Sliding past the sushi bar at Koi

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Scoot up to the sushi bar at Koi and you begin a familiar ritual: figure out the day’s freshest fish, order a couple cuts and then snap your chopsticks apart, shaving away splinters until the things are whittled down to dull little spears. It’s a second-nature [...]

There are, of course, segregated sections of Kotosh’s menu that list distinctly Japanese and Peruvian dishes, but the best and most interesting offerings come from when Kotosh lets the two cuisines collide. One of the best examples is the tiradito de atún, a Peruvian-style tuna sashimi that pays its respects to both ends of Kotosh’s [...]

Beyond fusion with Kotosh’s transcontinental tastes

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
Kotosh seems like it is a world away, located a stuttering drive down PCH past tangles of pipes and smokestacks and into those worn-down blocks beyond the 710. But that’s only half the trip. The rest finishes up in Lomita, where palms shoot up from nearly every [...]

The most appropriate dish for an izakaya like Musha is one charred at a tableside grill. And the most interesting of those is the dried stingray. The translucent triangles of flesh initially eat like a too-tough jerky inexplicably plucked from the sea. But give the pieces some grilling and a dunk in the accompanying aioli [...]

Upon arrival at the restaurants, the first thing you’ll notice is that there are two doors—no dividing wall between the restaurants, just two doors. Enter through the left, and you’re at Aki Sushi, a pleasant sushi joint with a friendly sushi bar and tasty menu. Enter through the right, and you’re at Bai-Plu, home to [...]

Musha is your place

PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES
On even the slowest weekday nights, Musha’s dining room is stacked shoulder-to-shoulder—groups twirl together little piles of udon at the restaurant’s communal table while smaller parties share stories and beers off in the quieter corners. Every time the door opens, the staff lets out a short shout then serves [...]

This week’s LA Times food section turns Japanese and runs a roundup of some of the best Japanese craft beers, namely those of the criminally under-consumed Hitachino brand.
Virtually all of Hitachino’s beers are great (even the ginger beer), but the red rice beer–brewed from the same smooth stuff as sake–is particularly good. Hitachino’s beers should [...]