Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

Apartment Therapy The Kitchn | 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know

My Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for my family is a bit different then what you would expect. Turkeys are non-existent, instead you'll find rice, some sort of poultry and chili paste. This year we decided to have dinner at NBC Seafood, a location we normally go for Dim Sum. With new owners and a face-lift, I was excited to sample some new food.

The meal started off with Duck two ways. They serve the crispy duck skin with steamed buns and scallions. The duck meat is minced and sauteed with water chestnuts and other vegetables. The minced duck meat is served with lettuce cups. For a roasted duck dish, it was good, but not comparable to the classic Peking Duck.

I was so hungry I had a bit too much of the duck and forgot we had several more dishes coming. The next dishes to arrive were Salt Pepper Pork Chops, my sister favorite, Lobster Chow Mein and some sort of Sea Sponge and Baby Bok Choy. None of these dishes were executed very well. The pork chops were over cooked, the meat came out very dry. The Lobster Chowmein was ok, the Lobster was fresh, but the noodles were bland. The sea sponge which was not what we ordered, was very salty.

The last dish to arrive was the Chili and Honey Lamb Chops. The dish needed seasoning and the lamb was overcooked. The most unappetizing thing about the dish was that it was so oily.

The restaurant was full and has always had great dim sum. But I was not impressed with the dinner service. The food was not impressive and the service was poor. Add those two things together along with the cost of the meal and I don't plan on going back for dinner, only Dim Sum for me.

Thomas Keller and Protégé to Go 20 Rounds - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com

Thomas Keller and Protégé to Go 20 Rounds - Diner’s Journal Blog - NYTimes.com

This would be a dream dinner.

Giang Nan

After a review posted on Chowhound about this place, I decided to check it out. My mom had been there before and said the food was pretty good.

We got to the restaurant pretty early, around 11:15. Giang Nan is located in a small strip mall and the place looks very unimpressive. But the interior is much nicer then you would expect. When we arrived the restaurant was still empty. I let my mom do all of the ordering, but did request some items I had read about. And as usual my mom goes overboard on the number of dishes. We had eleven items total for a table of four, most of it we brought home.

Our meal started of with one of my favorites, on their menu it's called Dried Bean Curd with Vegetable. That might be the most uninspiring name for a dish that is so simple and delicious. Finely minced bean curd is mixed with a unknown Chinese vegetable, a little sesame oil, seasoning and that's it, it's served cold and so good.

Next came the House Special De-greased and Braised Pork Knuckle. This is a braised ham hock with a typical salty sweet Shanghainese sauce. The pork is super tender and falling off the bone. The layers of pork fat melt away from the meat. The meat in this dish is delicious, but there is a lot of fat. They serve some spinach under the pork "knuckle" which soaks up the sauce, so good.

I was pretty satisfied at this point, but we had 10 more items coming. The next few dishes arrived, Sauteed Eel, Shanghai Rice Cake with Chicken, and Roast Duck in Supreme Sauce. The Shanghai Rice Cake was delicious, not over cooked. The Sauteed Eel was okay, much better at Green Village. I did not like the Roast Duck in Supreme Sauce at all, the sauce was overwhelmingly sweet. The next round of dishes arrived, Soup dumplings, Beef Fried Rice, Salt/Pepper Pork Chops and Sauteed Chinese Spinach. The dumplings and pork chops were good, I did no even attempt to eat the fried rice or Chinese Spinach.

The food at Giang Nan was good and the prices were very reasonable. Giang Nan is on par with other Shanghainese restaurants like Mei Long Village and Green Village. Another great option in the San Gabriel Valley.

Baconnaise

Are you kidding me?!!! This is absolutely the most incredible invention since sliced bread!!!

read more...

Watermark on Main Restaurant

Watermark on Main is a new restaurant in the City of Ventura that opened about two months ago. The first thing you will notice about this restaurant is the beautiful decor. The building that houses this restaurant was built in the 1920's. And much of the original decor still remains. The first and second floors contain the restaurant and the third floor is the W2O lounge. The main dining room has a full bar and beautiful high ceilings. The room is dimly lit and has the feel of a classic New York eatery. The food is your basic surf and turf with some house specialties.

