Asakuma’s “Tsukiji Market” Menu

Asakuma in Brentwood was one of the first sushi restaurants Fonda and I went to when we moved to Los Angeles, and it continues to be a consistent and excellent go-to spot for when we have our frequent sushi cravings. We hadn't made the short trek here in some time as we've been "cheating" and trying other restaurants, and have also been clocking more hours in our kitchen crafting artisanal dinners. Thusly, I figured it was about time to make a return visit to Asakuma to refresh our memories of just how good this place can be.

A few things have changed since our last visit, and upon being seated at the sushi bar, I noticed a new neon-chalk menu board with the words "Japan Tsukiji Market". Our sushi chef explained that these items are shipped daily from Japan and that they are among the freshest fish in the house. I saw items like "Golden Eye Snapper" and "Albacore Toro" and knew immediately this Tsukiji menu was all business.


Our server stops by and I proceed with ordering cold sake - Onigoroshi.

This is slightly on the dry side and is quite mild. Fonda generally doesn't drink--but she loves her sake! Asakuma has a full bar and a small soju and schochu selection.


We start the night off with an order of live sweet shrimp, a Tsukiji Market item:

The chef snatches them from an ice bath-yes they're alive-then plucks the head off and prepares the body sushi-style.

If you've never had live sweet shrimp and have only tried regular shrimp sushi, then you're in for a real treat. These are so much tastier and softer and once you've had them, you'll never go back to plain shrimp. You've been warned.

The heads are sent back to the kitchen where they are tempura-battered and deep-fried. The result is this:



A ponzu sauce is provided for you dip the heads into, and then comes the best part:

CHOMP! (a little blurry but you get the idea). There's some meat left in the head and it's very rich and satisfying. The whole head is edible, though the tentacles are basically deep-fried tempura. Needless to say we left no trace of this crustacean behind.

Next is yellowtail belly:

This is a mild fish and needs a little soy sauce to enhance the flavor. Notice the fish to rice ratio. That's what I'm talking about!

Golden eye snapper, another Tsukiji Market item:


Our chef brings us the snapper to show us the eye:

Nice!

Great texture and very fresh. This needed no extra wasabi or sauce - it was perfect just the way it was prepared.

Jumbo scallop:

The buttery soft scallop was excellent and very fresh-the texture has a certain crispiness to it, just enough to remind you it's a scallop. So far this meal is going well and it's about to get even better.


Baby yellow tail:


The taste is a little richer than regular yellow tail and the texture is softer, hence the (generally) higher price. This was delicious.

Time for another libation:


Asakuma's beer selection leaves much to be desired. The usual suspects are all present -Asahi, Sapporo, and Kirin. I wished they carried Yebisu.

Spicy tuna hand roll, and giant clam sushi:



Fonda doesn't like clam sushi so she went with a spicy tuna hand roll, which she liked. She can eat all the spicy tuna she wants so long as I get my giant clam fix, which was excellent here. If you haven't had giant clam, the taste is slightly complex and the texture requires a few extra bites with your back teeth-it's very similar to geoduck and has that "ocean" taste. I absolutely loved it and it was my second favorite item of the night. Keep reading for the first favorite.

Spanish mackerel:


This was probably on par with the version I've had at Sushi Zo, which is to say it's very good.

Cucumber with shrimp and seared salmon:


Provided as complements of our chef, it was a hit with both of us. The added sauce was nice. Asakuma treats its customers very well as I occasionally witness the chefs providing complimentary small bites such as this.

Albacore Toro:


Unbelievably good and this was our favorite item of the night. The best way I can describe this is that it is like eating a very mild piece of animal fat at a cold temperature but which then melts in your mouth like warm butter would. It's that good and in fact this particular dish ranks as one of the best pieces of sushi I've ever eaten.

We're both getting full but I insist on ordering one more item, Scottish salmon:


Again notice the size of the fish! Another delicious and buttery piece of fish-I badly want to order another but knew to save room for dessert. Oh the discipline! I'm amazed I even have it on nights like these! (side note: I have ZERO discipline when it comes to donuts)

Asakuma gives everyone at the bar a complimentary ice-cold orange at meal's end. Even if oranges aren't in season, you still get one.

Well it's the thought that counts!

Total bill for all this amazingly good sushi was about $90 before tax and tip. Asakuma might not approach the near-epic standards set by Echigo, Sushi Zo, and Sasabune, but it's consistently good and fresh, and the service is excellent. For the price, Asakuma can't be beat and this just might be the best bang-for-the-buck when it comes to sushi in Los Angeles. I highly recommend you pay a visit.

As I mentioned earlier, I was saving room for dessert and I'm not about to let you down. Earlier in the day I noticed a tweet from GrubStreetLA about the "coolest" sundaes in Los Angeles. Honestly that's all it really takes to get the foodie-hamster running within me.

In that list of coolest sundaes was the "Espresso a la Mode" from MILK in West Hollywood -- two shots of espresso poured over vanilla bean ice cream, with chocolate sauce, crushed hazelnuts, and whipped cream:


It was good, but not great. The scoops of ice cream were undersized and there was simply too much whipped cream. Once the steaming hot espresso was poured on, this sundae became a $6 cream-of-espresso soup. You think that stopped us?

And so this concluded our Friday night sushi and sundae outing. We used to visit Asakuma on a weekly basis, and I won't mind if Fonda wants to pencil this in as a recurring dinner on our culinary calendar. As for MILK, that was visit #2 and was also fail #2, hence we've learned our lesson and won't be returning.

Lastly, don't forget to vote at the top-right for the next recipe review. So far the two hardest recipes are winning but nonetheless I await my fate and will post a full review of whichever dish wins.


Asakuma
11701 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90025

MILK
7290 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046