![]() I had no idea he was going to bring this out, but I was happy to try it. :) This is a pretty rare Sake (even in Japan), and regarded by many in Japan as one of the best Sake in the world. He disappeared into his kitchen, and soon returned with a bottle of Tokusen Koshino Kanbai Ginjo Sake from Niigata, Japan! This Sake isn't on the menu, and Mori-san says that he stocks a limited quantity (when he can get his hands on it), for true Sake lovers. He remembered me from my visit last year (impressive memory :), and I placed my dinner experience in his hands, "Omakase kudasai." Perusing the Sake menu, we began to converse about various Sake and some of my favorites, etc., and he told me to wait a minute. I was seated in front of Chef Mori, and he greeted me warmly. :)Įven its entrance is rather humble and understated, like its Chef-Owner, with a single light, shining upon a simple wooden door.Īs with my first visit, I appreciated Mori Sushi's interior design, which features some of the nicest, understated decor for a traditional Sushi restaurant in Los Angeles (outside of Urasawa): Simple white walls, clean lines, wood panel floor and nice lighting. While Mori Sushi occupies a corner retail space, trying to find it may cause some confusion for first-timers since it has no visible sign outside of a picture of a stick figure fish. But this was before my culinary journey to Japan, and my visit to Urasawa in L.A., so I was curious how Mori Sushi would fare given the new perspective. Still, I felt that Chef Morihiro Onodera delivered some great Sushi and a great dining experience overall. ![]() ![]() I don't mean to impugn the credibility of US-trained sushi chefs, but a simple fact is that training in Japan generally imparts enhanced skills in the areas of precision and consistency. In Japan, many itamae typically spend 5-10 years on tasks like preparing the shari, tamago, or kanpyo (and before that, simply cleaning or washing dishes!) before being permitted to make sushi. Compare that to the US, where chefs can graduate from a "sushi academy" in a few months, or where they may be thrown into serving diners on their first day at work, and you can begin to understand this discrepancy. In Maru-san's case, his skills were indistinguishable and in some cases better than many Japan-trained itamae working in the US, and this is certainly laudable. I definitely look forward to returning.On my first visit to Mori Sushi (in 2007), I had just come to appreciate the wonders of Sushi Zo, and came away from Mori Sushi impressed, but put off by the cost. Perhaps even more astounding is the fact that Maru-san's experience as an itamae has come exclusively from his work at this shop. This was helped along by the exceptional variety of neta, which in my estimation probably rivals any US sushiya that I can think of. This standard of variety and care was even extended into the types of otoro cuts that were provided to diners on my visit - hagashi (cut from between the belly sinews) and setoro (from the "shoulder"/upper back). While not everything served was flawless, any small flubs were lost in the overall consistency of the meal. The shari is on the mild side, but nuanced in both texture (slightly dry) and seasoning (a blend of akazu and gomezu) the word "balance" comes to mind as the best descriptor. Ingredient sourcing is at the highest level, from garnishes and palate cleansers ( wakamomo and fresh wasabi from Shizuoka ) to some very rare wild neta ( matsukawa karei from Hokkaido, aji from Awaji Island, anago from Ishikawa, and awabi from Tokyo Bay.). I'll get this out of the way first: my visit to Mori Sushi is the best sushi omakase I've had in Los Angeles, period, and the shop certainly deserves a ranking in the top tier of sushiya throughout North America. Mori-san sold his sushiya several years ago to his itamae to focus on other pursuits (ceramics, of which many are prominently displayed and used at the restaurant, and rice farming, which supplies the shari for the restaurant). The current head chef is Masunori Nagano (or "Maru-san"), who has been with Mori since his beginning in Los Angeles. When he opened his own shop in the early-2000s, Mori-san transported several of Yasuda-san's key principles - namely, a particular focus on the shari, and a relatively simple, unadorned style. Morihiro Onodera, the shop's original chef and founder, was a disciple of Naomichi Yasuda during his days in the late-1990s at Hatsuhana, at the time one of New York's top-ranking sushiya. Mori Sushi perhaps represents the earliest cross-pollination of the more "traditional" style now pervasive at sushiya in New York City and the "strip-mall sushi" culture that has developed in Los Angeles over the past 30+ years. $180/person and up, before drinks, tax, tip.
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