451765 Wed Oct 17 15:18:56 -0700 2007 10 2 Los Angeles Area 0 3044265 Maitake mushroom season is here! I ducked into Yabu on La Cienega for lunch today and was delighted to find maitake mushroom soup on the list of specials. It was perhaps not as good as the sublime maitake mushroom soup at Kiriko, but nevertheless was deeply satisfying and well worth the $14.50. Topped it off with a cooked lobster roll and sardine sushi and Japanese mackerel sushi and I was a happy camper. I always forget about Yabu unless I am in the immediate neighborhood, but it always seems reliable. Wed Oct 17 15:18:56 -0700 2007 27951 omotosando 1 3045083 Maitake or matsutake? I loved Kiriko's matsutake dobinmushi. I didn't know that they did a maitake version. Wed Oct 17 20:26:48 -0700 2007 3044265 13289 Porthos 2 3045381 You are right - it's matsutake. I have my mushrooms mixed up. Maitake are the mushroom pills I get at the health food store. Wed Oct 17 23:19:07 -0700 2007 3045083 27951 omotosando 3 3046049 Maitake are good too. Meaty but not as flavorful as matsutake. Good as tempura! Thu Oct 18 08:22:39 -0700 2007 3045381 13289 Porthos 1 3084523 Had lunch there again today. More matsutake mushroom soup. Yum. Everything good except the sweet shrimp, which were a bit mushy. The Japanese mackerel and abalone were both really good. I don't know why this place does not get more play on Chow. Not a Sushi Zo or anything, but a nice solid neighborhood place that usually delivers. Wed Oct 31 17:39:01 -0700 2007 3044265 27951 omotosando 1 3084559 Is the West LA one on Pico still there? Is it the same as the one on La Cienega (which I have been to)? Wed Oct 31 17:52:39 -0700 2007 3044265 14014 liu 2 3084626 I think the one in West L.A. on Pico is still there. I assume they have common ownership. I keep meaning to try the one on Pico to see if it as good as the one on La Cienega. By the way Liu, they served a very good iced green tea. Wed Oct 31 18:15:36 -0700 2007 3084559 27951 omotosando 3 3084961 Gee -- THANKS, Omotosando! I still love iced green tea!!! I wasn't clear on my post, but I do know that they are the same ownership, and their website shows both with a common menu. To be more exact, my question was whether or not the food is as good on Pico as on La Cienega...a Hound-ish question, to be sure! Many years ago, I thought Yabu La Cienega was terrific...perhaps one of the first izakaya-type places in this city. Then, just a few years ago we experienced a slide in the quality of food. We have not been back for a couple of years, and I am glad to hear that it is good. The Pico location looks to be even more casual. I think we will try that location soon. And I can't wait for the green iced tea!!! Wed Oct 31 20:47:13 -0700 2007 3084626 14014 liu 4 3085125 Just to be clear, I am not saying it is a great destination place. Just that the food is very solid. I always order off the special menu. They seem to always have very good iwashi, which is hard to find. I am guessing that if you ordered the sushi set (rathering than ordering off the special menu), the sushi would be more pedestrian. One of the reasons I want to check out the Pico location (which is actually closer to where I live) is to see if they have the same special menu. Wed Oct 31 23:12:57 -0700 2007 3084961 27951 omotosando 2 3087323 Liu, I had lunch today at Yabu on Pico and I am sorry to say that the Yabu on Pico is a great disappointment. It is a much different animal than the restaurant on La Cienega. First, the restaurant on La Cienega is inviting; the one on Pico is dingy. Second, the Pico restaurant has none of the specials like the restaurant on La Cienega. No matsutake soup, no iwashi, no mackerel from Japan, no abalone. Rather, the "specials" at the restaurant on Pico consist of cheap combo plates - tempura, noodles, donburi, etc. I ended up ordering sushi a la carte. It wasn't the worst sushi I've ever had, but at $24 for 4 orders (2 pieces each Spanish mackerel and scallops, one crab handroll and one cut spicy tuna roll), it was overpriced considering the quality. Add $2,50 for iced tea and tax and tip and lunch was over $35. I could have had a considerably better lunch in a nicer environment at Kiriko for the same price. I am not a big soba eater, but I am guessing that the only reason to ever go to Yabu on Pico would be for soba. Thu Nov 01 15:19:55 -0700 2007 3084559 27951 omotosando 3 3087683 Thanks for "saving" me, omotosando! We were heading there this weekend...so perhaps we will go to the La Cienega location. Now that you have "teased" me with the iced green tea, I am looking forward to it! I am really into izakaya places because one never has a chance to get bored with an item...onto the next plate! And it is such interesting eating: various textures and temperatures and colors and flavors, and I love that I can move from plate to plate in various orders...what a concept! Thu Nov 01 17:46:10 -0700 2007 3087323 14014 liu