked us where we were headed because PCH had just been closed again due to rain and mudslides. They called someone to make sure it really was closed, then made sure we understood the alternate route home they wrote down for us. The staff was very friendly and not pretentious at all in spite of it being an upscale restaurant that sees its share of celebrities (from what I hear). When we requested a particular table, we got it. When my friend requested that the check never get anywhere near our table so I wouldn't be preoccupied with the price since it was supposed to be a treat for me, the staff followed through. When one of my rolls had shellfish in it, which I am allergic to, they apologized about five times and re-made it immediately. Also, we werestill there about 45 minutes after closing, and almost everyone, including most of the chefs, had gone home, but no one so much as looked as us funny (even if on the inside they were wondering how anyone could possibly eat so slowly). It really felt great to be treated so well. Overall, I had to wonder why I bother eating at lesser quality restaurants when I could be having more experiences like this (if I saved my pennies--this kind of quality ain't cheap!).

This is one of my favorite restaurants and I recommend it to you highly.


The outdoor seating area

Nobu MalibuMalibu Country Mart (off PCH, where Ben and Jerry's, Marmalade, and a movie theatre are)
3835 Cross Creek Rd
Ste 18A (it's tough to find, bring their phone number with you in the car)
Malibu, CA 90265
(310) 317-9140
Hours: Mon-Thu 5:45pm-10pm
Fri-Sat 5:45pm-11pm
Sun 5:45pm-10pm
www.nobumatsuhisa.com

Restaurant Review #1: ZaZen, Marina Del Rey (now closed)

ZaZen's sleek decor, creative (sort of) dishes with raw fish, and very red interior lend it the trappings of trendiness, but its not-happening-enough location on the Venice pier and the large TV screen prevent it from being truly so. This is the type of place that the hopelessly hip go for a nice date, where the boy barely disguises his greater interest in the game while the girl wonders why her prettiness isn't enough to draw all his attention to her. I'm not a fan of trendy restaurants, and the place that tries and fails at trendiness doesn't make me any happier.

Their extensive drink list features a number of special concoctions guaranteed to knock you off your feet rather quickly--which makes sense, since the atmosphere screams pop seduction. Since I'm not much of a drinker, I always appreciate an actual drink list to prevent me from ordering something embarrassing (but tasty!) like an amaretto sour. Of course, who's to say that tried-and-true girlie drinks are any less embarrassing than the latest trendy martini?

The food is interesting and pretty good, though sushi purists won't find much to appreciate. After all, the menu is yet another Nobu wannabe: Latin-influenced raw fish. But that's fine for lots of people.

I went on a Monday night, and the restaurant was nearly empty, but hey, it was Monday. Based on the atmosphere, it strikes me as more of a weekend night, pre-club type of place. The thing is, ZaZen is clearly not a place of culinary or aesthetic inspiration. It's very LA in its imitation of supposed hipness. But if that's you, then there's no reason you won't enjoy ZaZen, and though it's not me, I'd much rather be dragged here before a night of dancing than to El Cholo.

Parking on the pier is difficult, so you'll probably want to valet it for $5. The valet, which serves the entire pier, is on the slow side.

ZaZen
30 Washington Blvd
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 305-4010