Sandwiched between more casual fare, Orris is the type of place you could easily miss. It looks like a posh izakaya, a single room of close-set tables and some counter seating, pleasantly packed and respectfully low-key. A big, chiseled Okinawan (a man you could mistake for Beat Takeshi’s gangster brother) lords over the open kitchen: this is Hideo Yamashiro, the owner and chef.

Yamashiro (known by L.A. foodies as “Shiro”) is also the owner and chef of Shiro in South Pasadena. With Orris, he hones in on the sublimity of the small plate. He shops for his own ingredients daily, then serves up French-Japanese fusion cuisine, one of the many great gifts to come out of “the creative capital of the world.”

The four of us ordered two dishes each and split them all. Our first dish, the albacore lettuce cups, was gone in a crisp flash, leaving a tang of aioli and jalapeno. Our next plate came just as we finished the first, and was Yuri’s favorite: tuna tartare, accented with pignoli nuts and quail eggs.

The warm snapper carpaccio, a thin layer of white fish pressed to the plate, was third. Seasoned Szechuan-style and drizzled with bean paste, the flavors played together so well we could picture them holding hands and graduating from charm school.

We polished off the curry-infused shrimp (sprinkled with Okinawan sea salt) and free range chicken karaage. We wanted to bottle the perfect dipping sauces and sell them on eBay for millions.

The basil-marinated black cod was delicious, but not a showstopper (we still prefer Andre Guerrero’s): Shiro’s smoked salmon croquettes, however, were. These perfect little specimens -– perched on top of potato cakes, and topped with onion, chives, creme fraiche, and salmon caviar -– are so good you don’t even want to chew.

While we mulled, glassy-eyed, over dessert –- a flourless chocolate cake with coffee gelato, a raspberry wonton with cream sauce -– Shiro set aside his big chef’s hat, sat down at one of his own counter seats, and rested, with some red wine and a small plate of cheese. He looked serious but tired, massaging his temples, like he’d been cutting marble all day.

We asked our waiter to pay our compliments to the chef. Shiro grinned and bowed graciously. Forget Hollywood, we thought: here was an artist, right in the heart of Sawtelle, with good manners to boot.

Orris
2006 Sawtelle Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90025
(310) 268-2212 (no reservations accepted)

A friend and I arrived before the rest of our party. Seating is a bit scarce at sugarFISH. Even though there were a few tables available (mostly for two), the staff asked if they could seat us after the rest of our party arrives. (Note: they asked if we would mind waiting, not tell us we had to wait.)

I had had a very long, difficult day prior to meeting up at the restaurant. I asked if we could just sit at the bar first, which wasn’t a problem. The bar is not a sushi bar. No one makes sushi here in front of you. All the sashimi and sushi are sliced and arranged in the kitchen. As soon as I sat down, I ordered some sake. First up was tomaju, a sweet sake ($39). I wasn’t sure if I should get this one, but one of the patrons who was sitting next to me was quick to recommend it. He and the other 2 people with him each had a bottle. It really was extremely lovely and the perfect remedy to my bad day. As I snacked on the complimentary edamame and whined about my day to my friend, the server came by several times to refill my glass to make sure it was never less than half full. Before our bottle was finished, the rest of our friends arrived, and we moved to a table.

We all quickly decided on Trust Me Two. You don’t all have to order the same set, but it just so happened that we all wanted the same thing. Shortly after we placed our order, a plate of tuna sashimi arrived at our table. I remember when I went to Sushi Nozawa, that’s how my meal started, too. I truly enjoyed the tuna sashimi there, and I enjoyed it at sugarFISH just as much. It had that melt in your mouth feeling.