Our meal started off with a a couple glasses of wine, I had a glass of the Tobin James Reisling. It was nice, clean and slighty tart. The bread came with two compound butters, a Sundried Tomato and a Garlic Parsley butter. There was also a Olive tapenade served. We ordered Chili Dusted Prawns with Roasted Garlic and a Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad for starters. Both dishes were very pedestrian and not impressive at all. The prawns were small, not seasoned enough and there was too much butter. The beets were under cooked, but the Goat Cheese was delicious.

For our main course we ordered the signature Cioppino and Grilled Ono. The Cioppino was mediocre, the quantity of seafood was impressive, but the "cioppino sauce" was bland and lacked any seafood flavor. The fish in the Cioppino was overcooked and the Mussels were a bit rubbery. For the cost of this dish, $45, I expected a lot more. The Grilled Ono looked very nice, but was a bit overcooked. We skipped dessert and headed up to the lounge.

The W2O lounge was unexpected. The atmosphere was completely different then the restaurant. With flat panel TVs and neon lit tables, this bar was much more contemporary and hip. The food menu in the lounge included several items from the main restaurant, but was tapered down for the bar. The lounge seems like it will be the main stay of the Watermark, the restaurant on the other hand needs some work.

Ocean Star - Dim Sum

Dim Sum is one of my favorite types of meals. I love the variety of flavors, textures and cooking techniques. Ocean Star is the place I've been frequenting lately. On this trip I went with a few friends and all of us were completely satisfied.

We arrived at approximately 10:50, which beat the rush which starts around 12:30. Ocean Star like many Dim Sum restaurants is a large banquet style restaurant. The large room can be divided into smaller rooms with separators. On this day, there was a memorial service which took up about half the restaurant.


As we were seated the carts started arriving immediately. The first cart to visit our table had all the classic items, Shrimp Har Gow, Pork Shumai, Pork Spare ribs and Stewed Chicken feet, we got one of each. I was so hungry, I forgot to take pictures before we attacked each dish. A delicious start and to my amazement, the chicken feet which are an acquired taste, were gobble-up. This group was ready and willing to try anything, which we'll learn more about later. We passed up many of the more filling items like, Steamed Pork Buns and many of the savory pasteries. Next we order Steamed Chinese Broccoli, Fried Shrimp Dumplings, and Soy Sauce Chicken, this was round 2.


The carts seemed to be coming by less often, but in actuality the restaurant was filling up and they just had more tables to visit. As we talked and scanned the other options we waited until something special caught our eyes. Our appetites had been fulfilled, but we wanted more. The next round brought Steamed Chive Dumplings, Crab filled Har Gow and the infamous Cubed Pigs Blood with organs. I had never tried the Pigs Blood so it was more of a challenge to try something new. It is served in a bowl with Pig skin, Tripe and a boiled root vegetable. It can look intimidating but not for this table, we had some real adventurers. The Cubed Pigs blood had the texture of very firm tofu and tasted like a mild liver. Overall it was pretty uneventful, the tripe was delicious. I was impressed that everyone tried with barely any prodding.


We ended with some sweet items, Egg Custard Tarts, Sesame Rice Balls and another new item I've never had, they were Sweet rice balls covered with toasted Almonds. Inside had a custard like liquid that was incredible. Overall the meal was great. And we did it right, we took our time, tried several new things and had great conversation.

Since we traveled all the way to Monterey Park, I have to visit the Chinese market. I bought some noodles and misc items. But we were not finished. Near the market, there is a Vietnamese sandwich shop and my friend had never had a Bánh mì. These our the best deals in town, a freshly made sandwich made with your choice on ingredients on a fresh baked French Baguette. I ordered a few to take home and we had a sandwich at the shop. Wow...talk about being full. What a wonderful day.


