Spring Menu
sakizuke - binchotan roasted hokkaido scallops, dashi soaked chrysanthemum greens, tosazu sauce, cucumbers
Nice combination of sweet scallops, vinegar-y tosazu sauce, and slightly bitter greens.
baby udo (japanese spikenard) sprouts, kobashira (hokkaido surf clam adductor muscles)
I don’t think I’ve ever had udo, but I want more. It tasted like a tender string-free asparagus. The fried kobashira were crisp and springy like baby scallops.
bozushi - kasugodai (hyogo prefecture baby red snapper), shiso rice, lemon, salt, wasabi
I love chef go’s bozushi, this one was very good but was less of a wow than his aji bozushi.
owan - live santa barbara dungeness crab suimono
Huge ball of unadulterated crab, with kanimiso (crab brains) as the only binder holding the whole thing together. fucking delicious.
sashimi - tai (kagoshima sea bream), live santa barbara spot prawns, salt, soy sauce, wasabi, fresh nori
textbook. the prawns were sweet with no slimy texture you get with raw shrimp. the fresh nori was interesting and was meant as a palate cleanser.
tataki hatsu katsu (seared, first of the season bonito), daikon, radish, citrus (daidai, sudachi, kabosu), myoga (japanese ginger shoots), fresh ginger
this replaced the abalone course. the skin was seared to a nice crisp char and the lean katus had a strong iron-y flavor that stands up to the various toppings.
nodoguro, lotus root
the nodoguro was smoky, fatty with delicious crispy skin. the lotus root was cooked over binchotan for 45 minutes that gave it nice soft and chewy texture.
kisu (japanese whiting), ankake (thickened dashi), fava beans, ginger
one of my favorite fried fish, the meat is lean, clean, and white. Like the jerry seinfeld of fish.
omi a4 rib eye, bamboo shoots, komatsuna greens (japanese mustard spinach), shiitake
fatty but still had that beefy flavor.
chinmi - kuchiko (sea cucumber ovaries)
Tasted more like salty fallopian tubes to me, but what do I know.
The Notorious B.H.G.
pickles
miso soup
sawara (king mackerel) meshi, kinome leaves x3
harry’s berries, kinako (roasted soy bean flour) whipped cream x2
Nice twist with the kinako, it gave the whipped cream a nutty flavor that wasn’t too sweet.
Overall another great meal at hayato, chef go is still executing at a very high level. He mentioned that the la times is about to come out with a review soon and a very conspicuous michelin inspector (french dude, in a suit, dining solo, writing down very detailed notes) has already been by. So get your reservations now while you still can.
Meanwhile, in other news, this man has been spotted roaming around ROW DTLA.
