Is Kiyokawa better than Sushi Zo?

[kevin]

thanks.

[peppermonkey]

Kiyokawa omakase is better than matsuhisa's, asanebo's, kiriko's, and mori's. But in terms of sushi (fish on rice), its falls behind. Weird almost: perfectly sliced delicious fish on crappy rice. I'd rather go to kiyokawa than all these places including sushi zo anyday!

[andytseng]

I am slowly realizing this after having had a poor experience at kiriko. I just wish that Kiyokawa's omakase would change more according to the seasons.

[lgusti]

I agree with peppermonkey. Omakase is very good but their sushi rice is horrible. I could make a better one at home with sushi zu from Nijiya/Mitsuwa & good koshihikari rice.

However, Satoshi Kiyokawa himself is very friendly, approachable, speak better english.

Mori has the best sushi rice, but he's not as friendly as kiyokawa, borderline snobbish.

Pictures for Kiyokawa
http://picasaweb.google.com/lgusti/Ki...

[foodiemahoodie]

Mori?!! Borderline snobbish?!! Are you kidding?!!

[Servorg]

And if that was true how far over the border would that push a certain sushi chef at Zo? lol

[jdwdeville]

agreed- we walked into Mori with no res late one evening and were seated at the bar in front of Mori-san after a (very) short wait to experience one of the best meals we've had in LA from an incredibly modest, gracious chef.

[andytseng]

They are different and I love both.

Does anyone know of any other Japanese restaurants that do a similar kaiseki-style omakase to Kiyokawa (other than Urasawa), with some cooked items and some sashimi/sushi?

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Urasawa Restaurant
218 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

[kevin]

maybe kappo ishito in weller court (formerly the chef of seikitei in monterey park).

[J.L.]

Kappo Ishito is no more...

[Jwsel]

Kiriko will do an omakase with some cooked items.

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Kiriko
11301 W Olympic Blvd Ste 102, Los Angeles, CA 90064

[hppzz]

we just tried kiyokawa for the first time a few weeks ago..a great experience and such a gracious chef--he even opened the door for us on the way out!! with limited ETOH and the chefs omakase and sushi omakasi, tax and tip came slightly less then 100pp. The kaiseki meal more then met expectations, having read what J. Gold wrote about it in 2009. for those interested, full photos here:

http://ravenouscouple.blogspot.com/20...

[kevin]

what's etoh?

[yinyangdi]

kevin, I did not recoginize that acronym either and looked it up: "ETOH, Ethyl Alcohol. ETOH, Extremely Trashed or Hammered. … ETOH is related to alcohol and drug use. …" And, if it does stand in for "alcohol," it's only three characters short of using the whole word itself.

[hppzz]

sorry--we had one alcoholic drink per person.

[yinyangdi]

Asanebo in Studio City will serve omakase to your liking.

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Asanebo
11941 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604

[New Trial]

Mori offers omakase with cooked items and sushi/sashimi as an option.

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Mori Sushi
11500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064

[andytseng]

So when people say, "as an option" or "to your liking" does this mean I would have to request the omakase with kaiseki-style dishes, or is that just the standard? If I make a reservation and tell them omakase without saying anything else, what would I get?

Also, I forgot about the Chef's Table at Inaka.

[Servorg]

Just let the sushi chef know what you like (before the meal starts) and then he will customize your order based on what he feels are the strongest dishes that day (and any dislikes or things you might be allergic to or what have you).

[New Trial]

Mori also has an all sashimi and a sushi/sashimi omakase so one would need to specify which was desired. Presumably, if one just said makase, the itame would ask but I always specify which I want that night.

[Servorg]

Matsuhisa used to do this. I imagine they still do, but haven't been in several years.

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Matsuhisa
129 N La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

[nelehelen]

There is a place called Wakasan in west la (on westwood blvd.) that has an omakase that resemble a traditional japanese kaiseki meal, which is a multi-course meal with sashimi, cooked items, soup, etc. Wakasan's omakase is around 9 courses and should not be confused for a sushi/sashimi omakase. The omakase priced used to be $35, but I think they may have raised it to $40. It is, of course, not as nice nor as expensive as Kiyokawa or Urasawa, but I think it's an affordable place to check out if you are curious about a kaiseki meal.

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Urasawa Restaurant
218 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Wakasan
1929 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

[wilafur]

wakasan is one of my faves. please note that in addition to the standard omakasae/kaiskei, they have higher priced omakasae/kaiskei that requires advance notice.

[nelehelen]

did not know about that one. thanks for the tip! do you know how much that omakase is and how many courses it ususally has?

[wilafur]

iirc, there are 2 higher levels but i do not recall the pricing.

[J.L.]

Clarification: As many above have stated, Wakasan is a different genre of Japanese cuisine. It is known as washoku (roughly translated: home-style cooking). Dinner at Wakasan is NOT a sushi-heavy meal (though there will be a few pieces of fresh sashimi thrown in there), and it is certainly NOT a traditional sushi omakase.

That being said, Wakasan is a jewel in the neighborhood, and I've loved every meal I've had there. Just don't expect sushi.

The higher end omakase levels are $55 and $95 per person. Worth it.

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Wakasan
1929 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

[kevin]

what's some of the stuff in the 55 and 95 dollar prixe-fixe levels:? someone mentioned a year or so back that there's duck foie gras in a dash broth, i know i've been meaning to try it for the first time but haven't yet, and didn't know if I should just go for the 35 or go all out and tackle the 95 buck menu (do you remember when the space used to be Mincha a la Japonaise? I kinda liked that restaurant)

[ipsedixit]

Better how?

Kiyokawa is more in the style of traditional kaiseki meal (a la Urasawa).

Zo is more traditional sushi omakase (with very few cooked dishes with exceptions like monkfish and butterfish, etc.)

So which you like better will generally depend on what type of meal you prefer.

[kevin]

Oh, ok, usually traditional omakase, or new wave fusion omakase a la Matsuhisa.

Compared to Urasawa, how doe Kiyokawa compare? I presume it's nowhere near the 350 per at K as it is at U? Is K more like 100 bucks per person?

[ipsedixit]

Kiyokawa is about 1/3 or 1/4 less than Urasawa.

I'm not going to compare, but if it were up to me, I think I would prefer 3 or 4 meals at Kiyokawa to 1 meal at Urasawa for sure.

[foodiemahoodie]

It's 1/3 or 1/4 less? Or 1/3 - 1/4th the price of Urasawa?

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Urasawa Restaurant
218 N Rodeo Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210