TBA
Mike's Birthday
Celebrating Mike's birthday at 715 (715 Sushi might be easier to remember), run by Chef Seigo Tamura, out of an unassuming building in the Arts District, just blocks from Japantown.
Ohmine 3 grain sake was a perfect way to start the meal, clean and smooth, yet still layered enough to be easily appreciated. Contrast was immediate with the first dish, a peanut tofu that was delctably thicker and more substantial than regular tofu made with soybeans, yet still very creamy. A Japanese taro, deep fried, was perhaps the most ordinary item, yet still a nice contrast to the earlier, somewhat heavier intensity; the beltfish tempura was similar in how mild it was.
Karasumi (salted and dried mullet roe) plus dried shrimp atop pasta had the trademarks of dried roe and dried shrimp and was perhaps my least favorite, as it made the delicacy of the pasta hard to appreciate. Corn chawanmushi after was more of a neutral flavor, not a palate cleanser, but not bad? And the presentation of the ginger here was by far the most delicate of anywhere I'd seen recently.
Sushi began with a cured and marinated katsuo (sea bream) that was a briliant start, then into kinmedai (golden eye snapper) that was also excellent. Shima-aji (striped jack) next, a tasty chutoro, and an equally good marinated, dry aged akami. Two mackerels in a row followed, aji (horse mackerel) and sawara (Spanish mackerel). Isaki (chicken grunt) was a lovely addition to follow, as was nodoguro (black throat sea perch); the grunt-nodoguro combination was a very complimentary one.
Hokkaido uni atop uni blended in rice was not quite as rich as you would have expected (still quite rich!), and then a very solid but unmemorable anago followed. Osimo (clear soup), then a pretty straightforward tamago followed.
For Mike's birthday we had a very light cookie with ice cream in the middle, plus tea. Quite nice. Was a very good meal overall, although pricey enough (even for Michelin 1* sushi) that it was hard to say this would be atop of the list of places to go back to.
Obligatory walk around Japantown followed, plus Mike had to have his Honeymee. And saw the new Dodgers mural, of course.