Saturday, November 20, 2010

Yet Another Freaking Post About The Awesomeness of New Sugarfish (Downtown)

The irrefutable lyrics of the late straight edge punk band Minor Threat said it best: "We're not the first! I know we're not the last!'Cause I know we're all heading for that adult crash!"


tuna sashimi
Affordable Quality: Fish For All


Although in this case, I am talking about not being the first--or the last--to write about the pristine cuts of fish at the new Sugarfish in downtown. Google it and find out for yourself, almost all my fencing camaradas have already written about the place. And for good reason as I still think about the grand experience I had a couple of weeks ago.

I was invited to a media dinner and decided to take it up after a couple weeks of thinking about it. I will come clean and declare my love of all things seafood. But I will also come clean that recently I've been broke as a joke. So as my homies would say....fuuugg it eyy.

The reservation was for Friday at 8:30. And despite, the fact that it was at probably the most peak dining time of the week. I was quite surprised to know that Emanuele Massimini, the head manager of the joint, was going to sit with my older brother and I through out the meal. We both spoke vividly about sushi as he ordered the exact same thing as we did and ate everything we ate. "I eat this everyday, sometimes twice a day". It was obvious why the guy chose this profession.


sushi rolls


We were asked how hungry we were and then I gave him the definition of GLUT-ster. Shortly after that, we were receiving the first dishes of the The Nozawa set meal, the biggest of the Omakase (chef's choice) menus.

The Nozawa consisted of:

A plate of Organic Edamame
Tuna Sashimi (Big Eye)
Albacore Sushi (2-pc)
Salmon Sushi (2-pc)
Snapper Sushi (2-pc)
Yellowtail Sushi (2-pc)
Halibut Sushi (2-pc)
Toro Hand Roll
Crab Hand Roll
“Daily Special” (2-pc)

I was pretty damn excited to try out the sushi of the famed studio city Sushi Nazi finally. When I asked Mr. Massimini about how his reputation became so, he replied "How would you feel if you got up every single day at 4 AM to pick fish and some guy pulls out his cellphone while you serve him your hard worked creation?!

Anyways, at first bite of the stuff I knew what he was talking about it.


Halibut Fin Sashimi
Halibut Fin Sashimi: Sinewy Goodness


Man, what else can I say without reiterating what everyone has said about the buttery buttery and such? One thing I found interesting was his sushi rice which is served warm and "packed loosely", it had a faint Pilaf-like flavor to it.


Hand Roll
Toro Hand Roll: Unfiltered Sake Of Course To Eat


Favorites of the night the delicate hand rolls lightly filled with Toro. We were instructed to eat these as fast as we could to preserve the high crunch quality of the premium nori seaweed they used. I did. Thanks Mr. Massimini for sacrificing your roll for my photo taking. He was happy that I was quick about it and luckily he is "still my friend", haha.

I vastly enjoyed every bite of everything that was served. I couldn't believe how soft and rich each and every cut of fish was. I must of needed less than an ounce of soy sauce through out the whole evening as most of the nigiri were already seasoned with whatever the chef thought was best to accompany it.

Being with my older brother who is responsible for my first ever experience with sushi actually (at Sushi Sakura on Westside). We basically ordered everything the whole menu after our set meal and STILL walked over to Drago Centro for some splendid dessert.

And now for the best part, yes I know my meal was hosted by them but even if it was not. The actual Nozawa omakase meal rings in at a astonishing $35-$38 for the whole freaking thing.

Using the Trader Joe's way (cutting out the middleman...man!) Sugarfish is making quality ultra-traditional sushi available to all, and dare I say it...an every day option? W

Well, "every day" is for many and one day for me hopefully, haha.

SUGARFISH Downtown Los Angeles
600 W 7th Street, Suite 150
( Corner of 7th & South Grand)
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: 213 627-3000

Mon-Sat 11:30 am - 10 pm | Sun 12 pm - 9 pm

4 comments:

Aaron said...

I've never been, but I didn't know it was that cheap. Thanks for the heads up Javier

glutster said...

yo! yeah man, not too shabby of a deal at all. Given the better than average quality of the fish and all.

hope your staying warm out there man, haha.

Christine said...

Those souffles sound great! Happy holidays back at you. =)

I love fish. I haven't really tried very many new varieties, mostly sticking with ocean perch. I need to make some ceviche one day.

Andi? said...

Minor Threat and affordable sushi. Excellent combo :D