The pandemic saw the closure of countless restaurants around the world. Maru-san makes his Warabi Mochi by hand, pounding Warabiko (Bracken Starch) to create a tender, lightly chewy, but yielding dessert covered in a fragrant sweet and earthy Matcha Green Tea powder. Tatsuriki - Akitsu - Junmai Daiginjo Sake (Hyogo, Japan): I think we did a little too much celebrating. We’re only on the opening appetizer courses and we’ve killed the outstanding Kokuryu Shizuku Sake already. The Broth is incredible, super light but complementing each bite and the fresh, ripe Avocado slices work: It may not be “traditional” in Japan, but this is reflecting California’s in-season produce and it really works. The Amaebi Shinjo is super fluffy, genuinely inherently sweet(ish) (from the fresh Sweet Shrimp from Japan), the Sakura Zuke (Pickled Japanese Cherry Blossom) is a beautiful touch visually, but more importantly, has a lovely pop of floral, piquant flavor, reflecting the Sakura (Cherry Blossom) season that just wrapped up in Japan. While a standard Ebi Shinjo (Shrimp Meatball) is tasty and a common occurrence, Maru-san decides to take fresh Amaebi (Sweet Shrimp) from Japan, grinds it up to make his own Housemade “Amaebi Shinjo” (or Sweet Shrimp Meatball), topping it with Sakura Zuke (Pickled Japanese Cherry Blossoms) in a glorious crystal clear Housemade Dashi Broth with Avocado (to reflect local seasonal produce). Kokuryu - Shizuku - Daiginjo Special Limited Sake (Fukui, Japan): In fact the last few dinners we had with Maru-san prior to the pandemic just reinforced how the student has surpassed the master he’s been nothing short of fantastic.įirst, it was time for a celebration: A celebration of surviving 2020, of welcoming back one of L.A.'s great treasures (Maru-san and Mori Sushi), supporting the Sake industry again, and just enjoying some darn good Sake. From the time of original Owner and Chef Morihiro Onodera (during the Chowhound days), to when he sold his eponymous restaurant to his protégé, Chef Masanori “Maru” Nagano and beyond, Mori Sushi has always represented the best in L.A. Mori Sushi has been the pinnacle of Omakase Sushi in L.A. For this dinner, we were the only party, so this was almost like a private dining event just for us. They are 100% vaccinated, and only doing 2 seatings a night, socially distanced at the Sushi Bar. They persevered and now with the state officially re-opening, they survived the lockdown and 2020, and are now re-open!Ĭurrently, Mori Sushi is running on a skeleton crew of Chef-Owner Maru-san and 1 front of the house staff. Thankfully the breaking in and vandalism, along with zero income didn’t defeat Maru-san and Mori Sushi. Maru-san explained that 2020 was a tough year for Mori Sushi, as unlike other top Sushi restaurants locally, they decided not to do any takeout (except for a brief period, but ultimately decided that they couldn’t keep up their standards with to-go options, so they stopped). The restaurant was broken into, windows smashed (as were neighboring stores as well). Concerned about the boarding up, Maru-san explained that Mori Sushi was also a victim of rioting and vandalism during 2020. We were greeted by the ever welcoming Chef-Owner Masanori “Maru” Nagano.
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