Flying Sushi

As prolific as sushi restaurants are in Los Angeles, so many are actually bars, nightclubs, fast food joints, fusion, pseudo chains which make California rolls with mayo, or worst of all places where a piece of hacked fish is slapped on a gob of plain rice (shudder).

Ok, so I may be a sushi snob (is that surprising to anyone?), so if you are happy with a big chain supermarket's sushi, do not read any further. If you are willing to trust the sushi chef with your wallet and your taste buds, then head to your nearest Nobu.

If you are simply wanting to treat your taste buds to fresh clean flavors of classically Japanese sushi and sashimi, the head over to Sugar Fish in Brentwood or Marina Del Rey. These restaurants are the hip younger brothers of the famous sushi nazi, Sushi Nozawa. For those of you not familiar with this icon, I'll just recommend that you watch the famous Seinfeld episode of the soup nazi, substitute sushi for soup and you'll get the idea.

Luckily, Nozawa has a good sense of humor, so the most popular menu is the "trust me", which includes Edamame, Tuna Sashimi, Albacore Sushi (2-pc), Salmon Sushi (2-pc), Yellowtail Sushi (1-pc), Halibut Sushi (1-pc), Toro Hand Roll, and a Crab Hand Roll all for only $23.00.

If you don't quite trust him, you can order a "trust me lite" which includes Edamame, Albacore Sushi (1-pc), Salmon Sushi (1-pc), Tuna Sushi (1-pc), Nozawa Shrimp Sushi (1-pc) and a Toro Hand Roll all for $13.50.

One of the best benefits of their menus is that you can take them to go, so if you are flying out of LAX, stop by MDR and pick up your in flight meal (they will package all the sauces on the side with instructions for what goes where). With Sugar Fish, you can eat as if you are flying to Asia in First Class even if you are flying coach to Houston, and that is surely worth trusting the chef's whims.