Next up was another bottle of sake ($18). Unlike the tomaju, this one isn’t sweet, but it was still pleasant. As for sushi, the albacore and salmon sushi came next. These are your standard sushi, but they taste much better. I think it’s the combination of quality fish and wasabi. I didn’t need to mix any soy sauce with the fresh wasabi at sugarFISH . The sushi was great with just the wasabi alone. One of my friends ordered an additional item, yellowtail, which arrived at this time. After that, next up were the crab and toro cut rolls. It is really hard to say which one of these were better. The toro was so rich and also had the melt in your mouth texture. Even though I was already fairly full at this point, I wished that I had more. The blue crab tasted fresh, but that’s not what appealed to me the most about this cut roll. The texture was fairly coarse, as crab rolls typically are, but there was a contradictory fineness to it as well, which caught me off guard.

The last plate of our set was the Nozawa shrimp and halibut sushi. The shrimp is way better than typical shrimp sushi. I really think that most sushi restaurants use frozen shrimp for this, but I doubt that’s the case at sugarFISH . There was a slight sweetness to the shrimp, something I usually only find with fresh shrimp. The toasted sesame seeds on top added a nice flavor to this one, too. Also a minor note: I like the fact that the tail shell was removed. It’s not a big deal that other places leave it on, but I always wonder what’s the point in leaving that bit of shell on? (If anyone has a theory to this, feel free to let me know by leaving a comment.) The halibut was very good, but I can’t say it was my favorite item out of the evening. It was a light sushi, so it was probably meant as a way to conclude the meal.

I don’t know if sugarFISH offers any type of dessert, but the staff was great to allow us to bring our own in. As we were celebrating a birthday, we brought in a fruit pie from Susina’s Bakery. The amiable staff at sugarFISH stored the dessert for us and brought it out as we all bellowed the “Happy Birthday” song at the top of our lungs. Then they took it back to the kitchen and sliced it for us and brought plates and forks for us. I can’t imagine us getting away with this type of stuff at Sushi Nozawa.

Miscellaneous:

Again, I reiterate that tax and tip is already included in your bill. I would have loved to leave an additional tip to the staff for their outstanding service.

sugarFISH is located in a plaza, the same one as Ralphs, Pinkberry, CPK, White House Black Market, etc., so there is tons of parking.

sugarFISH
4722 1/4 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Phone: (310) 306-6300

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

Beverages:
I have ordered off of prix fixe menus before at other restaurants, and if beverages are included, the choices are usually coffee, tea, or soft drinks. Porterhouse Bistro does one better and allows guests the option of choosing a glass of any of their house wines. If you prefer wine or cocktail not on the house list, you simply pay an additional $5. These days, a decent martini will run you $10, so paying $5 for one at Porterhouse Bistro is a bargain. For my first choice, I picked the house pinot noir. I don’t remember the vineyard it came from, but the wine was quite drinkable. It had a very strong fruity presence. If I had not ordered from the prix fixe menu, the glass of pinot noir would be $6. (I will try to include the regular menu price for your reference.) You can order your second beverage at any time. I chose a cup of coffee to go with my dessert.

First Course:
From the menu, I wasn’t very impressed with the first course, bread. When the bread came, however, I was singing a different tune. While I enjoy La Brea Bakery’s bread, the fact that Porterhouse Bistro serves it is not the reason why I was happy. The bread was served with a whole roasted garlic bulb, butter, olive oil with balsamic vinegar, and the house tapenade. I loved that we got to choose what to accompany our warm bread with. Now, I really am not one to talk about butter of all things in restaurant reviews, but I have to say, the butter Porterhouse Bistro gave us is better than the butter at the restaurants I’ve been eating at lately. It tasted creamy but not greasy. I couldn’t help commenting about this at the table, and one of my friends immediately had to try it for herself. She agreed with me that the butter was indeed creamier than standard restaurant butter. The roasted garlic disappeared very quickly. I really enjoyed the garlic’s soft texture and very slight sweetness. My friends and I did not talk much about the roasted garlic, but since each clove was devoured, I think it’s safe to say we all liked it. We barely made a dent in the tapenade, not because we didn’t like it, but rather because Porterhouse Bistro gave us a lot of it. I find that every restaurant makes tepenade a little differently. Some have more olive oil than others, some are courser than others. Porterhouse Bistro’s tepenade is not oily, and you definitely see the finely chopped up olives in each spoonful.

