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.

Hillstone and HIP

Although USC does not have a hospitality school, I am fortunate enough to be a member of HIP (The Hospitality Industry Project).  Because of diving, I have never really had enough time to go to any of the events.  Last year I attended one at the end of the year where a panel of event planners from the Los Angeles area came and talked to us about the industry and their professions.  I thought it was really interesting and could definitely identify myself with the personalities and characteristics that they carried as professionals.  Organized, committed, impatient, energetic, type a (yep, that's me).  But as you can tell from this blog, my true passion is for restaurants.  Today was very exciting for me, I basically decided that my ultimate goal is to either work in management of a restaurant, or own one myself. 

As part of the club, I submitted my resume to the head of HR at the Hillstone Restaurnat Group, and was selected with nine other members for an information session and tasting at the Houston’s location in Pasadena.  I felt extremely fortunate that I was able to be included in this exclusive event .  We were greeted by the head of HR and operations manager, who gave us a detailed overview of the company as a whole. and the main focus of their restaurants.  I love how they pride themselves on having the freshest ingredients delivered everyday, and how everything is made completely from scratch.  They only have one small freezer in the entire kitchen, but it carries the most important food group of all-ICE CREAM!  Of course I was the one to answer that question.  We were then given a tour of the dining area, kitchen, and garden outside.  They grow enough arugula and mint for the entire restaurant.  And I must say, the arugula had the most distinct taste to it.  It was almost spicy!  After learning about the internship opportunity (which I will definitely be applying for), we were seated for lunch.

Dole

Chicago Spinach Dip with
chips, salsa, and sour cream.

When the event said that we were getting a tasting, I assumed we would get to sample some of the dishes.  Surprisingly, they catered a full on lunch to us (all on the house)!  We were seated in the back booths, as the rest of the restaurant quickly filled with other friday lunch goers.  Our waiter was super friendly and seemed very enthusiastic about his job.  I asked him how long he had been working there and he said that he's been with Hillstone for 13 years, but serving at Houston's for 10.  I couldn't believe it! That really tells you something about how the company treats their employees. He then said that we might as well call him Grandpa (which I proceeded to do for the rest of the meal).  I usually just order water with my meals when I got out, because I like to keep to keep my palate clean when I am tasting food, but this one drink the waiter described was too delicious sounding to pass up.  It's called a Dole, half lemonade/half pomegranate juice.  The perfect combination of sweet and tart.  
Our waiter then brought us some appetizers to snack on while we pondered the menu.  We started with the spinach dip and chips and the grilled artichoke.  Mike, the co-president of the club loves the dip from previous dining experiences, and said we must include the salsa on the chips too.  I'm usually not a huge spinach dip person, just because how cheesy it is, but this was by far the best textured and tasty dip I've ever had.  It was not as heavy as the usual spinach-cheese concoction, which made it a better appetizer (instead of a complete tummy filler).  The grilled artichokes are delicious.  I've always been a fan of artichokes and dip because my mom makes them at home all the time.  She just roasts the whole thing, but at Houston's they are split up and almost charred.  Gives it a nice smokey taste, which I love.  I actually had this appetizer last time I was at Bandera in Westwood with my mom and two friends, Kate and GuGu.  I was really surprised when a lot of the other club members said they'd never had an artichoke before, and I had to explain to them how to eat it.

Salmon Mango Roll

Coconut Shrimp Roll & Grilled Arichoke

Hiramasa Roll

Here comes the sushi.  I am usually reluctant to order sushi in a non-japenese restaurant, but my mind was blown.  My all time favorite sushi restaurant is the original Katsuya in North Hollywood.  These rolls came pretty close.  We were served the
coconut shrimp roll, the Hiramasa Roll, and the Salmon Mango roll.   Unfortunately I couldn't try the Shrimp roll, but everyone said it was really interesting.  And I didn't go for the Salmon one because there was a lot of asparagus in it, which I am not a big fan of.  The Hiramasa roll, on the other hand, was mouth watering.  I believe it was a spicy tuna roll with yellowfin tuna on top.  Like the best sushi out there, it basically melted in your mouth.  I didn't want to fill up too much, because I had a feeling a lot more food was coming out. I stuck with two pieces along with tasting the other appetizers.
Then it came down to the toughest decision: what to order for our meal.  All throughout the info session, everyone was recommending several dishes and even walking through the kitchen, my nose was bombarded with delicious aromas.  For me, it was between the Famous French Dip and the Crispy Chicken Sandwich.  I took this opportunity to order more of a lunch type dish than an entree because I don't usually dine out midday.  I went with the Chicken Sandwich.  Tambi, the HR rep said it was new to the menu, and very popular.  With fries on the side, this sandwich blew Chick-fila out of the water.  Although it was ginormous, it wasn't too heavy.  The salad slaw on the onion bun was creamy, yet light and the chicken was lightly breaded and grilled to perfection.  The fries were very skinny, and although not my favorite fries ever (not crispy enough for me) they were a perfect compliment to the sandwich.  Of course I ate them all.  House made ketchup and a spiced sort of mayo were included, both great on the fries.  I was able to eat 2 out of the three slices, and got a box for the remaining.

Ding's Crispy Chicken Sandwich with fries.

 The whole meal Tambi kept checking up on us, and continued to recommend the harvest cheesecake. Even though we didn't say anything, everyone was definitely too full for dessert.  But being the best hosts ever, Grandpa proceeded to bring out all three desserts on the menu. Set in front of us was the Warm-Five Nut Brownie, Apple Walnut Cobbler, and Harvest Cheesecake.  All three were great.

Apple Walnut Cobbler

Warm-Five Nut Brownie Sundae

The brownie sundae was rich and creamy.  My favorite of the three was the Apple Walnut Cobbler, not a huge walnut fan, but the apple pie dessert always gets me.  Something about the sweetness with the tart and cinnamon, warmed up with ice cream on top.  Can't get much better than that.  It's like a match made  in heaven.  The Harvest Cheesecake interestingly wasn't made with pumpkin (it was a butternut squash).  Completely original and exotic! Was a great fall dessert and I definitely recommend it while they still have it on the menu (and everyone is still obsessed with pumpkin like desserts).   Overall I had an amazing time at the restaurant.  The tour and session with the two employees was very informative and I officially fell in love with the industry.  The food was amazing and I will definitely have to visit more of the Hillstone Restaurants soon! 

Harvest Cheesecake