Sushi Fanatic Goes to a Strip Mall Sushi Restaurant
I had been waiting three years for this. This night, this moment, would be one I would never forget. As we stepped into the most amazingly decorated and sophisticated restaur-
Ok, ok. That’s not exactly how it went. Let me restart.
I had been waiting three years for this. As we walked through the balcony of the strip mall, we saw the plastic-lit sign reading Sushi Park. Next to it, the sign read; No trendy sushi/no spicy tuna/no veggies/no tempura. Damn! No trendy sushi :( just kidding. The small restaurant had a crowded 5-seat bar, with four wooden tables parallel to the kitchen. Each table was set with chopsticks and a warm towel that came in a plastic container. As this blog builds itself up, you’ll notice that I am a sushi fanatic, and so is the rest of my family. So when a friend of ours said this was the best sushi of their life, I couldn’t hold back my excitement. On the wall there was a plastic menu with very few a la carte options. This sushi restaurant didn’t offer much but Omakase, meaning the chef picks for you. I had done this at a few restaurants in the past, but it never got as exotic as it did tonight. Yikes. Here I will go through some of the most amazing, interesting, and strange dishes of the night.
The meal started off with some delicious albacore sashimi. Similar to the famous yellowtail jalapeno at Nobu, it was soft and had a really nice fruity flavor. I enjoyed having multiple pieces to myself, not having to share it all with my family. The fish was of high quality, with a nice texture to begin the Sushi Park experience. The expectations were high.
The next dish was a set of three pieces of nigiri, or fish over rice. From left to right, tuna, tuna prepared differently, and toro. The first piece was nice and basic, but it wasn’t like the crap fish we get in Chicago. It was super soft and had a really strong flavor. The second piece was the same fish but with some flavoring. It was a little smoky, and I didn’t enjoy it. The pairing just didn’t seem to fit, yet the rest of my family thought it was absolutely stunning. And the last piece, oh my god. It’s a lot more of an experience, an amazing one. This fish had the most amazing flavor and texture yet. It practically melted in my mouth. The two bites I got off of that were some of the best bites of food I have ever had.
I was surprised when the next dish came, it wasn’t nigiri, sushi, or sashimi, but fried white fish. Did I get moved to London? Fish and chips was not what I came here for, but it was surprisingly good. Was it expected? No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. The lemony, crispy flavor of the fish caught me off guard by the fact that I was sitting in a random strip-mall-sushi-restaurant in Los Angeles.
!!Enter the dark zone!!
The food from here got a little strange. A plate of octopus and clam was placed in front of me. I had never had any of these, and I wasn’t planning on it. My sister was the first to try the octopus, something that was very unlike her. For a while, she debated even trying it, repeatedly putting the octopus up to her mouth and at the last second putting it back down. But then, she finally plopped the octopus nigiri into her mouth. She explained to me that it was actually pretty good, saying it was like regular fish but chewier. So finally, after a lot of thinking, I finally ate the octopus. Never again. It didn’t taste too bad, but the texture kept me chewing and chewing and chewing and…yea. Just the thought of eating octopus was pretty gross, so I wouldn’t recommend it. And next, clam. I’m a huge oyster fan, so I didn’t expect this to go as bad as it did. The open faced piece of clam was topped with some red dust. The dust was dry and stuck to the roof of my mouth, and it was peppery. The clam was also pretty chewy, and I just couldn’t get it to go down. We are in a dark place right now. Moving on.
Enter the bright zone!!
Welcome back to the bright zone! I’m Juji the Foodie, and today I will be discussing Sushi Park. You’ve been here before, let's top off our journey. Obviously, there were a lot more dishes in between like mushrooms and other fishes, but you wouldn’t be able to read this if I explained it all. We ate a good (and not so good) 8-10 dishes that night. The night was finished off by a yummy tuna hand roll, which you can never go wrong with. I was too stuffed to finish it, but it was a good f-ing hand roll.
That was a handful, or should I say hand roll? Not funny, I’m working on it. You’re probably thinking, this was not the best sushi of my life. You’re right. It’s number two behind another strip-mall-sushi-restaurant in Los Angeles. The experience was everything though. Although some of the dishes did not catch my eye (or my mouth), it was still fun to try something new. And the pieces that were more basic, were absolutely amazing and some of the best sushi I have had. I wouldn’t recommend this place for non-sushi fanatics, people who stick to the basic avocado, cucumber, and salmon. I would recommend this place to people like me, who are already invested in Sushi and are open to trying something new. For the very best experience, top off the night with some froyo. (I am also a froyo fanatic)
