By the Light of the Moon...

MoonCat Japanese Sushi Bistro is one of those quirky, rinky-dink places with a whole lot of personality: not quite a sushi dive, but not exactly a fancy restaurant either. As you part the blue Noren curtains and enter this tiny space—and I mean tiny, as in five-seat sushi bar tiny—you are greeted by Lucky Cat figurines, colorful decanters, and the obligatory outbursts from those who work here as they try to out-bellow one another in welcoming their guests.

But what MoonCat (formerly Moondog’s, a hot dog joint) lacks in space, it makes up for in great taste and enthusiastic service, so even on a weeknight it can get packed, as patrons linger on inside (socializing and watching the flat screen TV mounted in the corner) or enjoy sushi al fresco, dining by moonlight at tables on the sidewalk.

If you’re lucky, you happen to be there on a day when the ever-rare (at least on the west coast) conch sushi is available ($4 for the two-piece nigiri), and if you’re really lucky, Chef Naoya may just be there, whipping up a random, off-the-menu special—such as a spicy tuna roll covered with chopped-up shrimp tempura smothered in creamy spicy mayonnaise, eel sauce and dark, aromatic, fried-to-a-crisp onions.

This sushi bar’s homespun charm can be noted even in its miniature notebook-like menus with covers of idyllic images; these menus suggest starters like Popcorn Lobster for $7.50, or “specialty sashimi” such as Ceviche for $13 or Yellowtail Jalapeno for $17.

To tantalize you, Chef Naoya presents a little appetizer comprised of vegetables and fried lotus chip in a roasted sesame sauce. And if you want more exotic sauces, try ordering the “Lime Albacore” roll ($12), which features a unique mango and apple puree on a roll with spicy tuna, imitation crab, pink soy paper, slices of lime and bits of colorful fried noodles.

For something else that’s unusual, try the "Shabu Shabu Beef" sushi for $6. It’s unusually tender and sweet, and embellished with toppings such as green onions, momiji oroshi and ponzu sauce. And if you want something authentic, how about the Aji Fry (fried Spanish Mackerel), panko-crusted and served with Tonkatsu sauce?

For such a small place, MoonCat’s possibilities seem boundless.

MoonCat Japanese Sushi Bistro

108 E. Lime Ave., Monrovia

626-256-6500

Kudos to Sushi Karen of Culver City

Crunchy Roll

Lobster Roll

Kanpachi Jalapeno Citrus Sauce

Freshwater Eel Sushi

Jumbo Scallop Sushi with Yuzu

Sushi Karen: A Love Affair

Culver City urbanites love Sushi Karen.

For a little over a decade, locals have turned this sushi haven—named after the daughter of owner and chef Toshi—into a regular hangout, and you can hear the patter as they confer at their tables about everything from the trifles of daily life to the tenets of sushi dining.

Ever the self-appointed arbiter elegantiae, I immediately mind the menus and assess the ambience here: What type of sushi bar is this? Is it traditional, Americanized, fusion? Is it trendy and pretentious, or serviceable and quaint?

Sushi Karen, as it turns out, offers both traditional and Americanized sushi, and while there seems to be a slightly snooty air about some of its patrons, the restaurant feels generally welcoming to newcomers to this corner of the world. Neither flashy nor pretentious as Westside establishments can sometimes be, Sushi Karen is where highbrow meets casual in a comfortable setting. The prices are also fairly reasonable considering the location, and it’s a rather small place with a 12-seat sushi bar.

Chef Toshi lightly banters with the regulars as he serves the favorites with fervor: the Crunchy Roll, with shrimp tempura, avocado, colorful rice cracker bits, garlic mayo and eel sauce for $13; the baked Lobster Roll, with avocado, yamagobo, mayonnaise and masago, wrapped with both seaweed and soy paper (a great way to combine contrasting flavors but a rarely used technique) for $17; and the Kanpachi (Amberjack) Sashimi with Jalapeno Citrus Sauce for $15.

The food here is fresh and simple, and the sauces, although not fancy, make the sashimi and the sushi rolls resonate with sufficient flavor without being overpowering. Try the monkfish liver sushi, which comes with the standard toppings—ponzu sauce, green onions and momiji oroshi, otherwise known as spicy grated daikon radish. Indulge in the yellowtail belly sushi, which, albeit served plain, is buttery and clean. The freshwater eel is perfect, baked crispy and lightly brushed with sweetness; and the jumbo scallop sushi is plump and flavorful with its sea salt, lemon juice and yuzu seasonings.

