Everybody is talking about R23 so I decided to check it out. It’s about 3 blocks East of Little Tokyo and you would never find it by accident in a million years. “Hidden” would be putting it mildly.  Not only is it in a semi-industrial part of the area, it’s in a building with other regular businesses and isn’t even in the front of the building.  I felt like I was going to an underground rave to get some “E”.

You’d think that in this part of town, parking would be ginormous.  Instead, it’s a tiny strip of parking and about 4 spaces of street parking.  But they do have valet parking for $3.

Enter straight into the main part of the restaurant. When they say that it’s a gallery, they mean they have some big paintings on the walls… and it does kind of looks like a loft/gallery.  My impression was that although it was small, it had a clean look to it, except for the weird artsy cardboard chairs.  It’s not any less comfortable than wooden or metal chairs in many restaurants. I just didn’t like the look of them. But that’s me. I’m no art connoisseur.

From what I’ve heard, I guess celebrities eat in another dining area in the back but I didn’t get to see that. There are only 8 seats at the sushi bar so if you don’t get there early, forget about sitting there. Okay, that’s enough about the place.  Let’s get to the food.  Click on thumbnail for larger image. Click your browser’s “Back” to come back here.

Rib-Eye steak with ponzu dipping sauce – $20
Sushi (Tako, Hamachi, Albacore, Sake) - $20
Miso soup – $3
Rice – $2

The lobster tempura is supposed to be the dish to check-out here but I’m not big on lobster, so I got the Rib-eye instead.  The steak was cooked to perfection and I love the ponzu sauce. By the way, there are no prices listed on the non-sushi menu.  That’s how you know you’re in a fancy restaurant.

As you can see, the sushi is somewhat oversized. In fact, they put 2 smaller slices together on the Tako to create the illusion of a single longer piece.  It was sliced very thin, and made it easy to chew.  This is similar to the way some places serve Tako-Su.  The miso soup was a tiny bit sweet for my taste because I like it more traditionally salty.  I had a little too much food for desert so that’ll have to wait for my next trip.

After your meal, your check comes in a wooden box with their logo, that looks like something out of “World of Warcraft” or Nintendo’s Zelda.  I thought I’d get a power-up when I opened it, but alas, just a hand written check.  No computers here.

All in all, although there are tons of great items on the menu, in my mind, the sushi is the main attraction here. I’ve heard people complain about the pricing here but I guess I must be used to crazy pricing and found the prices here reasonable for an upscale restaurant with good service.

R23
923 E. 2nd. Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 687-7178
r23.com
Lunch: Mon-Fri  11:30am-2pm
Dunner: Mon-Sat  5:30pm-10pm
Closed Sunday
Map

Albacore sushi - $3.22, Salmon sushi - $3.25, Hamachi sushi - $3.98

Zencu is a little hard to find and you’d probably never find this place by accident.  It’s located on the second floor of the building attached to the Japanese Village Plaza called Little Tokyo Mall. The parking is off of San Pedro so turn left on 2nd Street onto San Pedro. Then take the elevator to the second floor.

Zencu has a nice atmosphere with booths and a large sushi bar. There are plasma screens all over the place but that’s the not reason why people come here.  It’s the price of the sushi.

They do charge you 95 cents for hot green tea but you can’t complain when the sushi prices are so low.  It’s not the best sushi in LA, but it’s the best sushi for the price.  It’s fresh and prepared very nicely.

On this trip, I also had the Beef yaki soba for $8.95. It’s okay but stick with the sushi here.  They also have pasta, shrimp, and a bunch of other dishes to entice you.  A friend of mine comes here for the Kirin draft beer for only $1.50.  Cheap beer and sushi. What more do you want?

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

Hiyashi-Chuka (cold raimen noodles in sweet sour sauce)

If you ever find yourself in Little Tokyo at 2am on the weekend, after drinking or strip clubbin’, stop by at Suehiro on 1st Street. It’s been there forever and although the food is more “Mom and Pop” than gourmet, it’s pretty good, especially at that hour. Late night, you can pretty much park anywhere on the street but the police station is real close so don’t park in the red zone. During the day, it’s hard to find parking so park at one of the lots.

