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The Valley Sushi Expert Sweetens Fast Service Food at SugarFISH
By Gerry Furth-Sides
Sushi is a revered three hundred year old artisanship in Japan, with equal amounts of ritual and tradition gathered along the way.
But we Californians weren't all that impressed at first, no sir. We had to be lured into eating the scary raw stuff in a cone stuffed with familiar ingredients (avocado, crab and mayo), named after a state we knew (California). Thus was born the California Roll.
This could well be why the notorious Nozawa-of-the-valley decided to teach us a no-nonsense lesson or several about sushi appreciation and manners. "Eat what's in front of you or don't eat at all" is his philosophy, one I thought I left behind at home.
I proved it first when writing about a Nozawa spin-off restaurant. There, at the quiet end of a lunch hour, I was given the option by an impatient and fairly unpleasant server of ordering four large, to say nothing of expensive, portions of sashimi because of a four-piece rule written for sushi, or leaving. So I compared the chef to the Seinfeld sit-com "soup nazi" in a guidebook.
I was not original. Nozawa himself relishes this description of his insistence that diners, "show respect for tradition, sushi dining etiquette, the food itself and the other customers."
Close to legendary by this time a decade ago, Nozawa could well afford to put off customers who did not obey. He had made such an impact on the local L.A. scene with his traditional Edo or Tokyo style of sushi in the 80's that he catapulted the sushi master ladder from the friendly Asuka in Westwood, an environment in which he "admired the English language abilities of the staff, but was surprised by their lack of sushi making skills." It was, in fact, his epiphany "at their ineptness" that inspired Nozawa not only to teach a thing or two to them, but to everyone else he reaches in Anchorage, Aspen, Denver, Detroit, New York, Portland and Santa Barbara. This included Korean, Chinese, Japanese and American chefs.
In 1987 Nozawa opened his own high quality "love it" or "hate it place" in the valley serving traditional sushi in a simple, no-frills setting. Now a little over two decades later he and his son, Tom, and a few corporate friends set out to spread begin spreading the national gospel to patrons at SugarFISH in the first fast service sushi concept done in strict Nozawa omakase (chef choice) style.
Nozawa rules are right in play, invoked in the third person throughout the list of instructions.
For example, according to the SugarFISH menu, Nozawa rice is not just your ordinary old rice. It is "light, airy rice." A detailed notice tells why white shrimp is chosen (flavor) and how that flavor is sealed in "with blanching." Just in case some customer never cooked or watched a Food Television Network, a full explanation of blanching follows. There are no-nonsense rules listed for "how to eat to enjoy the full flavors." The "tuna sashimi or Tartate must be eaten with scallion and coated with ponzu sauce." Don't even think about looking at that soy sauce bottle, buster.
In case you're used to keeping fish in the hot sun while driving it home, a directive on the menu reads "keep seafood refrigerated since it is perishable."
But don't think that Nozawa lacks a sense of humor. SugarFISH offers a tongue in cheek complete "trust me" or omakase, (chef's choice menu), determined by the day's market. Happily and unlike the original Nozawa, it adds up to a reasonable amount and includes tax and tip.
The SugarFISH space is long and dark but in the invigorating Marina ocean air. Tables line one wall; a counter lines another, serving sushi quickly prepared in the back kitchen. Well informed, friendly Asian-American servers guide customers through the detailed menu explanation and wall boards.
The fish is fresh, light and predictable: Tuna sashimi with ponzu sauce. Nigiri sushi topped with yellowtail, salmon, albacore, bonito, white shrimp and halibut. Sushi rolls filled with dollops of blue crab and toro. Two deluxe wraps of sublime gunkan maki stand out, one topped with shimmery monkfish liver, and the other with lush sea urchin.
For diners in a hurry or new to sushi, sugarFISH is perfect. For us sashimi or non-white rice lovers, and those seeking out a more personal experience with original dishes, Nozawa disciple Jimmy Wu owner-chef of Ahi Tuna in Studio City is still the man to see.
sugarFISH
(www.SugarFISHsushi.com),
Asuka (www.asukasushi.com),
Ahi Tuna (www.ahisushi.com)