From Sushi Karen’s kitchen menus, you can choose from appetizers such as Glazed Marinated Black Cod or Asari Clam Soup; for dessert, there’s Mochi and tempura ice cream. And for those who thrive on that potent potation made from fermented rice, there’s quite a myriad of Japanese sake here as well.

Amid the burgeoning new age eateries and noisy bustle of the Culver City dining scene, Sushi Karen seems to serve as a refuge—for those busy urbanites who are simply looking for a modest sushi joint they can call their own.

Sushi Karen

10762 Washington Blvd., Culver City

310-202-0855

www.sushikaren.com

"Sushi One Spot" Hits The Spot

Sushi One Spot of Rancho Cucamonga

Foothill Roll

Ocean Blue Roll

Yellowtail Belly Sushi

"John" Special (Deep-Fried Wonton Skin with
Assorted Fish and White Onions)

"All You Can Eat" Special at Sushi One Spot

Sushi One Spot of Rancho Cucamonga is indeed the only spot you need to hit if you want to satisfy some sushi cravings…and with an all-you-can-eat price of $23.95 daily (except during lunch Monday through Friday, when that price drops to $19.95), it’s tough to beat.

At Sushi One Spot, the “All You Can Eat” includes the rolls and unique items on the “Specials” side of the menu, as well as uni and halibut sushi (the latter two may only be ordered one time per customer, and only during dinnertime, should you choose the all-you-can-eat option).

I am usually skeptical of sushi bars that offer an all-you-can-stuff-in-your-face-in-one-hour package. Generally speaking, something’s usually amiss at places that prompt you to pig out at a discount. Perhaps the quality just isn’t there; perhaps the sushi rice isn’t properly seasoned; or maybe the chefs serve rice-heavy sushi rolls so that you load up on carbs instead of fish.

Sometimes, all-you-can-eat sushi joints serve rather ordinary rolls and just list them as special rolls on the menu, then everything arrives drowning in eel sauce and spicy mayonnaise, under an avalanche of deep-fried bits of tempura flakes or stuffed with too much cucumber. Patrons that frequent these types of places, then, tend to be those who are overly concerned with “getting a good deal” and mighty portions, rather than diners who actually care about taste and standards.

For dinner one night at Sushi One Spot, I decided on the “All You Can Eat” deal not just because two of the special rolls that appealed to me on the menu—the Foothill Roll and Ocean Blue Roll—would have cost $13.95 each a la carte; but for a restaurant that just opened three months ago, Sushi One Spot appeared spotless: an extensive, gleaming sushi bar with multiple chefs bellowing their greetings and eager to serve; an energy thrummed, and the place, already popular, was duly packed. The service here is also impeccable; the waiters cater nonstop without being pesky, as they briskly breeze past carrying platters of such whimsical-looking creations that you can’t help but inquire. “Oh, that’s the John,” one server replied when I asked about the plate of deep-fried wonton skins topped with a medley of chopped fish and white onions. (This four-piece item on the “Specials” side of the menu, known as “John,” is $8.95 a la carte.)

As loyal Yelp fans might have noticed, at least during the grand opening of this restaurant, there was much fanfare—perhaps they no longer had the dry ice that was served with salmon sashimi for one foggy effect, but they still had some pretty ornamental platters that I’d seen online. I requested, for presentation’s sake, that my Foothill Roll be served on a glittery hot pink butterfly-shaped plate, and so it arrived that way, the green of the wasabi tobiko on jalapeno slices and red dollops of Sriracha hot sauce contrasting nicely against the fuchsia hue. Inside this roll sits quite an interesting mix of ingredients: perhaps imitation crab may sound ordinary, but pairing imitation crab with cilantro, cream cheese and yellowtail certain makes things more interesting.

Then there was the Ocean Blue Roll, which I requested because I’ve never seen a spicy tuna and yamagobo roll that gets topped with slices of octopus and jalapeno, as well as slices of lemon (rind and all, for that extra zest).

The chef even suggested he could serve me half a roll (four pieces instead of eight) so that I could taste even more varieties without getting too stuffed to keep ordering. And so I had four pieces of a house favorite, the “One Spot” Roll—a combination of tuna, white tuna and salmon, wrapped in soy paper and avocado and then served with chili oil, ponzu sauce, masago and green onions. The halibut sushi was delightful with the garlic ponzu sauce I requested, as was the order of yellowtail belly sushi, which the chef chose to serve with a tasty mixture of soy sauce, chili oil, lemon juice and real wasabi.