See more photos

Amazingly Cool

I'm not even a huge fan of cupcakes but these are pretty cool...check out the ingredients

The Omnivore's 100

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

The Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Wake and Bacon

I want one of these alarm clocks. See how it works.

Tama Sushi - Studio City

My second visit to the Studio City Sushi Corridor. My culinary school teacher recommended Tama Sushi to me several years ago. I finally made the trip to try it out. We got there at about 5:15 on a Saturday, we were the only people in the restaurant. I was looking forward to a Omakase meal with a couple of friends.

As we sat down we were presented with a Sake menu and on the wall behind the sushi bar, the different Omakase prices were listed. We ordered a large bottle of Hakkaisan sake, it was so good. We also went with the mid level sushi Omakase, which was 12 pieces of sushi and a roll for $45.

Our meal started of with Toro and Maguro, both delicious. We asked for ponzu sauce and they also gave us a thick dark soy that was really good. The next set came, it was Japanese Red Snapper with shiso leaf and sea salt, one of my favorites of the evening. The sea salt is such a nice addition to a light fish. Next came Kampachi, Spanish Mackerel and Halibut, all very good.

The second half of our meal included, live sweet shrimp, uni, live abalone, albacore, and a vegetable hand roll. Everything was delicious and fresh. I definitely could have eaten more, but it was a good time to end. I'm looking forward to my next visit to Tama, I promise pictures next time.

Thomas Keller to open Bouchon bistro in Beverly Hills - Los Angeles Times

Thomas Keller to open Bouchon bistro in Beverly Hills - Los Angeles Times

Exciting times in the food world for Los Angeles. The countdown starts...

Sushi Raku II

My second outing to Sushi Raku and they didn't disappoint. I went to meet my friend Laura for dinner and to catch-up on current events. The restaurant was pretty busy, we got two seats at the sushi bar.

In my first visit I ate a whole lot of food. Tonight was going to be a little more mellow. We both started of with a Spicy Scallop Hand Roll. I didn't order this last time, it was good. Their Scallop mix didn't have any mayonaise or at least very little. I thought it was good, not great. Next I ordered Ono nigiri and Laura had Salmon nigiri. I love the Ono, they serve it with some fried onions and a special mayo type sauce, excellent.

Next up was Spanish Mackerel for me and a special cut roll for Laura. The roll was a imitation crab mix on the inside, with slices of tuna and avocado on the outside. The ingredients were pretty standard, but the sauce was a bit different. It was some type of white miso sauce, kind of sweet. My mackerel was awesome, super fresh.

Sushi Raku has an incredible menu of specialty rolls. I watched as all kinds of dishes were being created and delivered to tables. I'm not much of a roll guy, but they did look good. I finished with an order of Halibut Fin nigiri, which I've only had at Uerukamu. It was a huge portion, but I liked the touches at Uerukamu better.

Overall Sushi Raku has become my favorite local spot for sushi. The ambience is nice and the sushi is fresh. I'll be back...soon.

Bittman - What's Wrong with What We Eat.

Interesting and informative presentation on the World's food issues and the Western Diet.

New Restaurants!

Some new restaurants are scheduled to open this summer in the Westlake Village area. Wolfgang Bistro is another one of Mr. Pucks restaurant ventures. The website describes it as "innovative twist on regional favorite dishes, to complement Wolfgang's Eat, Love and Live (WELL) program." It might be a decent option for this part of town.



But the place I'm most excited about is The Counter. The Counter is a hamburger joint that originated in Santa Monica, but now has locations opening throughout the U.S. The concept at this place is "Build Your Own Burger" with over 300,000 combinations.

I know these are semi-corporate establishments, but in this area you take what you can get. BTW, these places are both opening across street from the Four Seasons, next to Dakotas.

How to judge a dude by his food - Food on Shine

Do women really think this way? I know I would love to meet a girl as interested in food as I am. But that's going to be pretty difficult, considering I'm a freak about food.
How to judge a dude by his food - Food on Shine

Recipe Dealbreakers

Michael Ruhlman for those of you that don't know is an author and cook. His blog is both educational and informative. I really enjoyed a recent post about recipes and a NY Times article about following them.

ruhlman.com: Recipe Dealbreakers

Fun in the Sun

Better then late then never. Last Sunday my friends Mike and Sarah had a Pool Party/BBQ at their lovely home. The weather was awesome, the food was fantastic, the cocktails were inebriating and the company couldn't be better.

