You may have seen a strange looking taco truck driving around town with the word “Calbi” on it. I’ve seen them in West LA, Downtown and other areas of popularity. They also have a website at calbibbq.com where they have a calendar showing the location of their 2 trucks and even a Twitter page. So the day has come when taco trucks have Twitter pages.

Calbi Taco (2)

Well, I like tacos. I like Korean BBQ, and I like Kimchee. So, it was a no-brainer for me to try this out. Unfortunately, the concept is great but it just doesn’t taste good. I thought it would be spicier and more… well, Kimchee-er.  To me, it just tasted like a bad taco.

When a friend of mine told me about a great sushi place in Valencia, I was a little skeptical.  This restaurant is located in the Valencia Town Center, which is an upscale outside “mall” with movie theaters, restaurants and a bunch of other businesses. Who knew this place existed way out there.

There are “street” parking outside the restaurant or you can park in the parking structure and walk over. This restaurant does not look like your traditional Japanese restaurant, but instead looks more like any upscale restaurant with great lighting for ambiance. My friend tells me it can get really busy here so you may have to make reservations.

My friend tells me the hot food is great here but of course, we ordered the sushi.  We got an assortment which was prepared to perfection and about as fresh as possible. The chef prepares the sushi with ponzu and soy sauce so you just pop the pieces into your mouth where it will just melt away.

This was a wonderful discovery for me and will have to return for more of their delicious sushi here. The pricing here is a little high so don’t come here looking for bargains. Come here if you want to have some of the best sushi you can have in Los Angeles.

Maru
24250 Town Center Dr. #180
Valencia, CA 91355
(661) 290-2595
maruvalencia.com

As I said in my last re-review of Honda Ya, I really like this place as a Izakaya restaurant. But this blog is supposed to be about sushi, so I decided to try it there. They don’t have nigiri sushi, but they do have rolls and hand-rolls.

Salmon Handroll - $3.50

As  you can see above, I tried the salmon handroll, which was nothing to write home about. However, the salmon was fresh and the nori (seaweed) was very fresh, which is important for handrolls.  Unfortunately, the ginger was very dry for some reason, but that’s being super picky.

Don’t come here to eat just sushi, but there’s plenty of other super tasty treats to eat here so get the sushi as a side order.  Try it.

Honda Ya
333 South Alameda #314, Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 625-1184
Tuesday-Sunday: 5:30pm to 1am (last call about 12:30am)
Map

Asuka is located in Westwood and has been at this location for probably 20 years or so because I remember going here in the 80’s.  When my cousin told me she was visiting LA with her family and wanted to go to a sushi place, I thought of this place because it’s brightly lit, and seemed like a child friendly place from my memory.

Upon entering, it all looked pretty much the same as before.  Last time I was here, they had a female sushi chef, which is unusual, but not on this trip.  We all sat at a table and ordered a bunch of different items. Of course, I ordered the Nigiri combination, which was above average but not top notch. But I guess that’s about what I expected from here so I was not disappointed.

Nigiri combination - $22

All in all, this is the place to come if you don’t want anything fancy, and light well lit places to bring your family.  So, don’t come here for any type of ambiance or for ordering anything fancy for a hot date.

Asuka Restaurant
1266 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 474-7412

Mon-Thu: 11:30 am - 2:00 pm
Mon-Thu: 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Fri: 11:30 am - 2:00 p.m
Fri: 5:30 pm - 11:00 p.m
Sat: 5:30 pm - 11:00 p.m
Sun: 5:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Last time I was at Zencu, I didn’t try a sushi roll so I decided to go back for another check. I ordered their Zencu roll, which is made up of a bunch of ingredients that I forgot to write down, but I think tuna is in there.  In any case, the rolls here are pretty good and fresh.  These large rolls are hard to eat so it’s probably not a good thing to order if you’re a female pretending to be demure out on a date.  But for us guys, who cares.

Zencu Sushi & Grill
319 E. 2nd. Street #206
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 687-7780
Map

Sometimes I’m in the mood for some red meat instead of sushi.  I like the Shabu Shabu House in Little Tokyo but it’s often too crowded with a long wait.  If you don’t mind paying just a little more for better quality, walk down the street half a block over to Shabu Shabu Yo.

Shabu Shabu beef - $16.95

The only problem here is they offer no parking, or validation at any parking area.  So either you have to pay for parking or find street parking.  This place used to be another Shabu Shabu place before, but they apparently went out of business and now have re-opened with new owners.  The interior has been remodeled but still offers counter service as well as table service.  The old tatami (sitting on floor) is no longer offered.

Included veggies and Udon noodles

As you can see from the picture above. the quantity and quality of the vegatables are superior to the other place.  They also offer much more Udon noodles.  The quality of the tofu may have been slightly inferior to the other place but it’s a close call.

By the way, it was slow when I was there and the waitress was checking on me every 5 minutes. She even “cleaned” my pot during the meal, the way they do it at very expensive Shabu Shabu places.  I doubt you’ll get this level of service when they are busy but it’s a good sign, if you’ve read my customer service rant.

In the pot cooking

Another bonus here is they do not close after lunch.  They stay open straight through so you don’t have to try to get there when they open for dinner to avoid lines.

All in all, I recommend this place if you don’t mind paying just a tad more for better quality and you don’t want to feel like cattle.

Shabu Shabu Yo
356 1/2 E. 2nd St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 808-1211
Mon - Thr: 11:45am - 10pm, Fri-Sun: 11:45am - 10:30pm
Map

When the Little Tokyo branch of Honda Ya opened in 2007, I reviewed them out one week after their opening. Sometimes, restaurants get worse, while others get better.

