Hirozen Gourmet

I usually don’t lose my head over a dinner, especially here in LA, where I tend to have many favorites, but Hirozen is phenomenal.  So please only go if you are a true blue lover of real, authentic, fish.  Go to some simple chain if you want a big picture menu of cut rolls.  Don’t bring that weak-ass attitude here.  To a small tiny place in a non-descript strip mall along a non-sushi stretch of Beverly Boulevard.

I thought after one trip with a friend who is a regular that maybe we got lucky and because the chef knew her that we got the tip top cuts.  But alas, he only serves the best of the best cuts of fish.  And what cuts they are, as he goes every morning to the fish market early to pick his fish.  And anytime regular yellowtail and salmon AREN’T even considered in Omakase first few rounds!

Like I said, it’s a simple place.  Small sushi bar, and about a dozen tables.  Beer and wine only, but a nice selection of sake.  Which is nice.  AND you get to pick your own sake glass.  They bring by a tray with many glasses of which you can pick one.  And the cold sake comes over ice, so as to stay cold.  Nothing worse than your sake getting warm.  Gosh!

I didn’t write down all the fish we had with Omakase, but there were a few offered from Japan.  And many that I’ve never even had before.  Yes, I was actually served some sushi I have never even had before.  If you know me, or have seen my Yelp page, you know I’m born and raised with Sicilian blood, but with a true blue love of Sushi.

Some of the offerings:

Medium Toro

Tasmanian Sea Trout – Oh My God.  This was so good.  So SO good.  Not as delicate as say halibut or yellowtail, but amazing, hearty  flavor and with a slightly torched top.  Pure Excellence.

Shad – A herring relative, and fantastic as well.  A more delicate yet fantastic fish.  Not on many menus either.

Japanese Barracuda – This might be the winner of the night.  As good, if not better than nearly all the pricey Toro I’ve had elsewhere.

Giant Clam – Whereas a lot if not most sushi spots serve a very tough and hard to chew version of Giant Clam, this piece was tender and packed with flavor.

A yellowtail cousin –  I can’t remember the real name, as the Chef explained it to us under it’s Japanese name.  Always a good sign on my account.

And many more that I cannot recall.  Truly a memorable dining experience.  A bit pricey, but worth every penny.  So if you go, don’t skimp, go with whatever the chef says is the freshest and best.  He asked where else we go in LA, and one of our old favorites was Sushi Nozawa, and now Sugarfish.  Well of course the chef worked and studied under Chef Nozowa many, many years ago.  Still seems him at the fish market early most days.  Although he said Chef Nozawa is usually one of the, if not the first person there every single day.  But Hirozen is not run by slackers.  The fish like I said is unlike most I’ve seen, and super fresh and original.

Now go, but remember, don’t tell anyone who does not appreciate the best of the best, or paying a premium.  In the words of Chef Nozawa “Trust Me”

http://www.hirozen.com/index.html