I brought over some Deviled Eggs with Truffle oil and my moms famous Fried Chicken Wings with a Spicy Asian Chili Sauce. Some other delicious apps included a Spinach and Feta baked in puff pastry, very much like a Spankopita, Roasted Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Spicy Citrus Grilled Shrimp and some great dips and cheese.


If you're having a party at Mike and Sarah's, you cannot forget to mention the wines. On this day we enjoyed several lovely wines,'99 Domaine Matrot - Meursault Perrieres,
'99 F&L Pillot - Chassagne Montrachet - Vide Bourse, '05 Pio Cesare Barolo,'06 Amisfield Pinot Noir - Central Otaga New Zealand and '06 Under The Radar Babcock Winery Syrah - Santa Barbara County.

Then came Tony's famous Margaritas. Dangerous! So smooth, but so dangerous. After a couple of those I was feelin good. More noshing and I was was full, really full. So it was time for a dip in the pool.

Dinner Time! Mike and Sarah had a great menu planned, BBQ Tri-tip, Chicken Kabobs with a Tatziki sauce, Herb Rice and Salad. But, I was still full. Like they say no pain, no gain...so I toughed if out and ate a plate full of food. It was tasty. Dessert included some great Chex Mix Cereal Bars, Coconut Caramel Bars and Chocolate Cake.

See more photos here.

A Nice Refreshing Beverage? Try this...

With the weather getting really warm, a nice refreshing beverage is needed. Here's one that will be hard find(not many bars have Pimms), but worth the effort. I was introduced to this cocktail a few years ago. Since then my quest to find it at bars has been difficult. I did find it in a nice bar in Shanghai. But most bars around my part of town just don't have it. So make it at home, you'll be happy with the results. So delicious!

Recipe

Now that's a kids show

Barney? Teletubbies? Dora the Explorer? The Wiggles? American kids shows seem boring and not very educational. But what do I know, I don't have kids. Now this Japanese kids show looks really good. Maybe it's because it's all about sushi!!!

Mothers Day

My parents and I planned to celebrate Mothers Day on Saturday this year. And of course the destination would be the San Gabriel Valley for Chinese food. I got my mom a bouquet of fruit from Edible Arrangements. It had strawberries, pineapple, chocolate covered apples and cantaloupe.

As we left for SGV, we did not have a specific restaurant in mind, some of the ideas mentioned were Luscious Dumplings, Chung King, Hong Yei and MPV Seafood. We decided on Chung King on San Gabriel blvd for Spicy Szechwan food. None of us had been to this location before. It was lunch time and when we entered the restaurant, it was pretty empty. We turned around and left. We decided to go to Luscious Dumplings, but it was closed, so MPV Seafood it was.

It has been awhile since my last visit, actually two years. As we sat down, were served a complimentary soup and my personal favorite, iced chrysanthemum tea. My mom ordered enough food for a family of six or three members of my family. The first dish to come out was a nice roast chicken with a sesame dipping sauce. The chicken was served traditional Chinese style, on the bone and chopped. I love a basic roast chicken, the skin was crispy and the chicken was moist.



The dishes came fast and furious after that, chicken and black bean sauce, salt and pepper shrimp, thinly sliced beef tendon, chicken and salted fish fried rice. The tendon was shaved thinly and served with a chili oil and julienned scallions, I love beef tendon, but this dish was a bit bland. The shrimp was delicious, but lacking the salt and pepper seasoning and the fried rice was awesome. I thought this was it, but I was wrong. My mom does not mess around when it comes to eating. The next set of dishes were for advanced eaters only, tripe sauteed with vegetables, deep fried pig intestines and salt pepper silkworms.






