Asanebo Looks Like a Winner in the Battle of Sushi

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ASANEBO


Where:

11941 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 91604. Cross Street: Radford Avenue


When:

12 to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 6 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 6 to 11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday; closed Monday


What to Try:

Roasted ginkgo nuts, grilled shishito peppers with bonito flake, kanpachi with sesame miso and serrano pepper, halibut sashimi with fresh truffle, wood-smoked snapper with endive, red snapper with sea salt and yuzu, grilled black miso cod


Parking:

Valet, $3.50


Price Range:

Appetizers, $5-$18; cold plates, $18-$24; hot plates, $9-$24


Reservations:

(818) 760-3348


Cruising down Ventura Boulevard, it’s hard not to notice the dozens of Japanese restaurants that line the way. The incredible array of options, ranging in price and quality, has earned the area the distinction of being the unofficial sushi capital of Los Angeles. Luckily, Asanebo has a Michelin star to set it apart from the pack. This unassuming sushi joint has enjoyed well-deserved praise as of late, being recently named in this year’s Zagat survey as “L.A.’s top lunch spot.”

Asanebo, meaning “late riser,” is a pub, or izakaya, specializing in small plates to accompany sake or beer. But it isn’t just the portions that are small here: The dining room is minuscule and the sushi bar seats only a dozen. A cleverly placed mirror adds the illusion of elbow-room in its strip-mall digs, but there’s still no denying that Asanebo is spatially challenged.

Despite the less-than-formal concept, Asanebo offers an extensive menu of cooked dishes in addition to a full sushi bar that features such exotic seasonal delicacies as baby gizzard fish and live abalone. In a city full of eateries trading in trendy “fusion” sushi and large, overly complicated rolls, this place is a haven for purists. For the full experience, sit at the sushi bar.

In true pub fashion, we start with some finger food. A plate of grilled shishito peppers arrives with a spray of bonito flakes. Though I am suspicious of the strong, smoky flakes, they bring out the flavors of the grill. We forgo the edamame and instead try some roasted ginkgo nuts in sea salt. Not unlike pistachios, they are a good nosh. We are immediately struck by how officious the staff is. Sitting at the bar we are constantly attended to by chefs, servers, runners and bus staff. Every request is met with cheer; when we ask for a knife for our grilled baby barracuda, our server graciously cuts it for us.

Though the cooked dishes are good, the true stars at Asanebo are the cold plates of sashimi. Delicately portioned out into thin slices and fanned out on the plate, the presentations are beautiful. The portions are wee, but aficionados know that it’s quality that counts here, not quantity. Also, the smaller plates are more practical for sampling a few different dishes. The kanpachi (amberjack) sashimi comes with a smidge of sesame miso and topped with a slice of serrano pepper. Treading a thin line between overdressing the fish and carefully complementing its natural flavors is a challenge, but the chefs err on the side of caution. The red snapper is adorned only by sea salt and a touch of yuzu, a Japanese citrus, and the simplicity is impeccable.


No soy, please

The Spanish mackerel comes filleted with the head and tail used for decoration, but is served only with ponzu. As the runners drop the food they murmur, “No soy sauce, please.” Its best to do as they request and experience the fish exactly as they intend. The seared bonito is good, served with tosazu sauce and garlic chips, but not the favorite. That prize goes to the halibut topped with fresh truffle. Though the truffle flavor is pungent, it works magic with the whitefish and creates a synergy unlike any other dish on the menu.

Though we try several cooked dishes, few can live up to the heights of the sashimi. The rock shrimp is decent, but no better than one would expect at any good sushi bar. The sauteed green mussels, though large, are a bit chewy and the sauce is not as garlicky (or spicy) as we had hoped. The standout is the grilled black cod marinated in sweet saikyo miso. Most sushi restaurants have a dish like this it is one of the staples of the Nobu Matsuhisa empire but Asanebo’s take is exquisite, with the skin carefully charred to perfection. Better yet, there is an appetizer version using Chilean sea bass wrapped in butter lettuce.

According to custom, we finish our meal with nigiri (sashimi on rice) and maki (rolls). We try both the blue fin tuna and the fattier belly cut, toro. By this point, we have been trained to use very little soy sauce, and the fish hardly needs it. The toro is melt-in-your-mouth buttery. We also get a spicy tuna roll, but after all the sashimi, it seems like a high crime to hide the fish among so much rice.

Asanebo’s dessert offerings such as green tea ice cream are standard fare, but I am pleased to see the much-underappreciated red bean ice cream on the menu as well. The ice cream is slightly freezer-burned, but after the wealth of great sushi we have enjoyed, it hardly matters. The green tea flan looks interesting, but we pass it up for the chocolate banana crepes filled with ice cream. Though it sounds appetizing, the portion is monstrous and the whole thing is much too much, with all the nuance of a banana split. Instead, I long for those glorious banana and chocolate spring rolls at Matsuhisa.

By this time we are old friends with the sushi chef, having stayed long past the hurried lunch crowd. He has watched us happily devour everything he has laid out and we have developed a mutual respect. As we leave, he jokingly says he will see us tomorrow and the whole staff looks up from their closing duties to say goodbye.

While a full-blown sushi war is being waged along Ventura Boulevard, Asanebo has already proved to be a winner. With its spectacular friendly service and excellent cold plates it has distinguished itself as one of L.A.’s finer sushi establishments.


Reviewer Lindsey Styrwoll can be reached at [email protected].

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