Many Angelenos know about the sushi Nazi at Sushi Nozawa in Studio City. What I wasn’t aware of  is that he and some investors have decided to open a chain of sushi restaurants called Sugarfish around Los Angeles. The idea that you can duplicate the “Trust Me” sushi at multiple locations is somewhat counter intuitive.

Nonetheless, we decided to try the Brentwood version of this experiment. The restaurant is located in a strip mall so parking is no problem. However, the actual restaurant is tiny and they do not take reservations so come early or plan on waiting a while to get in.

Although you can order sushi a la carte, basically, the menu consists of 3 items: Trust Me ($28.50), Trust Me Lite ($19.50) and The Nozawa ($35-$38).

Tuna Sashimi

All the 3 choices come with Tuna Sashimi which comes with the perfect sauce that makes the sashimi taste completely different from dipping it into regular soy sauce.

Nigiri sushi

As for the nigiri sushi, the rice is warm and is not packed tightly and is loose and will break apart. Traditionally, it’s proper to use your hands when eating nigiri sushi so that might be the best way to eat these nigiri sushi. However, the ponzu sauce makes it a little messy if you use your hand.

But I digress.

The point is, all the nigiri sushi are absolutely amazingly delicious. When they tell you it will melt in your mouth, it’s not an exaggeration. If you’re one of those people that don’t like chewy sushi like octopus, you’re in the right place.  Frankly, I don’t think this is strictly traditional nigiri sushi but if not, it’s better than that.

Traditional roll

They have kept the Nazi feeling here by having the waitress tell you to eat the plates right away before the nori (sea weed) becomes soft and telling you not to dip the sushi that has ponzu sauce into soy sauce. Hey! Don’t tell me how to eat my food. Okay, they’re right but I just don’t like being told what to do.

What’s very surprising is the service. They bring the plates as the sushi is prepared so that some people in your party will get their sushi first, which is unusual. Personally, I have no problem with that. What I have a problem with is that the server did not ask if I needed more green tea even once on 3 separate trips. This is exactly the opposite of what happened to me at Mori Sushi where they basically stalked you constantly filling and re-filling your green tea.

On one of my 3 trips there, we didn’t even get a menu for about 10 minutes, even though people were being served next to us.  Any competent server at Denny’s would be better. On top of that, a bottle of beer was dropped by the waitress at the table near us and splashed everywhere. I watched the entire event from the start and the way she was serving the bottle tells me that this waitress has never served beer before, let alone know what to do when it is dropped to the floor.

Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t categorize the service here as “bad,” but certainly questionable for a Nazi place where they tell you how and when to eat.

I could be completely wrong but it appears that the servers are completely inexperienced. Perhaps, this is a way to save money. If so, this is a really bad business decision and might be the only reason for this place not succeeding in the long run.

And no, the green tea is not free.

Whatever is going on with the service, that’s about the only fault I can find in this place. The food is certainly unquestionably good, and affordable for the excellent quality.

I’ve already been here 3 times now and plan on returning again soon.

Sugarfish Brentwood
11640 W. San Vicente Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90049
310-820-4477
sugarfishsushi.com

One of my favorite dishes is Veal Piccata, so when I was told about a good Italian restaurant in Honolulu, I decided to try it out. It’s located inside the Ala Moana shopping center, so it’s very convenient if you’re already shopping there.

Veal Piccata

The atmosphere here is casual but not in a bad way. I like the setup, although in some areas, the tables seemed to be too close together.

I didn’t even read the entire menu, and went straight for the Veal Piccata. I’ve had Veal Piccata at many Italian restaurants around the country and the world. Unfortunately, I must report that although this one was cooked properly, the sauce was only average at best. I cannot recommend it for somebody that really is into it like me.

Worse that the Veal, the service was terrible. During dinner, the waitress did not come back to ask me if I needed anything. Not even once. I find this to be below acceptable levels of service.

All in all, between the average Veal and bad service, I’ll have to skip this place next time I’m here.

Ala Moana
1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 1259
Honolulu, HI 96814
808-942-3446
assaggiohi.com

Previously, I wrote a quick review of this sushi roll place, but wanted to add a little more information. Although this place specializes in all kinds of rolls, you can order regular nigiri sushi here. But what you get is the largest, thickest piece of raw fish you may have seen anywhere.

Salmon nigiri

In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would ever complain about sushi having too much raw fish, but I must say that these pieces were too thick and too large. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. If it was cut thinner, it might have been okay but it was just too ridiculously big. Some may like it, but I didn’t.

11629 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 996-2366
calrollfactory.com

On one of my outings to old town Pasadena, I decided to try out Kabuki for their sushi. This place kind of as a party atmosphere and their menu proves that with a long list of sake and other alcoholic beverages. I’ve never been here before but this is now a big chain. I have been to the original one on Foothill in Pasadena many years ago but this one is a newer branch.

For my sushi, I decided to go the easy route and got the Omakase Deluxe for $17 as shown below. “Omakase” in Japanese means that they choose what you get but according to the menu, I think it’s always the same.

Omakase Deluxe

The sushi is prepared properly and is fresh. You get a lot for your  money and is definitely a bargain, especially in old town Pasadena. The menu also includes ramen, soba and a lot of other goodies to try out. Unfortunately, hot green tea is not free here but the food is still pretty good.

All in all, if you want to drink, and have some good sushi, this is a good pick.