The tripe dish was good, the pig intestines were crispy and came with a sweet dipping sauce. The texture of these intestines were interesting, the outside was crispy, but once you got by the crisp, the rest of it was chewy. This was the first time I have had intestines prepared like this. They were good, but I could only have a few pieces because they were so rich.







The salt pepper silkworms were labeled on the menu as "ground cucumber with and salt and pepper." But the picture of the dish showed what looked like worms to me. My mom had tried a similar dish in Hong Kong, she said was good. The worms were sauteed and served with fried garlic, I did not taste the salt pepper seasoning at all. The worms had a very nutty earthy flavor. I felt like the dish need more spice, but since it was basically a Cantonese restaurant, spicy would be hard to find. I tried a good amount of the worms, but they really didn't appeal to me.

I loved this meal, we had a nice variety of dishes. Any many things that I have not tried before. The most important thing was my mom had a good time. Looking forward to the next visit SGV.

From Dodger Dogs to organic franks, L.A. is a hot dog town - Los Angeles Times

From Dodger Dogs to organic franks, L.A. is a hot dog town - Los Angeles Times

Pookies - Thai in Westlake Village

Good Thai food in Westlake Village? It does it exist. I went to Pookies for the first time tonight with a friend. I had heard about this place and read a few reviews, so I was looking forward to the experience.

Pookies is located in a business complex, an unusual place for a restaurant. But they have been there for several years. The location is actually pretty nice. There is a nice pond and outside tables. With all of the businesses closed in the evening, it was quite serene.
I ordered a Thai Iced Tea and my friend had a Singha. For dinner we had the Monsoon Spicy Noodles, which in most Thai restaurants would be Pad Kee Mao, with chicken, Jade Curry and "Hot Stuff" aka Larb Gai. The names of all the dishes were a bit disappointing. I say stick with the traditional names. All the dishes were good, but I especially liked the Jade Curry, which was a green coconut curry with chicken and vegetables. None of the dishes were as spicy as I had hoped, but the condiments helped. I also thought the portions were a bit small.


Overall Pookies is a good Thai food restaurant in the Westlake Village area. I definitely plan on going again.

Andy Rooney on Fruit

In Videos: Andy Rooney on Fruit

Pretty funny observations from Andy Rooney on 60 mins last night.

Mastro's Leftovers - Stuffed Again!

I had quite a bit of the prime rib leftover from the other night, at least 2/3. So, I decided to make a steak sandwich for lunch. I bought a hoagie roll from the local deli and dug out the center. As I sliced the prime rib, I toasted the roll. I made a garlic aioli with horseradish and brought some mixed greens from home.

I placed the sliced prime rib on the roll and back into the toaster oven. After a few mintutes, I removed the roll from the oven and added the aioli and greens. The greens wilted nicely from the heat of the sandwich. This thing was pretty big, it was a footlong roll and there was about 16oz of meat. I ate the whole thing...

I'm as full as I was the night of the meal, but it was so good. I need to run it off tonight, otherwise I may die in my sleep.

Restaurant etiquette 101

Article on Restaurant Etiquette from Real Simple magazine

Mastro's - Thousand Oaks

Had dinner at Mastro's for the first time. I was prepared for a Ruth's Chris type atmosphere, but I was wrong. The decor and ambiance was much different, a lot more fine dining, then steakhouse. Unfortunately, it's so dark, you can't appreciate everything.

We were seated in the Napa Room, which is located next to the M Bar. The room was empty except for one group, we arrived pretty early, around 6pm. There is a nice wine list and cocktail menu. I ordered a glass of Castellina Chianti and we started with oysters in the half shell and "steak sashimi". The half dozen oysters included Blue Points and Chefs Creek. The Blue Points were definitely to my taste, especially with the Atomic Horseradish. The "steak sashimi" was a seared beef tenderloin thinly sliced over wasabi mash potatoes. While it wasn't quite sashimi(I was hoping for completely raw), it was delicious. The wasabi mash was forgettable.

