Post 54: Sushi for the Soul (SD: Pacific Beach)

It's been a while since I've had a nice meal.

I've come to realize that I need a nice meal every so often just to rejuvenate my soul.  It doesn't necessarily have to be an expensive meal or have extravagant presentation, and it doesn't require swift customer service.  It's just got to feel healthy.  And by healthy I don't mean five fruits and vegetables or whole grains... I mean emotionally and mentally healthy... something that's just good for your soul.

So after a brisk run on the sands of Ocean Beach, Allie and I chased our workout with a nice breakfast at To The Point Café.  The replenishment was a chicken apple sausage egg sandwich held together by a buttery croissant with pesto cream cheese.  And the reward came in the form of mimosas... a traditional one for me and a lavender lemonade mimosa for Allie.  Thumbs up for Sunday mornings.

But that wasn't our nice meal.  Our nice meal was spent at Sushi Ota in Pacific Beach.  We sipped hot green tea, eavesdropped on the conversations from neighboring tables, and watched the quick movements of the Japanese restaurant.  And we did this while enjoying a platter of fresh yellowtail (hamachi) sashimi, a deluxe chirashi, and the fisherman's roll.  That was definitely some sushi for the soul.



The hamachi, a favorite for both me and Allie, was fresh enough to melt in your mouth.  Five beautifully carved, diamond-shaped pieces fanned out across the porcelain white plate, each piece that stood behind the first increased in size on a mound of shredded daikon and shiso.  And a drop of wasabi adorned the corner of the plate like the mole just above Niki Taylor's lip.  Simply beautiful.  And who cares if the yellowtail was from the radiated waters of Japan? I'm ready for my superhuman power, preferably the power to move things with my mind.



Our deluxe chirashi included that same yellowtail, sweet shrimp (ebi), salmon (sake), whitefish, octopus (tako), sea urchin roe (uni), squid (ika) stuffed with fresh crab meat, tuna (maguro), freshwater eel (unagi), fatty tuna (toro), and egg (tamago) that was stamped with the Ota authentic seal of approval.  Staring at this stunning box of rice and fish I completely forgot about the pickles (tsukemono) and the salmon croquette off to the side.

The fisherman's roll is what sealed the deal for us.  Whitefish and avocado hide within the rice and nori, and two kinds of onion sit atop of the roll.  Onions that were fried to a crisp provided the foundation for the topping of expertly sliced, raw green onions.  More yellowtail? Yes, please.  Slices of the beautiful sakana hung over each piece of sushi... like the smiling cheese from an In-N-Out Double Double... like the tongue of a hungry dog waiting for a juicy steak... or more like my tongue hanging out of my own mouth.  Man, just look at that sushi.  I'd hang a picture of this on my wall any day.

If that's not sushi for the soul, I don't know what is.  Replenished, stuffed to the brim, and happy as a clam, I declared, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow!" 

But I knew I was ready for Monday morning.  Until the next nice meal, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110522

Post 45: Oh Mah Gahh...Omakase! (LA-South Bay: Torrance)

The omakase that we had for Ashley's birthday was an inspiring way to start off the new year.  I've had the omakase at Kantaro Sushi in Torrance before, but I left my camera at home the last time.  Luckily, I remembered to bring it this time so I could document some of the whoa moments of the meal.

Tuna sausage with cucumber, potato salad with corn
B-b-sole and tuna sashimi with ponzu, ankimo monkfish liver

When Duke first saw the pictures from the meal, I remember him saying that some of the courses looked pretty intense.  The first sashimi course with the entire fish chillin' right on the plate was definitely intense.  I mean... we were eating the flesh of the fish while the body was lying right in front of us.  Intense. 

Bluefin toro and amber jack sushi, hirame halibut and ika squid sushi
Deep-fried whole b-b-sole with nuggets and roe

Later, that same fish was grabbed from our plates with bare hands.  The cute little missus of the restaurant (do I call her Mrs. Kantaro?) whisked the dreary, gray fish carcass away to the kitchen only to return with a golden, deep-fried whole fish.  That was definitely intense.

Alaskan ikura salmon roe and Santa Barbara uni sea urchin sushi
Anago freshwater eel, spicy tuna hand roll and organic tamago egg
Mini chirashi and salmon sushi with cream cheese

But what else would omakase be? Omakase is the chef's table.  It's his way of showing the guest how skillful, creative, and imaginative he can be.  It's gotta be intense.

The only other place I've ever had omakase was at Wakasan in Westwood... another birthday outing.  Wakasan's omakase involves more hot food items such as croquettes, hamburger steak on cast iron grills, chicken hot pot, etc.  That experience, just like this one, was intense.  You can read about it on Duke's blog.


Azuki red bean ice cream for dessert

Happy birthday, Ashley! 

And thanks for the description, Duke.  That one word said it all.

Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110108