Omakase at Asanebo?

[Diana]

Anyone had it there? Any comments?

[PayOrPlay]

Absolutely, it's superb, after many years it remains one of our favorite meals in LA, although (unless you're Buffy the Vampire Slayer or another regular customer) it's not always easy to get Tetsu's personal attention, but the other chefs are quite capable. We generally ask for mostly sashimi (i.e. as opposed to lots of cooked items); we tend to spend around $100+pp, although it can vary quite a bit.

(More detail from a recent visit at
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[yinyangdi]

imo, Asanebo is the *best* sushi/sashimi/japanse food spot in the area. All Asanebo itamae are very, very good.

[cls]

It's great. Sushi reinvented and great attention to detail. Last time I was there, the chef placed the sushi angled to the right for me, to the left for my wife. (I am left handed.)

[Cicely]

I went about a year ago with my husband, and I was astonished by the quality and the artistry of the food. We sat at the bar and were served by Matcha (well, I remember his name was like the tea, but not sure if this is the spelling), a young chef who was incredibly meticulous and yet quite self effacing.

Like I said, it's been a while so I was about to say that I hardly remember what we had, but then I recalled the uni - mounded in a martini glass, as sweet as ice cream. I believe he said it was from Santa Barbara. Or San Diego? The place that most uni is from, this uni was not from. I know, that's so helpful.

He cut paper-thin slices of daikon and sandwiched a few tiny autumn leaves between them for a gorgeous backdrop to one of the dishes.

I also loved how certain sashimi dishes were enlivened with powdered salt (different kinds really had different flavors) and tiny shreds of yuzu zest. They specialize in sashimi, fyi - I don't think we had any sushi at all, although that wasn't a deliberate decision on our part. We kind of let Matcha decide.

The most over-the-top part, though, was the lobster three ways: part of the tail was made into sashimi, part of it fried as tempura, and the head made a fantastic soup... eventually. First, he chopped the tail off the LIVE lobster, and stuffed up the gaping hole of its cavity with a round of daikon. This thing was still waving its antennae and claws, and making noises... did you know that lobsters can make sounds? They can, and after they've been chopped in half, they do! The top half was just sitting on top of the counter as he prepared the rest of the dish, and eventually was part of the serving arrangement. I have to say, we felt incredibly barbaric but it was still delicious.

I think the total came to $170 for two, before tip - we kind of got carried away and ordered the most expensive stuff - Matcha was totally NOT pushy, though, and although he recommended the lobster, he made it quite clear that there was no pressure at all involved.