During the summer, they have their Hiyashi-Chuka noodles. If you like noodles and want something different, try it out. I love their sauce that it’s in. Hmmm. You can also get “Somen” noodles, which are very think cold noodles.

For desert, ask if they have their home-made Japanese style flan. It’s a little like the Mexican flan, if you’ve ever had those. They are often out of the flan but it’s a nice meal closer if they have it.

Suehiro Cafe
337 E. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 826-9132
Sunday – Thursday: 11am – 1am, Friday – Saturday: 11am – 3am
Map

Shibuya is a slick and posh looking Asian slash Japanese restaurant inside the MGM in Las Vegas.

From the outside, you can see the biggest “screen saver” wall you’ve ever seen. They tricked me into thinking that there were 50 large screen plasmas but actually, there are only 6 x 3 or 18 in the middle area.  The other screens are the same size but are dummies that change color.  In any case, it’s impressive and must have cost a lot of money.

There are about 15 seats at the sushi bar with 5 sushi chefs. If my math is correct, that’s 3 customers per chef. I guess that’s why the prices are so high.  The other room contain most of the regular seating and looks like something out of a futuristic Asian movie set.

I decided to order a mixture of some of my favorite foods:
Yellow tail sashimi  – $16
Shrimp tempura udon – $16
Salmon sushi – $9.50

All items ordered were presented well and tasted as good as they looked.  However, you are paying extra for the ambiance and exceptional service.  Of what I ordered, I liked the sashimi the best. The Udon was good but not exceptional. The sushi was normal portions by LA standards, and certainly not what you may expect for $9.50.

For desert, I ordered the sake soaked dark chocolate cake which was to die for. It’s a tiny portion, but that’s about all you can eat because it’s so rich.

This would be a perfect place to come to impress your date.

Shibuya
MGM Grand
3799 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-3001
Map

OM rice with salad - $9.95

This restautant is in a strip mall with other restaurants and even a tiny tomato bank. If you come when it’s busy (like weekends), parking can be difficult but they do have valet parking.

Blue Marlin has recently been slightly remodeled with new furniture but the food is the same old great stuff. They have curry, pasta, and even risotto (delish!) all prepared in a slightly Japanese-trying to be-bistro style. It’s located in the “West Little Tokyo” area on Sawtelle, with all the other Japanese restaurants and stores.

This OM rice is basically rice wrapped in an omlet. I actually like the one at the Curry House better, but this one’s good too.  Be sure to try their salmon dinner, and any of their pastas.

Blue Marlin Mistro
2121 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 445-2522
Sunday: 11:30am – 10pm, Monday – Thursday: 11:30am – 10:30pm, Friday – Saturday: 11:30pm – 11pm
Map

Curry House doesn’t serve any sushi here but if you like Japanese style curry or pasta, you must check this place out. They also have branches in other parts of the city but the one in downtown is the best one, IMO.

For something simple, try the beef curry on rice if it’s your first time. Once you get addicted, try the different styles of curry and pasta. When you’ve graduated to the advanced levels, try the Ika  and Tarako (squid and fish eggs) pasta. Mmmm. Love it.

I’ve been going here for many years and their menu has changed slightly (I miss the asparagus salad) but the food here is very consistantly good. The house dressing is the bomb. Put it on your must try list.

If you want to get it to go, there’s a separate “to go” version on the first floor, but all they do is get the order from the restaurant.

Curry House
123 S. Onizuka St. #204, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 620-0855
Map

Chirashi Jyu Sushi Box (Ta-ke) $18.95

Found this gem of a sushi restaurant inside of the Little Tokyo Shopping Mall on Alameda between 2nd and 3rd Street. It’s a 3 story mall with a bunch of stores and restaurants inside. It’s not likely that you would accidentally find this place unless you were already shopping in the mall.

