Robataya: Low Key Westside Robata & Yakitori

A lot has been happening in the West LA dining scene since I graduated from UCLA. Returning to Sawtelle a year ago, I noticed at least three new spots. One of these was Robata-ya located next to Chabuya. At the time, robata was made somewhat popular by the Katsuya in Brentwood, so we were eager to try this more affordable option.

The menu was pretty extensive. From traditional cold appetizers like the cucumber sunomono - always a refreshing starter when not overdressed - Robataya's version was nice and light with a big enough portion to share.
I was also enticed by the fancier options like the truffle chawan mushi.
The truffles weren't that fragrant and didn't add much to the dish at all, but the chawan mushi itself was really quite good. Next time I'd rather have the chawan mushi and not pay a premium for the truffles.

Seared foie gras might have been the most affordable at only $12.
Not the best quality and a little stringy, but for $12 what more can you ask for? If you can pay a bit more, Orris next door has quite a delicious version.

An order of corn from the robata bar was a whopping plate of six pieces of grilled corn.
Way too much for 2 people to share, even if they are as much of a corn lover as we are.

It was pretty exciting to see options like bonchiri (chicken tail) and seseri (chicken neck) on the menu at Robataya. I fell in love with seseri at Yakitori Totto in New York. The seseri here is not as good as it was fattier, but as decent an option as you can find for seseri in Los Angeles: crispy skin, tender and juicy meat.
When you see chicken tail, you should think chicken butt instead.
In other words, fatty.

They had a nice, although small, rotating dessert menu and the flourless chocolate cake ended the night on a high note.

All in all, not a bad meal. Everything was quite enjoyable and very much comparable to Yakitoriya down the street but with more options. Oh, and no minimum skewer order here either! Nothing mind-blowing (unlike Yakitori Totto); the most memorable dish was actually the flourless chocolate cake, but it's still a good everyday place.

Robata Ya
2004 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 481-1418

Kiriko: Fresh Sushi and More

Someone suggested Kiriko on Sawtelle to us for great sushi. Actually, it was (one of) my hairdresser(s), who is Japanese and know a lot of places and Japanese chefs - including Totoraku!

When we went Kiriko was fairly empty with only two other patrons there. They actually had quite a nice selection of cooked items both on their regular and their specials menu.

We browsed through the specials menu for the night and got the blue crab sunomonoNice flavor and refreshing, although it did mask the flavor of the blue crab a little, which is kind of a shame. I did like the flavor and texture combination with the cucumbers though.

As for the sushi, I started with pretty much my standard, including salmon and hamachi (below)
The sushi here is fresh and they gave me pretty fatty hamachi pieces, which made me happy :)
Good fish/rice ratio too.

I also got some hamachi kama (yellowtail collar)
Delicious. Tender fatty kama - very flavorful. I especially loved the parts near the bones, as usual :)

I also ordered a sushi from the specials menu and .... since I don't take notes, and this is a backpost (I need to start taking notes! Seriously!)
WHO CAN IDENTIFY THIS MYSTERY FISH??
Anyone? Anyone?

For some reason I was craving a kani maki, so I finished off my meal with one.
The crab roll was quite nice! Overflowing with sweet crab with a nice texture. A nice way to end the meal.

The sushi at Kiriko was pretty good and they also have some great cooked items. Definitely one of the gems on Sawtelle blvd. I wonder why they are not as busy as I think they should be! But I'll be back to give them more business.

Kiriko
11301 Olympic Blvd #102
West Los Angeles, CA
(310) 478-7769
http://www.kirikosushi.com

Chabuya: Best of Sawtelle Ramen, Not Best of LA

Ahhh, Ramen. There's hardly anything else that would hit the spot like a nice bowl of ramen would. But what if you can't make it all the way to Daikokuya? Much less Asa or Santouka? What if the best you can do that night is Sawtelle? Well, Chabuya was the obvious option in my mind.

I'm a sucker for miso, so of course I ordered the miso ramen with pork. I also added an egg (+$1).
Pretty good, pretty good. I like the addition of sesame seeds and fried shallots. The soup is not nearly Daikokuya-level. It's not bad and is actually pretty flavorful and rich, but somehow ... rather boring. I agree with rameniac's contention that Chabuya's soup is a "one note samba". Still, I could live with ... at least temporarily. It is actually quite good compared to the other ramen-yas on Sawtelle.

They also have the "Zembu" option which, like the name says, contains ALL the toppings. Although actually it doesn't have all the possible toppings they offer. This bowl below also had tofu that cost $1 extra.
So the $1 for additonal toppings can be pretty expensive. I mean, extra tofu for $1 is fine, $1 egg is okay, but $1 for green onions ... ? You serious?

Anyway Chabuya has its faults, but overall it's still a good bowl of ramen, and at least there' no 30 minute wait out the door. When I can't drive all the way to Daikokuya, Chabuya is still my go-to place.

Chabuya
2002 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA, 90025

(310) 473-9834

Omurice! Finally!

Not too long ago I was running around town trying to find a decent omu-rice. For those of you who don't know, omu-rice is a japan-ized western dish consisting of a chicken fried rice (in ketchup sauce) wrapped in an omelette. Typically it is then garnished with more ketchup, but I've been searching for a place that serves it with demi glace sauce instead.

Why? It's all because of this dorama I watched a couple years ago. The first minute of this video says it all.

At any rate, I went to multiple Mitsuwa food courts with no luck. Tried an omelette spaghetti at Spoon House, and so on. But it's just not the same. A fellow Chowhounder told me that Blue Marlin had good seafood omurice. Hmm ... seafood omurice was not exactly what I was looking for, but eventually I went there anyway.

And what did I find??

The original omurice, with demi glace sauce!!! It was not the perfect omurice - the chicken pieces were scarce and rather big, and I would have liked the eggs to not be so well done (I want the omelette to 'melt down' when I cut it ... like in the last minute of the video!) - but otherwise it was everything I wanted!

Blue Marlin uses free range eggs which really enhanced the flavor of the omurices they served (yes, I am convinced free range eggs are tastier, and that it shows in these omurice dishes). And they have various, creative omurice dishes, such as the seafood omurice:

The inside of the omurice is the same as the original - ketchup chicken fried rice. Eating that with cream sauce may seem weird but the whole dish actually worked very well and was delish~

They also have omurice napolitano, etc which I have not tried. Again, it was not perfect but the omurice at Blue Marlin is really pretty good. The service sucks - I asked for a refill for my tea three times and still did not get any until after I paid my bill - but I would still come back whenever I get that craving for an omurice ...

Blue Marlin
2121 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025-6200
Phone: (310) 445-2522