Throughout the past year, I’ve slowly worked my way through Los Angeles Times food writer Linda Burum’s guide to Southern California’s top izakayas (Japanese pubs). Unfortunately, the flavor of the food doesn’t always match Ms. Burum’s tantalizing descriptions. A notable exception: Ikko Kobayashi’s “freestyle Japanese” restaurant. Ikko is situated in a strip mall next to The Camp, an eco-friendly mixed use development. The restaurant only houses six tables and ten seats at a sushi bar, but the chef manages to pack plenty of flavor in the small space.

Chef Ikko has an impeccable eye for fresh seafood. At this stage of my eating development, it’s fairly unusual to find an unfamiliar ingredient. At Ikko, there were a number of sea creatures listed on the specials board that I hadn’t heard of, including fish that I’ve never even seen before, like Alphonsino, Flying Squid, Chicken Grant, Pen Shell, Golden Thread and Blue Fin Sea Robin. Thankfully, our waiter was well-informed and was able to describe each of the unusual items.

We began with sashimi of “Today’s Catch” ($14), the red snapper-like Crimson Sea Bream, seasoned artistically with drops of sherry vinegar and three kinds of oil: beet, basil and garlic. The fish was impeccably fresh, and the oils provided wonderful flavors.

Discs of Japanese eggplant tempura ($9.75) were crowned with dollops of spicy tuna and wasabi smelt eggs. The delicately fried eggplant matched surprisingly well with the seafood, and the wasabi-infused fish eggs provided a juicy jolt.

Although Ikko offers advanced preparations of seafood, we wanted to try some land-based animals for balance. Smoked duck breast with Tokyo onion green sauce ($7.50) was served cold, rosy slices of fowl topped with threads of onion, served with dabs of hot mustard and wasabi, and red peppercorns. It was good that the spicy elements weren’t integrated with the duck, so we could regulate the amount of heat we wanted.

Excited to try some of the exotic fish on offer, we ordered two kinds of sushi. Golden Thread (2 for $6) was like whitefish, sprinkled with sea salt for crunchy seasoning. Bluefin Sea Robin sushi (2 for $6) was like mackerel. Both were good, and the sushi rice was expertly prepared.

After five dishes, we were eager to sample more of Chef Ikko’s experimental Japanese cooking. We began Round Two with a plate of simmered beef tongue with miso demiglace sauce ($7.95). I was a little wary of the rarely-seen cow organ, but the meat turned out to be similar to pot roast or boneless short rib, but a little fattier. The miso demiglace was rich, but powerfully flavorful.

A dish that Linda Burum praised in her write-up was the baked radish pancake with sea urchin, salmon roe and shrimp on top ($8.95). It was an interesting concept, a glutinous pancake topped with so many overtly oceanic creatures. The creamy urchin and the bursting salmon roe proved to be a little too of-the-ocean for my palate, but I was glad to have tried it. The radish pancake itself was stellar.

With some basic folding skills, Ikko’s chopstick wrappers became…

…
Paper airplanesTo drink, there were some sakes with entertaining names, including Onigoroshi (Devil Killer) and Suigei (Drunken Whale). Normally, if a drink’s good enough to slay Lucifer or to inebriate Moby Dick, I’m in, but I still had to drive an hour back to Los Angeles, so I abstained.

Thanks to Chef Ikko, not only did I expand my knowledge of ocean life, but I was enamored with the flavors that he was able to generate from those rarely-seen ingredients. I’m looking forward to taking another look at his specials board in the future.

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This entry is filed under California, Japanese, Orange County, Southern California.