A Sushi Place You Don't Want to Miss!

I love sushi.  It's light, flavorful, and actually pretty healthy (if you don't overdose).  Unfortunately around campus there aren't too many spots where I can get my craving fulfilled.  Soy, the japanese grill, is a frequently visited spot by most students, but I don't find the rolls to be very fresh.  When I'm about to eat raw fish, I don't like to take too many risks.

 One of my favorite go-to sushi spots is downtown in Little Tokyo. Located right in the heart of the town, Tenno sushi is a great quick stop for dinner.  It's fun, casual, very inexpensive, and tasty!

I was a little hesitant upon passing the restaurant for the first time.  The sign outside the door saying "50% off all sushi" had me a little worried.  But I swallowed my initial assumptions and trusted the advice of my friend Tory (who lives in Little Tokyo).

I was seated by a waiter who looked like a Japanese body builder (interesting combination).  Both the menu and sushi list were quite extensive.  Not only do they offer sushi sashimi, and maki (hand rolls), but there is an entire entree menu as well.  Anything from teriyaki bowls, to grilled salmon, and udon is available.

Sushi Menu

I was amazed by the vast array of specialty rolls they had.  The Pink Lady Roll caught my attention.  It filled with spicy crab meat, spicy tuna, cucumber and avocado.  Then topped with seared tuna, sliced lemon, and ponzu sauce.  Now that's some serious sushi.

Although my eyes were mesmerized but the vibrant pictures of the sushi creations, they immediately focused on the simple sushi menu.  $3.65 for a California roll? That's unheard of!  Its almost $8.00 for some not-so-fresh sushi at Seeds in the campus center.

I decided to start with some vegetable tempura, and then ordered the Spicy Albacore roll for my meal.  Interestingly, the roll actually came out before the tempura.  There definitely seemed to be a lack in communication between all of the employees.  The restaurant has about 10 different waiters running around and serving all of the tables.  We were asked on three different occasions for our drink orders, and the check came out before we even finished our meal.  The food came out quite quickly, but it all felt a little chaotic.  

The roll was great.  I love albacore.  It's very light, but still has that distinct taste from your average tuna.  The spicy kick really vamped up the flavor.

Spicy Albacore Roll

I have mastered my wasabi-soy sauce dipping recipe whenever I go out for sushi.  It is usually pretty heavy on the wasabi, but I like to bring the heat.  The chili's in the roll very chopped very fine, but distinct among  the silky albacore.  I rarely had to dip my pieces into my spicy sauce, the rolls were already so flavorful!
    

Vegetable Tempura

The tempura was pretty average.  About 8 different pieces came out battered and fried.  The batter itself was pretty thick.  I usually like a lighter and crispier coating, but the vegetables inside were steamed pretty well.  The crunchy green beans were the highlight, but overall it was a little disappointing.

Green Tea Ice Cream

For desert I had a scoop of green tea ice cream.  This is my go-to for after sushi.  It's creamy but not too overpowering.  Great palate cleanser after all of the salt.

The whole restaurant and sushi bar is very casual.  They play Top 40 hits the entire night, so it's a quite the lively environment.   And they have karaoke on Friday nights!  I've never had to wait for a table, and the prices are astonishing for what you get!  If you're really hungry you can get rolls and a teriyaki bowl for under $15.  You have to venture a little further than Figueroa and Adams, but Tenno sushi is the perfect college restaurant.  

Katsuya by SBE in Hollywood

If you're looking for more of an exquisite dining experience, my two favorite spots for sushi in LA are Katsuya (Hollywood) and Wabi Sabi in Venice.  Yes, this is the Katsuya featured on "The Hills", and a great star spotting location.  You can never go wrong with the Spicy Tuna on crispy rice or any of the sashimi.  The decor inside will blow your mind.  You can embrace your inner star and feel fabulous with the rest of Hollywood.  The other Katsuya locations offer the same amazing menu, and are great options if you don't feel like dressing up or spending all of your allowance.

Wabi Sabi on Abbott Kinney

Wabi Sabi encompasses the trendy vibe of Abbott Kinney.  All of the sushi is amazing. They also offer an array of small plates and other asian fusion dishes.  Definitely a great local spot for consistently good food and a chic environment.