88 W. Colorado Blvd. #103, Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 568-9310
kabukirestaurants.com

While in Hawaii, I decided to try out a chain sushi place called Genki Sushi. This place has the conveyor belt system like they have at the Frying Fish in Los Angeles. In case you’re not familiar with this system, the conveyor belt moves around the restaurant bringing pre-made sushi plates around to the customers. This place is clean and new looking, and often very busy because of the low prices.

Genki Sushi conveyor belt

Unfortunately, that’s about the end of the good news. There’s a reason why the prices are so low. The sushi “chefs” are basically minimum wage type workers who have been trained to use some type of mold they used to create square pieces of rice. As you can see below, not only are the pieces tiny, the rice falls apart because they are not created by pressing them into the hand like a real sushi chef would.

Ika Sushi - $1.50

Also, as with other conveyor belt sushi places, it’s not a good idea to pick up the ones from the belt because it’s often not fresh. It’s smarter to order a specific piece from the waitress so you get one made fresh. As a matter of fact, the saw some on the belt that looked like it was dried out and old. Yuck.

After trying a few different ones with no luck, I came across the Natto Sushi (shown below) that was tasty and made in an acceptable way. Hey, how can they screw this up, right?

As for service, because it was so busy, service was sub-par. Nobody came to see if I needed more tea or anything else for that matter. The only person helping me was the guy sitting next to me at the counter. But what do you expect for these low prices?

Natto Sushi - $1.50

All in all, if you are not a picky sushi eater (unlike me), and want to save money, and don’t mind the crowds, and happen to be in Honolulu, you might try this place. Otherwise, skip it.

Genki Sushi
Ala Moana Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd.#2096
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808) 942-9102
genkisushiusa.com

While in Honolulu, I decided to try an upscale Japanese Restaurant located in the Ala Moana mall called Rokkaku. Although this restaurant uses authentic ingredients, the dishes are not old school traditional dishes by any stretch of the imagination.

Since I wanted to try everything, I decided to try their Sampler Course for $65. The first course was a cold Shrimp and Sea Urchin soup, which was good but the seasoning was not my taste. Next was the Foie gras sushi, which was made perfectly but again, not my cup of tea.

The next dish was a grilled spare rib which was delicious but got a little messy to eat. I really don’t consider this to be a Japanese dish but it was prepared and seasoned very well.

The following dish was a butter fish in sweet miso soup, which looked a lot tastier than it turned out to be. I’m not a big fan of this fish in the first place, and the sweet miso was not to my liking. I’d rather have a salty version of this dish.

The dessert was milk pudding which was again done correctly but didn’t do anything for me.

The atmosphere and service was excellent here. Some people may not like the location in the mall, but I find it to be very convenient, especially with the unlimited mall parking spaces.

All in all, what seemed like a great place turned out to be somewhat disappointing. However, I would be willing to try this place again for some of their other dishes.

Rokkaku
1450 Ala Moana Blvd # 2056
Honolulu, HI 96814-4616
(808) 946-3355

The Old Spaghetti Factory in Hollywood used to be one of my favorite places for pasta but they’ve been closed for many years. Since I don’t live close to any of the other ones in California, it’s been years since I’ve been to one.

On my recent trip to Hawaii, one of my first stops was at their Spaghetti Factory. As usual, I ordered the Manager’s Favorite with Meat Sauce and Mizithra cheese. The meal comes with a salad, drink and ice cream for only $10. What a bargain. What I love is the consistency of the meal no matter which one you go to. It’s kind of a noisy restaurant but it’s great for big families with kids, maybe not so great for dates.

Manager's Favorite - $10.25

Back in the day, I used to go to Terried Sake House on Santa Monica Blvd. But over the years, I stopped going there but they had some authentic Japanese food for very reasonable prices.

Fast forward to July of this year and after 25 years, they closed and was replaced by B.A.D Sushi. After 25 years, the location was getting really dirty and the new owners cleaned up the whole place and it was a much needed facelift.

The basic setup with the sushi bar is still the same but the place looks less homey and more Asian fusion. Everyone at this place is so friendly, it almost seems like they might be on some kind of happy pill.

Eal Garlic Roll (contains Shrimp Tempura) - Cream cheese added

Basically, instead of the big menu of different Japanese dishes that used to be available back when this place was Terried, now it’s basically all sushi rolls. They have tons of them to compete against California Roll Factory which is 2 doors away.

Apparently, the owner of this place likes to be funny because who would call a sushi restaurant “B.A.D. Sushi”? Not very appealing. For $12, you can get a roll called “Bloody Friend.” That’s when you know the owner really is off the wall.

Crunchy Spicy Tuna Roll

The quality of the sushi rolls are fine but nothing to write home about. There are tons of these sushi roll places. The pricing is a little high but it’s not crazy compared to some other places I have seen. The green tea is no longer free, which tells you how non-authentic this place is now.

If you liked the old Terried like me, this place is not for you. I guess  sometimes you don’t miss a place until it’s long gone.

B.A.D. Sushi
11617 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles

Let's Party

This Japanese product is actually called “Let’s Party” and is a package of roasted crabs. No, not small parts of crabs. The whole thing, including the pinchers and legs. They are covered with Sesame seeds and glazed with a sweet and salty coating. Just pop it in your mouth and chew.

They kind of remind me of dried cockroaches, or what I would imagine those would taste like. Otherwise, it tastes pretty good except for the pinchers sticking into the roof of your mouth.

The marketing people might want to change the name though. You don’t want to “party” and have crabs.