The restaurant has expanded and have taken over the area to the right.  So there are more table seating available.  The rest of the restaurant is still pretty much the same with the Yakitori bar, Tatami (floor) seating area, and a large table for parties (or singles) in the middle of the room.

This time, instead of ordering the combo, I chose the “Izakaya” style dishes with some Oysters (see picture) which was flavorful and prepared well.  I also ordered the Tororo ($2.95), which is grind Japanese yam.  It’s very traditional and is rarely available at non-traditional Japanese restaurants.

Cooked Oyster - $6

Next up, I tried the White meat chicken, Asparagus, and Liver ($2) from the Yakitori bar. All were prepared as well as any Yakitori restaurant, and as you can see from the picture below, the chicken comes with some wasabi so be prepared for the extra punch.

Yakitori - $2, Asparagus - $1.80

It was a cold night so I ordered some Miso Ramen ($7.25) for my “main” dish.  Again, the miso was good and the ramen noodles were cooked perfectly.  Click on the thumnail below to see a larger version of the ramen dish.

The second picture below shows the prop footwear placed in front of the Tatami area to show visitors that you must take off your shoes before going in that area.

There’s also a prop kitty sleeping in that area if you look carefully.

All in all, the food has improved since their grand opening and I can recommend this restaurant for anyone looking for authentic Izakaya (side dishes) prepared properly and in the traditional way.  Service is good when it’s slow but I don’t know how it gets on weekend nights when it’s packed.

Honda Ya
333 South Alameda #314, Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 625-1184
Tuesday-Sunday: 5:30pm to 1am (last call about 12:30am)
Map

There has already been a review of Yashima Noodle in the Olympic Collections at Sawtelle (which is apparently now closed), but none of the other restaurants in the building.  Now, it’s time to checkout Kiriko, which is located on the first floor, on Sawtelle.

It’s a very small and narrow restaurant, so if you’re going to go when it’s busy, I’d suggest you make reservations.  Most of the restaurant space is taken up by the long sushi bar.  You can park on the street, or better yet, just park in the Olympic Collections parking lot and get validated.

The tables are very small and just barely enough space for your food.  In the extreme back of the restaurant, there’s what appears to be traditional sitting areas if you want to sit on the floor, but I’m not positive it’s not just for show.

We were seated very close to the entrance and the music was a little too loud. This is caused by the speaker system setup being uneven, causing them to have to turn up the sound to make it loud enough for the entire restaurant. They need a more expensive system with multiple speakers spread out around the restaurant.  Expensive restaurants usually have that down.

But I digress.

Tuna Tartar

We started the mean with some Tuna Tartar, which was on a bed of avocado and rice, prepared in a European style, rather than Japanese. For me, it was a little too oily and bland, but some people may like it.

Albacore Nigiri - $4.50

Next, I wanted to try out some Nigiri sushi, so I tried some Albacore. The ponzu was perfect, the Albacore was fresh and the nigiri was prepared well.  No complaints here.

Shrimp Tempura Roll - $9

The waiter highly recommended the Shrimp Tempura roll for some reason, so I tried it and found it to be very average at best.  Nothing wrong with it, just not something that should come highly recommended.

We also had their “Uni to Hotate no chawanmushi,” which is a Japanese style hot egg custard with sea urchin and scallop.  The chawan-mushi is a very traditional Japanese dish and this was prepared perfectly.

We also had ice cream for desert, which doesn’t warrant any review, in my opinion.

So, the sushi is above average, and I don’t think it’s worth the somewhat higher price.  I’ve had better sushi for the same or even lower price.  The service was subpar, especially since we were basically the only customers there.  The waiter never checked to see if we needed more green tea, and I had to ask for more myself.

All in all, if you’re in the area, you can check this place out but it’s not worth an extra trip from another area.

Kiriko
11301 Olympic Blvd #102
West Los Angeles, CA
(310) 478-7769
Map

There’s probably a book that talks about this at length, but since I don’t read, I decided I’m going to write about it.

Have you ever visited a restaurant on a Friday night and couldn’t get good service?  Forget good service.  You couldn’t get service, period.  Even though they have a ton of waitresses, there’s so many people, they can’t get to everyone.  So, you thought to yourself, “Hey, self.  Let’s come here when it’s not so crowded.”

So, you return to the restaurant on a Monday at 5:30pm.  This time, there’s only 3 other tables with customers, but there’s only one waitress.  Guess what happens.  The waitress seems to disappear after she goes to one table.  When she finally reappears and takes your order, she disappears again, not to be seen for 20 minutes.

What you have experienced is what I call “Customer Service Equilibrium,” or CSE.  Basically, it just means that the quality of service goes to the level required to perform the minimum required work.  Therefore, when the business is super busy, the workers work quickly and hard to just barely maintain some level of customer service.

However, when it’s slow, the few workers slack off because there are less customers.  They no longer rush or work hard because they don’t have to.

I’ve noticed this happening at badly managed restaurants, retail stores, bars, and even strip clubs.  There’s not much the customer can do.  Complaining to the waitress will just make them spit in your food.

But this CSE factor is the difference between a well run business, and one that’s probably going to fail eventually.  I guess it’s like Darwinism for business.

I don’t know how long they’ve been doing this, but apparently, you can get a 10% discount on your order if the clerk likes you.  It’s called a 10% neighbor discount.  I guess that means that you have to be a regular customer or something.  Not sure if you can just ask for it, or you have to go there a lot for the clerk to recognize you.  It doesn’t hurt to ask for it.  10% discount on $2.50 is a whopping 25 cents.  In this economy, you need to save every cent.