Weenie on a Bun

Finals were stressing me out.  Needed a quick study break and ANYTHING to get me out of the apartment.  After a hard day of studying I started craving a sausage.  I ventured to Little Tokyo with Kevin and Chad, two of my friends from the team.  We were in search of a sausage fix and ended up at Wurskütche, the German Sausage joint.  To me, the most impressive part of the restaurant was the design.  I love the outside decor that makes it look very industrial.  The red and yellow diagonal stripes almost look like you're entering the tunnel of a subway.  The front of the restaurant, where you order, looks like a small to-go restaurant.  The grill is visible and all the different sausages are on display.  Reminded me of a street vendor.  The back of the restaurant follows the hip LA scene with dim lighting and lots of long wooden community tables.  Overall it looked more like a bar than a restaurant.  In fact, there was a bar, and I would totally consider going there just for drinks.  We sat ourselves at a table in the back and waited for our sausages with our order numbers.  I grabbed some of the large mustard tubes while we patiently awaited our sausages.

Chicken, Apple, and Spices- chunks of apple
and specs of cinnamon

I ordered the Chicken Apple and Spices sausage with caramelized onions and sweet peppers.  The sausages were moist and juicy, but they were not specifically bursting with flavor.  I couldn't really pick out the apple or the cinnamon flavor.  The bun was sweet and soft, reminded me of an umami bun.  Personally, with hot dogs I like my bun toasted, but I see what they were going for.  The caramelized onions and sweet peppers were great on top.  I also used the whole grain mustard, definitely a good combo.   Chad and Kevin both ordered the Belgian fries.  Those were probably the highlight of my meal, when they weren't guarding them with their long swimmer arms.  I liked dipping them in Chad's Chipotle Aioli. Not a big fan of Ranch-what Kevin ordered.
After dinner my sweet tooth was acting up and I really wanted to go to The Pie Hole across the street.  Unfortunately it was closed! Before 10? I thought it was a late night joint? Anyways, I'm sure I'll blog about their mexican chocolate pie sometime soon.

Insomnia Insanity

You might think I'm insane.  I start by explaining the circumstances, so I don't seem completely out of it.  Yesterday I had a really big lunch around 3:00pm, it wasn't that good, but I was starving.  Around 9, when I was getting ready for bed, (yes it was early, but I was tired), I just ate a small salad and then some peppermint pretzel slims from Trader Joes (They are amazing by the way!).

After starting to watch a movie, I fell asleep around 10.  Then, around 2:00 am, I woke up dying with thirst.  I went downstairs, got some water and went to the bathroom as well.  Then when I tried to go back to bed, nothing was working, I just kept tossing and turning with one thing on my mind.  I was hungry.  I knew if I went back to sleep and woke up at a normal hour I would be fine, but I couldn't stop thinking about breakfast! I had eaten a lot of salty food in the past two days (korean BBQ and a fried chicken sandwich, and I was just craving something sweet).   I went on Facebook and even watched another 30 min of my movie, but nothing seemed to work.  Around 4:00am, when it started getting ridiculous, and I realized I was completely awake, I got up and dressed. Got in the car and headed downtown to The Original Pantry Cafe.  This restaurant is open 24/7.  If you pass it during the normal hours of the morning there is usually a line out the door and around the block.  I walked straight into the diner and sat at the bar.

I took this opportunity to get a good real meal, because I usually don't get the chance to eat decadent breakfasts (crazy diving schedule).  I ordered the 3 pancakes, and an orange juice (needed the vitamin C because I've been feeling a cold coming on.  The restaurant had a good 15-20 people in it, but my pancakes still arrived with 5 or so minutes.  They were light and fluffy but still very filling.  I asked if they had any chocolate chips or bananas to put on top, but it was an unfortunate no.  I smothered them in butter and about 1/3 of the syrup dispenser.  When they first arrived I asked my stomach if it was actually hungry at 4:15 in the morning.  I actually kind of hesitated, but once I took the first bite I was able to finish the rest within about 20 min.  I had a really relaxing breakfast, surrounded but he other interesting 4am crowd, but never less enjoyed it.  I drove back to my apartment (must have been tired because I started driving on the wrong direction on Fig, a one way street), then did some laundry and wrote this blog.  Maybe I'll try and start studying for finals, or watch the rest of my movie? Either way, my stomach is satisfied with the breakfast that I was craving.

