455256 Mon Oct 29 12:08:10 -0700 2007 0 2 Los Angeles Area 0 3076985 A few weeks ago I was shopping at the Trader Joe's on Beach/Ellis and noticed that Hashigo Sushi had just opened up in the same plaza. I had heard of this name before (in japanese I believe it is a term used for sake pub crawls), and made a mental note to come back to check it out sometime. Last Friday I gathered up some family to check it out with me. Their responses were unanimous with mine - it's a great new sushi restaurant! The space is dimly lit with modern decor. The sushi bar seats about 20, and there are tables for another 40 or so patrons. When we came in on Friday night it was packed with an eclectic group of people. In the far corner was a group of asian kids, and next to them were business men in suits and ties. We sat down at the bar and asked our sushi chef Shin-san to "be creative." What a great suggestion! After the complimentary edamame were brought out, we started off with some fantastic bluefin tuna, the creamy, blood-red, melt in your mouth stuff. This was followed up with some spanish mackeral, and then the deep fried bones from the mackeral were presented to us as well. We had some geoduck, crisp and tasting like the sea with just a small strip of toasted nori to add a nice flavor component. Then came the yellowtail belly in all its good-for-you oily wonder! A dish of ankimo came out for us to share; monkfish liver steamed to perfection in a ponzu sauce. This was unlike any other ankimo I have had - there was no taste of liver here. The chef said that they marinated it before steaming, to remove the liver taste. I can see how this would appeal to a certain niche of customers but I look for the liver taste in my ankimo. Regardless, it was still a superb dish. A cooked appetizer then appeared, rib-eye steak wrapped around asparagus, then cut into california roll sized pieces and dripping with an au jus sauce complimented with fresh fried shallots. Then the special rolls started coming out. A white-kelp salmon roll appeared, and then quickly disappeared under our chopsticks! Salmon, krab and cream cheese, with white seaweed still crunchy, wrapped inside of cucumber skin instead of nori. All of it washed down with more and more Sapporo as the night went on. Spider roll appeared and again quickly disappeared. Soft shell crab so delicately fried, there was not a hint of greasiness to it at all. What is more amazing is that we also tried their regular tempura and some sesame chicken, which were again fried very well. Crisp and hot, yet not oily at all, which must be quite a feat since there are plenty other restaurants I can recall that cannot do this. By now we're starting to get full and have moved on to drinking sake. We share some with Shin-san and he politely says "no, no" while shaking his head yet extending his hand to take the cup. Kampai! We're now into some fun sushi, like a nigiri yellowtail belly that has been seared, topped with jalapeno slices and soaked with ponzu. Wonderful sweet shrimp, that were not the least bit slimy, and the deep fried heads came along to provide a tasty crunch. I believe that Shin-san had more specials up his sleeve for us, but alas we were getting too full and had to call it quits. There's always next time. Ready to go home, the kitchen sent out a complimentary dessert. It was called the Hashigo roll, it was like an egg roll filled with chopped granny smith apples served with a caramel sauce and ice cream. Apparently we must have still had room in our stomachs because we ate it all. We had a great time here. In talking with Shin-san, we learned that the "head" sushi chef's name is Koji - former owner of Koji's (shabu-shabu and sushi) of Hollywood and the one at the Block, also fomerly of Wasa Sushi at the Bluffs in Newport Beach. With such a pedigree I am sure that more good things will come from this restaurant. They even have both sizes of Kubota Manjyu sake on hand, although we stuck to the house sake (this time). Now I've been to both Sushi Shibucho in Costa Mesa and Wasabi in Tustin. IMHO, Hashigo Sushi combines the fresh fish, creativity of the sushi chefs and quality, while adding a modern decor, great service and good value. Definitely worth checking out, be sure to get a seat in front of Shin-san or Koji-san. Hashigo Sushi 18685 Main Street Huntington Beach, CA 92648 (714) 848-1111 Mon Oct 29 12:08:10 -0700 2007 31764 kingkong5