Tuesday, July 31, 2007
New Japan ~ West Los Angeles
New Japan ~ 11283 Santa Monica Blvd. West Los Angeles, CA 90025 ~ 310-477-0557
Many of our city’s best sushi joints flourish in crappy strip-mall parking lots like this one, inhaling smog just a blocks west of the 405 in West Los Angeles. New Japan is not one of these. In fact, their cheap sushi truly blows donkey, resembling the type you might get at a fancy Vons, and one piece is usually left sin aguacate, which really pisses me off. The service is friendly, though disinterested, and sometimes you are subjected to large groups of randy office-mates (feel the sexual tension thicken) or sweaty martial arts teams coming to catch a gander at ultimate fighting on the big screen, all while you try to eat and have a moment to yourself.
Still, it is where I often head when I feel like treating myself nicely, having worked hard on something or saved my pennies. I typically skip the pollock-substituting-for-crab roll or limp eel on rice and instead head straight for the chicken and beef special, a sweet-sauce-glazed feast fit for the king of the Huns, accompanied by soft, warm white rice and a carrot ginger salad ($8). New Japan recently got their act together and ditched the heinous mirrors and disco modern theme (but not the obnoxious TV) for a more traditional setting ripped outta Lone Wolf and Cub, with wee Buddhist idols and plenty of bamboo.
(No Tacos