Second Course: Appetizer
Friend #1 chose the smoked salmon quesadilla ($10) , Friend #2 - gargonzola tart ($10), and Friend #3 - spinach salad ($9). I was torn. I kept going back and forth between the romaine and endive salad ($10) and the onion soup ($8). I asked our server which I should choose. He started to advise me on the salad, and then he changed his mind and recommended the soup. I did as he suggested, and I am so glad I ordered the soup. This was by far the best onion soup I had in years. The soup is not covered in cheese, but rather a very light pastry dough. There is a little bit of cheese in the soup itself though. Unlike with many bistro onion soups, this one was not overly salty. The broth was an unexpected very light brown. It had a light, sweet, and spicy (lots of pepper was used) taste. The onions were soft, sweet, and translucent. The flavor was absolutely delicious. My friends all tried a spoonful of the soup and concurred that it was really very good. I tried their appetizers as well, and while theirs were good, too, I think the soup was the best out of all the appetizers. The gargonzola tart was served on a bed of greens with a raspberry dressing. The contrasts of the rich cheese with the light salad and of the salty tart with the sweet dressing were delightful. The smoked salmon quesadilla surprised me at first bite because it was filled with cream cheese. I never thought of making a quesadilla using cream cheese, but since lox and cream cheese is a common combination, it worked well in this dish.

Third Course: Entree
Friend #1 chose the rack of lamb, served with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli ($27). Her lamb was very good - juicy and tender, very flavorful. The rest of us all picked the 12-oz rib eye steak ($29), but we each chose a different side dish. Even though we ordered the same steak, and we asked for medium, only one of us actually got medium. Friend #2 and I actually got a well done steak. The rib eye steak was still overall good, as it is quality meat and well seasoned, but the steak was a little bit on the dry side. We both looked enviously at Friend #3, as she ate her perfectly medium steak. Our server came by and asked how everything was. I did mention to him that I would have liked my steak more had it not been overcooked. He asked if I wanted a new one. I declined, but then he looked at me and insisted that I get a new one because I should be happy with my food. He was so very nice about it, that I didn’t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable about accepting the offer. While I was waiting for the new steak, I nibbled on the side dishes we ordered, house fries ($9), sauteed mushrooms ($9), and the steamed broccoli ($6). The fries reminded me a little of BJ Brewery’s, but much better. The fries were dipped in seasoned batter before they were deep fried. Porterhouse Bistro’s fries were dangerously addictive. The sauteed mushrooms were also good. I’m not the biggest fan of mushrooms, and even I liked these. My problem with mushrooms have always been a texture issue. I hate bland and mushy mushrooms with a passion. Porterhouse Bistro’s sauteed mushrooms were tasty and firm but not hard. My new steak arrived very quickly at my table, still sizzling on the plate. My friends I joked that we don’t typically see sizzling steak at bistros. After letting the juices settle a little, I cut one piece of the steak, and it was delicious. I was very impressed. I shared a portion of my steak with Friend #2, and she agreed that the new steak was so much better than our well done ones. I have to admit, while eating the first rib eye steak, I didn’t understand why so many people raved about Porterhouse Bistro. While eating the second one, I was ready to lead the charge on lavishing praise on them.

Fourth Course: Dessert
Before our desserts arrived, we were surprised when our server brought a big glowing blue object to our table:

This turned out to be a nice treat of cotton candy with a flame in the center. We had hard time trying to remember when was the last time we had eaten cotton candy. This was a fun centerpiece at the table, and we certainly enjoyed tearing it apart and eating it.