If you like authentic Japanese food, including real sushi, as opposed to some type of new fusion roll, this is the place to check out. If you look on their website, you’ll see the owners have a long background with Japanese restaurants in Los Angeles. In any case, their sushi chefs are one of the best ones I’ve come across, and they make great nigiri sushi.

The Chirashi box that I got on this trip comes in a double decker deep dish and the bottom one contains sushi rice and the top has the sashimi.  Hmmm.  All the dinners come with miso soup, pickles and other stuff, and as with other authentic Japanese restaurants, the hot green tea is free.

I’ve tried almost all the dinners here and I can recommend all of them, including the Una-Ju (eel bowl), and grilled salmon.  Delish.

Sushi Go 55 Restaurant
333 S. Alameda St. #312, Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 687-0777
sushigo55.com
Monday – Friday: 11:15am – 2:15pm Lunch, 5:30pm – 10pm Dinner
Saturday: 11:30am – 2:30pm Lunch, 5pm – 10pm Dinner
Sunday: Closed
Map

Ahi Tuna Sushi - $9.50, miso soup - $2, rice - $2

Joy Mart, located in Little Tokyo, is one of those “fusion” slash Asian type places. Nothing wrong with that but don’t expect to find any traditional Japanese plates. The menu I think says sushi, but it’s really sashimi. Who cares. I ordered it because it’s in ponzu sause and I love it because of it. Afterall, you really can’t screw up sashimi that much, since it’s raw afterall.

Although the rice was $2 extra, the hot tea was free like it should be.  The one other strange thing was they put tempura batter in their miso soup. Now, I’ve seen that in Udon and Soba noodle soup, and I don’t like that, so I certainly didn’t like the fatty tasting miso soup. I like miso soup because it’s light and not heavy. Why would I want fatty tempura batter in it? Oh, yeah. It’s fusion.

Joy Mart Restaurant
Sake bar and sushi
137 Japanese Village Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 680-9868
Map

Find the best mini cream puffs this side of the Pacific Ocean at Yamazaki Bakery in Little Tokyo. There’s a new place in “West Little Tokyo” that claims to be the best “in the world”, and it wasn’t. But Yamazaki delivers the goods.

I like the mini size because the full sized ones that they have elsewhere are too much cream for my fat ass.  And as my friend Unique (not her real name) says, “Cream coming out is always good!”  No disagreements there.  However, if you go there too late, sometimes they’re sold out. They also have a chocolate version but I prefer the regular ones for 75 cents.

They have a bakery on site so it’s not a wannabe retail outlet like some other places. The pastries were made fresh that morning. They also have bread, specially made cakes, and other weird pastries that you’ve probably only seen in Japan.

Yamazaki Bakery
123 Japanese Village Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 624-2773
Open 7am-8pm 7 days a week
Map

Grilled Salmon Combination with hot soba for $13.99.

This noodle house called Yashima is in the “West Little Tokyo” area on Sawtelle and used to be called Mishima, which moved to Wilshire (then eventually closed that branch). If you like Udon or Soba, I highly recommend this place. To be honest, they changed something with the soba a while back and it’s not as good as the original, but it’s still much better than the usual soba you’ll get from any wannabe noodle house. Remember, I’m super picky.

As per the custom at “real” traditional Japanese restaurants, hot green tea is on the house.  Also, if you like spicy salmon sushi rolls, try it here.

The service here is excellent but it gets super busy on weekend nights. To make matters worse, this place is small, so you might try weekdays, or during lunch.

Yashima
11301 Olympic Blvd. Suite 210, Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 473-5297
10:30am – 10pm, 7 days a week
Map

Update August 2011:
A few months ago, this place changed owners and the quality has done down dramatically. Today, I had their cold Udon and it appears they just forgot to cook it. The Takotsu is a joke and pretty much everything else here has turned to crap. I will never return here again.