For those who want the basic rolls and nigiri, look to the back of the menu and you'll find the standard rolls, such as the Philadelphia, Caterpillar, and Rainbow. (Sushi One Spot does introduce something they call the Canadian Roll on this list, which is simply a roll with salmon, avocado and cucumber.) Choose from nigiri ranging from ono to sweet shrimp. Appetizers, also included in the "All You Can Eat," can vary from gyozas to takoyaki.

The sushi rice here is excellent, the fish fresh and the creativity spectacular; I was almost shocked that such upscale fare could be served at such a nominal price.

The “All You Can Eat” lunch price of $19.95 is honored Mondays through Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. All day on Saturdays and Sundays, and during dinnertime on weekdays, the “All You Can Eat” deal is currently $23.95. Children under the age of 7 may eat for $14.95.

Sushi One Spot

10990 Foothill Blvd., Rancho Cucamonga

909-941-1180

Irori Sushi of Marina Del Rey: An Intimate Dining Experience

Sunken Tables at Irori Sushi

Salmon Blue Crab with White Truffle Oil and Ponzu Sauce 

Bluefin Burrata Sashimi with Balsamic Reduction

Kanpachi Caviar

Filet Mignon Uni with Spinach, Red Wine Sauce 

Shooter with Yamaimo

Get Comfortable at Irori Sushi of Marina Del Rey

Irori Sushi creates that certain magic that occurs when traditional Japanese cuisine blends perfectly with a daring twist of fusion, combining a medley of exotic ingredients along with familiar Americanized flavors.

Situated in a shopping complex in the seaside city of Marina Del Rey, Irori Sushi makes sure you feel right at home with their “no-shoes” policy (you are asked to remove your shoes and place them in a cubbyhole right as you enter). And should you happen to not be wearing any socks as you awkwardly tiptoe in, don’t worry—the hostess will hand you a pair of black nylon ones, which look like the little try-on socks you don at a shoe store…the better to protect their delicate tatami floors, another fine feature of this relaxed and intimate dining experience.

You can choose to sit at the sunken sushi bar—the hostess lifts the legless, light-as-air chair so that you can position yourself on what is essentially an elevated floor in the establishment before she tucks the cushioned faux-chair underneath you—or you may want to sit at one of the many sunken tables, which seat three to eight people, depending on the size of the table or whether the table is designed against a wall.

One of the most popular plates here is the “Salmon Blue Crab,” which is shaped like a sushi roll, but without using rice or seaweed. Quite simply, it’s a special item that features blue crab and avocado wrapped with salmon sashimi and then topped with white truffle oil, ponzu sauce, micro arugula and miniature edible flowers. It’s $24 for this six-piece wonder that will leave you in awe for hours.

For a nontraditional approach to bluefin tuna, you can choose between the Bluefin Burrata Sashimi (with Burrata cheese, Balsamic Reduction, yuzu and kai salt) and the Bluefin Delight Sashimi (with a creamy miso-based Nuta sauce, mirin and brown sugar). Both plates cost $28 and come with six pieces of the coveted bluefin. It may be a matter of personal taste, but the Bluefin Burrata blew me away, particularly the way the rich Italian cheese coalesced with the tart balsamic.

Although the "Kanpachi Caviar" dish was fresh and the citrus flavor resonated with me, I found it to be a bit of a misnomer, for part of the name was actually referring to lime caviar, or the tiny gelatinous balls bursting with lime flavor, rather than fish eggs, as I’d thought. (I’ve only seen something similar one time, and that was the lemon caviar served with king crab at the now-defunct Kumo of Hollywood, although on Kumo's menu, it had specified “lemon caviar” and “orange caviar.”)

Taking my taste buds to a whole new level, I ventured to order the “Filet Mignon Uni,” which came with spinach, red wine sauce, balsamic glaze and grated shiso. The chef briefly seared the entire dish with his torch. The result? A rather curious dish with a woodsy pungence. The spears of asparagus (as well as the sauces) actually added a lot to the flavors, offsetting some of the gamey taste that might occur when you pair raw sea urchin with rare filet mignon.

Drawing upon a photo a fan of Irori Sushi had posted online, I asked the chef to make me an oyster and uni shooter with some good ol’ yamaimo—otherwise known as the white Japanese mountain yam—sticking out of the shot glass. Trust me, it makes a good chaser, and beats most super saccharine post-sushi desserts.

Irori Sushi
4371 Glencoe Ave., Marina Del Rey
310-822-3700