We ordered two creme brulees ($8), a chocolate lava cake ($9), and an apple tart ($8). I was not impressed with creme brulee at all. The flavor was good, and I loved that I could see specks of vanilla bean in it, but the texture was not right. I felt that the creme brulee was overcooked. The creme brulees were the only desserts that we ordered that were left unfinished. The chocolate lava cake was good, but not spectacular. Also, after having had many lava cakes over the years, we all expected lava (chocolate sauce or fudge) to ooze out from the center as we cut into it. That didn’t happen though. Nevertheless, the cake was full of chocolatey goodness. I thought the best dessert was my choice, the apple tart. I had previously mentioned (in my review of Susina Bakery) that it seems most places make their apple tarts by layering thin slices of apple, and Porterhouse Bistro is no different in that respect. It may not be an original dessert, but it was ever so delicious. Even though the apple slices were so thin, Porterhouse Bistro layered them so generously that the apple flavor was enjoyed in every bite. The pastry part of the tart was very crispy. Again, not very original but always a great a combination, adding some caramel and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on the side made this apple tart a winning dessert.

To get your own 20% discount letter from Porterhouse Bistro, you can sign up on their website when you make reservations.

Porterhouse Bistro
8635 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Phone: (310) 659-1099
Mon-Fri: 6:00pm - 10:00pm, Sat & Sun: 5:00pm-10:00pm

They were offering a prix fixe menu that night and the items on the menu sounded good to me, so I chose that.

My prix fixe dinner came with wine pairings for each of the three dishes (I ordered the scallop a la carte): two whites and one red. The first white wine I had with the salad was refreshing and not too fruity, but I thought it was too light to be paired with such a salty dish. I wasn’t a fan of the next white wine, which came with the pasta and morels; it had a sour taste to it and I would have preferred a red wine with a dish so rich. My last wine, a merlot tasted strange and thin to me.

Although I didn’t like any of my wines that much, I did enjoy the 2003 cabernet sauvignon that the BF ordered. I liked it after my first sip; later, when it opened it up, there was a nice spiciness to it that went well with my veal.

Overall, I was pleased with Upstairs 2. The decor is kind of old-fashioned and reminds me of a hotel lobby, but the restaurant is unpretentious, close to home, and has a huge variety of wine to select from. Our waiter was incredibly accommodating to the BF’s vegan requests and even took one dish off our bill because there was some confusion with how he ordered it and how it came. I would have preferred a lot of things to be less salty, but I was still pleased with my experience there.

A previous review of Upstairs 2 can be found here.

The katsu-don, a big bowl of rice topped with cooked onions, a shoyu-based sauce, breaded pork cutlet and egg, also comes with a few sides: hiyakko tofu, some pickled veggies, miso soup, and cold barley tea. The pork is on the dry side, but the sauce and egg on top saved it. The dish isn’t anything amazing, but it’s good no-nonsense Japanese food. For about $7, it’s a pretty good deal for lunch on the west side.

The food, other than the beef tartare, wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, which is disappointing considering the prices on the menu. Our meal (with a dish or two that I left out because I didn’t take any pictures of them) including tax, tip and sake ended up being around $100. Our waiter was incredibly nice and accommodating even when we had to send a couple of dishes back because they weren’t macrobiotic even though the menu said they were. In that way, the cost of the meal was worth it just to have an understanding waiter.

While I wouldn’t go to Bar Hayama all the time, it’s nice to know it’s close by when we want some sake and snacks.

Even though I added ample hoisin sauce, herbs, jalapeno, and bean sprouts from the herb plate they brought out, I couldn’t make the broth flavorful enough. It was just too bland. It wasn’t until I was halfway done with my bowl that I noticed there were no beef balls in it. By then, I was pretty full and didn’t want to bother the already swamped kitchen, but next time I’ll definitely check all the contents of my bowl before digging in.

Other than the relative closeness to my house and them being veggie friendly, another good thing about Pho Show is that despite the “west side tax,” the food was at a reasonable price. My bowl of pho (small — but more than I can eat) and a Thai Iced tea just came out to be $11-12 including tip.

While Pho Show has ample room for improvement in regards to the broth, with the gas prices as they are, I can see myself eating here when I’m craving pho and too lazy to battle traffic to go to the SGV. I was really looking forward to this place opening and having delicious broth. Maybe it’s just the restaurant going through first week frenzies, but I do hope that they work on the broth more and get their timing right with the noodles.