Not Soi Great

Afek and his Thai Iced Tea

Vegetable Summer Rolls
Crunch slivers of of assorted
fresh vegetables wrapped in
rice paper with a savory peanut
dipping sauce.

Saturday night, spur of the moment, I get a text from Afek.  He wanted to know if I could watch the new “New Girl” with him.  It’ s our favorite show to watch together.  All I really did that day was homework because I had two papers and a test the week before Thanksgiving.  Why do all the professors always pile on all the work right before break? I guess its better than having to do homework over break.  I told him to come over whenever he could and we would start up my Hulu account.  By the time he walked over, in the rain, it was already 7pm.  We decided to go “Get Fat” and comfortable before watching the show.  I didn’t really feel like driving too far, so we decided to just go downtown.  I recommended Thai food, because that was were we always ate when we would go out back in Seattle.  Unfortunately I haven’t had that great of Thai experiences in LA, compared to Seattle.  Besides Nappakao, a neighborhood restaurant right by my house that is pretty decent for Kirkland, Washington, my favorite Thai restaurant is Thai Tom.  Thai Tom is a small, hole-in-the wall shop in University District.  Hopefully I’ll go there over Thanksgiving so I can blog all about it.  We ended up going to Soi Seven on 7^th street.  I remembered going here once before last year, but I wasn’t so “Type A” back then, so I couldn’t really remember if I liked it or not.  This time my critical eye and tastebuds got to me.  Didn’t have the best experience, even though the date was still lovely as always.  Afek ordered the Thai Iced Tea.  Love the condensed milk, but its too sweet to eat with dinner.  I used to order them when I was younger and went out to Thai food with my family.  We started with the fresh veggie spring rolls-my favorite Thai appetizer. Although presented nicely, the rolls were very dry.  The vegetables did not taste fresh, or crunchy at all.  And there was too much rice paper, making them very sticky.  The appetizer came with a savory peanut dipping sauce that was actually pretty good. At the Thai places I visit at home, the dish usually comes with a thai chili sauce.  I really liked the peanut sauce, reminded me of a chicken satay dish.  Would had been great if the rolls were better. 
For our main entrees I ordered the Pad Siew with chicken.  This is my favorite Thai dish anywhere I go.  It's a pan fried wide noodle, usually served with some sort of vegetable.  I like the wide noodles because of their sticky and chewy like consistency.  This plate was not the best.  The whole dish was room temperature, and a little bland.  Not only did it not have enough spice, but overall it didn't seem like the noodles had soaked up enough of the sauce.  I was also not a fan of the vegetables served with it. Usually the dish comes with a medley of greens maybe accompanied with some carrots or peppers.  This dish only came with what seemed like the stems of broccoli.  They were hard and very bitter tasting.  I think I only ate two out of the whole dish, just picked around the rest.
Afek ordered the red curry.  He said this is his favorite curry dish at Thai restaurants, I like green curry because of the sweet coconut taste.  He was really hungry, and said it tasted alright, but the consistency was not on point.  The curry was way too watery, and lacked some flavor.  

Pad Siew Chicken
Slices of Chicken tossed with wide pan-fried
noodles in a sweet soy sauce with broccoli
eggs.

Besides the less than mediocre food, the service was not the best as well.  Our entrees were delivered only 3 or 4 minutes after our spring rolls, not even giving us enough time to finish them.  Wasn't actually that surprised that the food came out that fast, given there were only a few other tables occupied on a Saturday night in DTLA.  Not something you would expect for a restaurant on 7th street.  I guess the place has some really good lunch deals, so that much be when they get all their business?

Red Curry
Spicy and creamy curry comprising of red
chilis, red curry paste, coconut milk, bamboo
shoots with chicken.

After dinner we had to decide where to get our sweet tooth cravings.  I took him to Syrup, the Dessert Bar downtown.  Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to order any of the extravagant crepes or liege waffles with toppings.  My parking job outside was a little in the red, and I didn't want to risk getting a ticket.  I grabbed the carrot cake to go out of the pastry display, and Afek got a glazed donut.  We ate our desserts in the car, protected from the rain, and on the look out for cops.  My carrot cake was a little dry, with way too much frosting.  Probably trying to cover up the taste.  We rushed back to my apartment in the rain, and finished up the New Girl Episode we were dying to watch.  Not the best dining experience Afek and I have had, but it was still a fun Saturday night.