BTW, has anyone been to the Sinoloan or Cuban places near Torihei? Are they any good?
Oh, that does mighty good. Welp, I know where I’m going in the area next time. 
Maybe I’ll bang-bang it w/ the Sinoloan place…
Anyone been to New York deli?
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we predictably went out for ramen again on our december trip. can’t remember if i mentioned it then but after visiting hakata ikkousha and jidaiya on our previous trips, we hit up josui ramen this time. scored an outdoor table and had a very good lunch. i have a brief report (with pictures) on the blog today for those who care to look.
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Glad you enjoyed it! I think Josui is our current favorite in the south bay, especially since they offer Tan Tan Men.
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a fuller report on this meal, with pictures, went up on the blog today. it looks better and better from a distance as i contemplate the sorry reality of dim sum in minnesota.
Nozomi for dinner last night. Good food, but man, it is pricey. $24 for a tempura udon with a couple shrimp, a piece of eggplant and cucumber. Broth was tasty, noodles were chewy, but imo, not worth the premium for such a paltry serving of tempura. Had 4 pieces of nigiri - amberjack, ika, sardine and mackeral. About $4-5 a piece… I haven’t had sushi in a long time so I imagine these are pretty standard prices these days at nicer, but not ultra high end places. The rice was well seasoned and formed, fish was nicely sized, fresh and flavorful. Not the highest end of quality, but better than your average neighborhood joint. Grilled chicken wings - 5 joints for $13. Total ripoff. Small pieces and overcooked. Fried calamari - not a huge serving, but lightly fried and dusted in a tasty seaweed powder. Different twist on a common dish and enjoyed by all. Salmon rice in broth - tasty, but I’ll take the Salmon Zosui at Ojiya on Hawthorne any day of the week given a much better QPR.
Overall, I’d say the food is well executed but way overpriced for what you get, unless you’re just gonna do sushi. For Japanese izakaya type foods, I’d much rather go to Torihei / Ojiya.
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Try Izakaya hachi too!
the sushi is also a lot more expensive now than it was just a year ago. the high-end pulling up the middle.
Yes! Forgot to mention them bc its a bit more out of the way for us, but that also felt like such a better QPR than Nozomi. To be honest, the $23 tempura udon was just offensive imo. Ojiya actually is a place we only started going to recently and really enjoy. Their salmon / roe zosui is an incredibly hearty and comforting dish on a cold day!
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I’ll check them out. Nozomi and hachi are prettty close to each other we love hachi it’s just hard to get a reservation sometime.
Yeah, you’re right re Hachi… it’s all mental for us. We drive up and down Hawthorne and Western all the time, which is where Ojiya and Torihei are… versus Hachi being off to the side so it’s out of sight / out of mind. But it’s a good reminder we need to back soon.
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This looks interesting Chef Daniel Son Is Opening Omakase Restaurant Sushi Sonagi in Gardena - Eater LA
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Hope it’s great, I went to Kura a couple of times prior to closing and was never super impressed. The portions of fish on the nigiri were always generous though.
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Now for something completely different…
I was running a quick errand this afternoon near the Del Amo plaza when I needed to grab a quick bite before returning to the office. I am kinda MEH about the food court in the new Mitsuwa in Del Amo and so I did a quick search for lunch nearby when I noticed a place called Market Grill. I took a look at the photos and it appeared to be a cafeteria kabobbery and BBQ smoke house. The photos on Yelp looked intriguing enough and so I headed there since it was on the way to the freeway.
I followed the directions and to my surprise it brought me to a Jons. It’s been ages since I’ve been in a Jons. I did remember them having a deli area, but nothing like what this Market grill was supposed to be. Still, I walked in and immediately to my left was this large Steam Table pick your own anything!
Huge Kababs of all kinds, steamed fish
For the Kabobs, they come with rice, but you can also request any number of veggie and traditional sides, both cold and hot.
Then there was the smokehouse section, Ribs, Links, Beef and Chicken. The beef looked wonderfully medium. A plate with two sides and a muffin was $13, so I decided to give it a shot.
The carver whipped up my plate super quick and packaged it super nice, so I was on my way back to the office. I arrived and the beef was still nice and hot and the wedges (my weakness!) were still crisp! I was super impressed by the portion! I mean, I would pay way more for a plate like this at Tender Greens and get like four little pieces of beef. It was tender and did have genuine smokey flavor! I liked the look of their links and like to try one of their Kabobs, but it will be hard not to order this again.
The sides were also super good. The Cucumber salad was super fresh and the carver added this dressing to it, which was like honey lemon. SO GOOD. Like I said, I am a sucker for super market potato wedges, and these were a very nice specimen. Much better than the Ralphs which are often overly salty and dried out. These were nicely seasoned and pillowy inside.
Finally the plate came with a muffin top. It was blue berry and it was okay. Moist with plenty of blueberries. I had it later in the afternoon since where I work, 3pm cafecito is taken seriously.
So yeah, If you are in the area and want a super quick, filling and reasonably priced lunch… thumbs up. But if you are looking for awesome Kabobs, I would probably still recommend Ah Hamra and Chicken Maison.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/market-grill-torrance
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Great find
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Went there today and loaded up on what little was left. Very sad day in the South Bay.
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