sugarFISH by Sushi Nozawa: Making Chef-Driven Sushi Accessible

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Sushi Los Angeles


“Cult of Personality” isn’t just a song by Living Colour. It’s also the basis for the success of many premium sushi establishments. Masa Takayama used to charge hundreds of dollars per person for the privilege of sitting before him at Ginzo Sushiko in Beverly Hills. Now he’s able to command even higher prices at Manhattan’s Time Warner Center…because he can. A handful of sushi chefs have the power to convince people that going to less expensive sushi spots, or even sitting at a table, is completely pointless. At this stage, the notorious Kazunori Nozawa of Sushi Nozawa may be the L.A. sushi chef with the most sway (who’s actually behind his bar), drawing well-heeled Angelenos and industry types to a Studio City strip mall for rapid-fire omakase in a Spartan setting.

Last year, Nozawa and son Tom teamed with Jerry Greenberg, Lele Massimini and Cameron Broumand on sugarFISH in Marina del Rey. Now sugarFISH has expanded to Brentwood, and the restaurant offers the same high-quality fish that you’ll find at Sushi Nozawa at half the cost, minus Nozawa’s personal attention. The experience is so different that you won’t even find sushi chefs behind the bar. Instead, they remain in the kitchen, out of sight but able to produce sushi more rapidly since they don’t interact with customers.

Massimini invited me to Brentwood for a Nozawa-less Nozawa lunch. Nozawa still shops every morning at the downtown fish market, and you’ll find the same seafood at sugarFISH that you would at Sushi Nozawa. Of course you sacrifice personal interaction and the touch of an infinitely more experienced sushi master by choosing sugarFISH, but Nozawa’s food was never cutting-edge or based on extremely intricate preparations, so you probably won’t notice too much of a difference.

At sugarFISH, expect daily specials like uni, sardine and giant clam, plus three set menus, Trust Me Lite ($13.50), Trust Me ($23) and The Nozawa ($31-33), all include Nozawa’s signature albacore sushi and blue crab roll. I went with The Nozawa. Venice-based designer Glen Bell of Studio DEX molded the relaxed, wood-lined interior.

Sushi Los Angeles
We started with a well-seasoned dish of edamame, then transitioned to Tuna Sashimi, a lightly dressed chop of rosy bluefin and lighter albacore, topped with scallions.

Sushi Los Angeles
Albacore Sushi (2 pc) may have had the same name, but it definitely wasn’t the same dreck they pack in cans, dressed with soy and scallions and draped over Nozawa’s signature warm rice.

Sushi Los Angeles
Salmon Sushi (2 pc) was silky and pristine, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Sushi Los Angeles
The main plate of sushi involved straightforward Yellowtail Sushi (2 pc) soy-treated Halibut Sushi (2 pic) and the Daily Special (2 pc) – shrimp topped with sesame seeds. The shrimp was the only sushi that was somewhat disappointing. The sesame flavor was a nice touch, but the shrimp was a little drier than expected.

Sushi Los Angeles
The Toro Hand Roll was wrapped in a thin sheathe of crispy seaweed. I was instructed to eat the roll immediately so the seaweed wouldn’t get soggy. Even taking five seconds to snap a photo was viewed with skepticism. This roll was satisfying due to the fatty tuna belly, but not as good as the final official course.

Sushi Los Angeles
The Blue Crab Hand Roll was a high point, tightly packed but still flashing a liberal spread of buttery pulled crab meat.

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The meal was complete, but it was hard to resist two specials. New Zealand snapper was dressed with chile ponzu, a sauce that delivered the day’s most spice and complemented the delicate fish.

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Another highlight: briny, creamy Catalina uni sushi swaddled with seaweed paper.

After a strong lunch at sugarFISH, it’s hard to imagine driving over the hill again to eat the same food at twice the cost in less comfortable environs, but some people will, and they’ll make the trip for Nozawa’s sake.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

wow whoever made that nigiri does not know anything about sushi…. this has to be called “american style sushi” untrained….

Typer,

What are some hallmarks of nigiri that you think are missing from sugarFISH’s version?

looks delicious, i should try sugarfish next time i’m in brentwood…which is…never…

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