For our entree's, I had the 33oz Bone-in Prime Rib(med rare) and Pawan had the 22oz Bone-in Ribeye(med rare). Both steaks were cooked perfectly and nicely seasoned. My prime rib, had a bit too much fat for my liking. We also ordered the Gorgonzola Mac and Cheese and Sweet Potato Fries. The side dishes were awesome. The portions were large and neither of us could finish everything. But our server talked us into dessert anyway.

His description of the Warm Butter Cake made it sound like the most decadent and delicious dessert ever created. It was good, but by no means was it as good as he'd described. It was served with ice cream, whipped cream and sliced fruits.

As traditional with many high end steakhouses, everything is offered a la cart. Which means the price can be pretty high and at Mastro's they are. But the service, food and ambiance make it worth while for special occasions.

Seoul Food - Elyse Sewell and Korean Food

Cool video video by Elyse Sewell visiting Korea and enjoying the food scene.

Sushi Raku - Agoura

My first visit to Sushi Raku last night. I guess this place has been open for a couple of years. I've been seeing ads in the local mailers, so I decided to check it out.

As I entered I noticed the flat screen tv's. They were not as obtrusive as one might think. I was seated at the sushi bar in front Sushi Chef Peter. The bar seats approximately 15 people. There are several booths as well. The decor was nice, kind of contemporary Japanese.

A couple of the specials were Live Scallop and Live Mirugai. Here is a list of nigiri I had: Japanese Scallop, Japanese Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Hamachi Toro, Ono, and Unagi. I also had an order of the Green Mussels. All of the fish was fresh, the Spanish Mackerel was a bit more fish then I've had before. The Ono and Japanese Mackerel were really good. The serving sizes were pretty big, almost too big, but who's complaining.

Sushi Raku might be my new local spot. Sushi Agoura has dropped a bit lately in my book. Next time I go, I'll take pictures.

Comme Ca - Los Angeles

The service was great, the food was good. We had a party of three and reservations at 5:30. After reviewing the menu and our appetites. We decided to stick with just starters and cocktails.

We ordered the Roasted Bone Marrow with Oxtail Marmalade, Steak Tartare, The Charcuterie plate and the Tarte Flambee. The bone marrow should be served with salt, as it was a bit bland. The steak tartare was fresh and I really enjoyed the capers that were mixed in, I thought it needed more seasoning. All the meats on the items on the charcuterie plate were good, the pork rillette was quite different then the one I had at AOC, but it was good. Our cocktails, were inventive and made with very fresh ingredients.

Overall, our experience was good. Our server was very well educated on the menu and attentive to our needs.

Maui - Da Kitchen

So I just got back from Maui last weekend. I was there for my friends wedding. It was an awesome trip. It was my first time there, so I did some research on the local food near where I was staying. For plate lunches, it was all about Da Kitchen.

So on the first day, I decide to go there for lunch.

Asanebo

Asanebo, is my first visit into the Studio City sushi corridor. Within a five mile radius there are at least five well known and highly touted sushi restaurants. Asanebo which means "late riser" in Japanese is definitely not just your average sushi restaurant. It received a Michelin star earlier this year. As a matter of fact, the cooked dishes are highlighted equally with the fresh fish brought in from Japan. The business card says "Japanese Gourmet" and overall all the dishes are well thought out.

The menu includes a page with daily specials, including seafood brought in from Japan. The rest of the menu has entrees and assorted fried specialties. Our server was well educated on the ingredients as well as the preparations of each dish. Dishes that stood out for me were the Lobster Sashimi with Black Truffles, Wild Spanish Mackerel Sashimi from Japan, and the Kampachi with Miso Sesame Sauce.




Some of the misses of the night were the King Crab Tempura in ponzu sauce, which looked so crunchy, but was soggy in the ponzu sauce. The sauteed Abalone with Asparagus and mushrooms was bland and under seasoned. Many of the daily specials were sold out, but that's understandable given the day.

Overall, Asanebo is an above average Japanese restaurant. Creativity and variety make it a worthwhile visit. Next time, I'll try the Omakase which I hear so much about.

3.5 out of 5 stars