Musha’s a great place to go as long as you don’t have to wait too long for a table. They have some decent sake and the usual Japanese beers and even though it’s loud in there, I wouldn’t mind it if a date brought me there.

View Larger Map
Musha
424 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 576-6330

[photo from their website]

I occasionally like to imbibe a cocktail or dine in a hotel. It feels extra glamorous and I can pretend I’m a traveller in a foreign land. So when a visiting friend suggested we meet for lunch at the Hotel Intercontinental, on Avenue of the Stars, I jumped at the chance to put on a pretty frock and heels (despite LA’s pre-emptive June gloom – okay, I added a chic cardie, aka sweater) and tool over there.

The Park Grill dining room at the Hotel Intercontinental is surprisingly unpretentious. Diners can relax in the clubby atmosphere of the dining room, with its gay, striped carpeting and comfy, upholstered armchairs.

Beyond the large, glass french doors lies the garden patio, where I’m sure we would have dined had it been a sunny day. It’s an attractive and intimate little garden and the umbrella’d dining tables skirt an expanse of lawn. Apparently this is a popular venue for weddings.

The menu offers a decent range of two soups, several salads and sandwiches, a few hot meals and desserts. My dining companion went for the great sounding watermelon and spinach salad ($15). This came out as a kind of log cabin of sticks of watermelon with a mass of baby spinach, chunks of chevre and candied walnuts in the middle. On either side of the ‘cabin’, the long, rectangular plate was attractively drizzled with the mango dressing as well as cross-hatched drizzles of vibrantly ‘kermit’ green basil oil. Now, while this looked impressive, in fact it’s a little tough to get the dressing off the plate and onto your food. But the baby spinach was also lightly dressed and sprinkled with black sesame seeds (love them!) so this wasn’t an issue, just a tiny bit irksome.

She also ordered a prosciutto and arugula pizza ($19) that was, shall we say, extremely disappointing. Suffice to say, upon reflection, one probably shouldn’t go to a hotel and expect them to have a roaring pizza furnace…

I opted for the ‘Bento Box’ ($35) as it gave me four small courses with two options per course. It arrived all at once, on a large, white, square ceramic platter with four smaller square dishes within.

The soup was the soup du jour; a chicken broth with a hint of lime, neat cubes of breast meat and finely chopped vegetables. Delicious! Of the two salads, I went with the wild rocket salad. It was studded with candied walnuts (actually, too many…), sweet slivers of dried pear, and a couple of teeny little heirloom tomatoes. The rocket was generously dressed with a rich balsamic vinaigrette that was perfumed with white truffle oil. Rich and satisfying. I couldn’t imagine a whole bowl of it; it worked really well as one small course of four. It also came with two batons of plain but toasted crostini.

The ‘entree’ portion of this bento was one of their cooked entrees, and I would recommend dining at the Park Grill for this dish alone. A small but sufficient hunk of Chilean Sea Bass, beautifully cooked, was resting on a bed of ‘forbidden’ black rice that actually looks dark red. The modest portion of fish was served with two gorgeously braised and grilled wedges of endive and a sprinkling of soft greens. It was superb!

For my fourth course I went with the plate of fruit over the pastries, and I was glad I did. A sprinkling of blueberries, boysenberries and raspberries were complemented by a slice each of honeydew melon, cantaloupe, orange and pineapple. All the fruits were exquisitely ripe. This was a perfectly balanced, filling and delicious meal.

I noticed they are doing a special buffet for Mother’s Day. I definitely think hotels are the ideal place to pamper the grande dame in your life. I’ve already raved about the exquisite afternoon tea at the Peninsular Hotel.

But the Hotel Intercontinental might be just the place for a family gathering. If it’s a nice day, you can dine outside and the kids can run about on the grass. There will be a band performing soul, jazz and Latin music.

The buffet menu is pretty extensive and has something for everyone. Highlights from the menu include:

Kid friendly choices such as wild berry mini pancakes, triple decker peanut butter sandwich, mini BLTs, mini nutella and banana club sandwiches and baby sliders.

Assortment of miniature breakfast pastries and a seasonal sliced fruit display. Egg dishes include omelettes by request and crab eggs benedict with paprika hollandaise.

There are salads such as mushroom and shrimp salad with green papaya, multicolored heirloom tomato salad with bocconcini and aged balsamic reduction, ahi tuna salad ‘a la nicoise’, grilled marinated artichoke salad with Asian beef and so on.

In addition to a sushi and sashimi display, there’ll be shrimp, mussels, oysters, clams and crab claws. Pasta dishes include truffle gnocchi with sage and brown butter or wild mushroom risotto.

Barbecue items include prime rib eye steak, citrus marinated organic white salmon, and baby lamb chops marinated with whole grain mustard and lavender. Loads of grilled and roasted vegetables, such as parmesan grilled corn on the and roasted vegetables with fresh cilantro and lemon oil.

Assorted cakes and desserts, including panacotta, tarts, pies, cookies, brownies and blondies and even a sweet crepes station with fresh fruit sauces.

This gastronomic spread will cost $68 for adults and $34 children 4-12, (with no charge for children 3 and under).

Happy Mother’s Day!

Park Grill, Hotel Intercontinental

2151 Avenue of the Stars,
Los Angeles
Front Desk: (310) 2846500

[FYI – Validated valet parking was $6.00]

So I haven’t actually had a full meal at this place yet, but based on my first short experience with it, I think it looks very promising, and I want to spread the word to help these people out.

I was going to Kay n’ Dave’s with a couple of friends tonight, and we parked in front of this bright red, neatly-fonted, bright little building that pronounced itself “Food” and indeed looked to be full of the same. The place was closed, but the staff was inside cleaning up, and when they saw us peeping in, a woman came to the door and waved us in.

“Oh, we’re just looking,” we said shyly, “we’re actually going to dinner down the street.” Nonetheless, she continued to wave us in, saying that they were closed, but were new in the neighborhood so she’d love to have us come look.

The woman’s name is Judy Ornstein, and she’s a longtime resident of the neighborhood, a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry, and co-owner of Food. She said that previously there was a cramped, dingy and dusty convenience store in the location and she had always wished that they could have a place kind of like Joan’s on Third in her neighborhood. So when her oldest child left for college, and the space became available, she and some friends decided to go for it.

The space is indeed reminiscent of Joan’s, although on a smaller scale. Near the entrance are spices and packaged candies and nuts. Across from that is a refrigerated case with soups and prepared foods. Then spanning the length of the place is a deli counter with prepared foods that looked really good. There was a beef tenderloin that was soooo pink that it made me want to grab it and go NOM right there in the store. There were artichoke halves sprinkled with nasturtium, and some pretty vegetable salads: grilled seasonal vegetables and a julienned beet and apple salad.

Near the back is a small wine section, and refrigerated drink cases. The menu also contains breakfast and lunch items like granola, eggs, tofu scramble, and soups, sandwiches and salads. A neatly handwritten paper lists daily specials on the deli. I could easily see myself coming here when I need a bottle of wine, or some milk, or perhaps some soup to refrigerate for weekday meals, and then grabbing a lunch along with my necessaries.

And Ms. Ornstein was incredibly friendly. She talked to us about the place, but didn’t keep us trapped there for too long, and she sent us on our way with some free homemade chocolate chip cookies that were really delicious and packed full of chocolate.

My husband and I agreed that if we lived in the neighborhood, we would definitely be popping in often, and my friends were 100% certain that they would be back in the near future for a breakfast or lunch.

So if you’re on the Westside, check it out and report back. If this place is as good as it looks, I would love to see it do well. It’s not exactly in a prime location, but it is on many people’s way to and from work.

FOOD
10571 Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
http://www.food-la.com