Sushi

On The Line: Hiro Noguchi Of Sushi Noguchi, Part One

Hiro Noguchi may have required a translator to answer our questionnaire, but we shared a rapport over his omakase menu one afternoon. While skittish about dining on fresh coronet (pictured), it quickly became apparent that Noguchi would be our sushi hero, saving us from Americanized rolls and introd ... More >>

Revolving Sushi Restaurant To Open in Fashion Island

Up to now, the closest thing to a sushi bar you could get at Fashion Island was Hana Grill at the food court. Blue C Sushi will change this soon. It is a revolving sushi joint where the plates of sushi roll by on a conveyor belt, just as it does at all the other kaiten sushi restaurants in our count ... More >>

Long Beach Lunch: Sushi Boy

The only cool thing about slaving all day at a computer buried inside one of the many faceless Irvine office parks is that one hour of freedom where you get to drive to the nearest retail corner and get a plastic plate full of fast casual ethnic food at lunch-special prices. In my glory days of boun ... More >>

Long Beach Lunch: Long Beach Marché in the New Long Beach Airport Concourse

Attention: the future of airport food is here. And the best part is, it's exactly like food in the real world, down to the prices and all. I discovered it on a casual travel day a few weeks after the Long Beach Airport's new $45 million concourse began hosting passengers in early December. Hearing a ... More >>

Long Beach Lunch: Maru Maki Sushi

The restaurants near the corner of Broadway and Alamitos Avenue are an intriguing slice of Long Beach life. LGBT-catering Hamburger Mary's butts up against Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles while the dive-y Irish pub Clancy's stares at Maru Maki Sushi across the street. Unfortunately, the tiny Japane ... More >>

Who Invented The California Roll?

For sushi novices, it's the gateway dish. The California roll can be found everywhere from grocery-store fresh-food aisles to cafeteria menus in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Typically packed with crab or imitation crab, avocado and cucumber, then rolled "inside out," the nonthreaten ... More >>

Drunk After Work: Hamamori

The Place: Hamamori Restaurant & Sushi Bar, 3333 Bear St., Suite 320, Costa Mesa; 714-850-1549; www.hamamorisushi.com.The Hours: Every day, 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.The Deal: Signature cocktails and sushi rolls for $7; assorted appetizers up to $9; house wine and sake for $5.

10 Great Japanese Restaurants in Orange County

​For this list of Japanese restaurants, we intentionally left out the sushi bars, because, well, we already did that list. We also shut out the ramen joints, teppanyakis, and yakinikus because, well, we still want to do those lists. But you can certainly have ramen and sushi, even a Californi ... More >>

Jiro Dreams of Sushi Opens in Irvine and Laguna Niguel on Friday

​Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the film about a legendary sushi chef that has critics raving and viewers salivating, will be coming to our neck of the woods this Friday. It's being released at two Orange County theaters, Edwards University Town Center 6 Cinemas in Irvine and Regency Rancho Niguel 8 Cinema ... More >>

On the Line: 'Sushi Dave' Fernandez of Sushi At the Venetian Gentlemen's Club, Part Two

​Our conversation continues, as Dave craves corned beef and pastrami across the street at Roscoe's Famous Deli. I realize this is probably his breakfast, lunch and even dinner (based on how busy he was in part one). If we didn't have places to be, I probably would've asked about the next destinati ... More >>

Q&A With Jiro Dreams of Sushi Director David Gelb

Magnolia Pictures​The other night, I had the chance to attend a Los Angeles screening of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the documentary about 85-year-old Jiro Ono, who is considered by many to be the greatest sushi chef in the world. In a way, the film can be described as 81 minutes of food porn (that fatt ... More >>

Is Kula Becoming The Walmart of Sushi?

​Some may remember that before it sold $2 sushi on moving belts, Kula's previous incarnation was as a high-priced, made-to-order sushi bar in Century City. When it failed to catch on after about one year, the restaurant made the move to the then still unproven Diamond Jamboree in Irvine. It was he ... More >>

10 Great Sushi Restaurants in Orange County

​You don't put out a Top Ten list of sushi joints in OC and not inspire some discussion. I'd be disappointed if this one didn't. So the comment board is open for objections, inclusions and even agreement on the ten we've chosen.Without further ado, the list:

On the Line: Chris Kim of Rolling Sushi Van, Part Three

​Our luxe lonchera love for Rolling Sushi Van ends with langostino. Ask Chris Kim for his sushi rice recipe, and you're good to go. If you would like to see a particular chef featured in On the Line, drop us a line note, and we'll see what we can do. To check out more of our interview, part two ca ... More >>

On the Line: Chris Kim of Rolling Sushi Van, Part Two

​Our sushi entrepreneur continues rolling out answers as we learn more about Chris Kim's biggest influence, as well as how honey factors into a perfect dish. His no-nonsense interview begins in part one. If you're curious about his recommended dishes, stick around tomorrow for some langostino.Hard ... More >>

Excellent Sushi in Yorba Linda--Yes, Yorba Linda

Dave Lieberman​One of the best things about writing about food in Orange County is the discovery of something great in a really out-of-the-way place. If you'd asked me what there was to eat in Yorba Linda, I'd have stammered something about the Wild Artichoke and are you sure you can't get to Plac ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain's Comic Book Now On Pre-Order! Yes, I Said Comic Book.

Amazon.com​Anthony Bourdain. Chef. Author. Travel show host. Novelist. And now a comic book creator?! The man who seems to say everything and do everything (His new show The Layover premiered a month ago) has written a graphic novel about "a renegade and ruthless sushi chef, known to decapitate pa ... More >>

Yosuke Sushi Says Yes, No, Amaebi

This Anaheim Hills Japanese restaurant has it all, from live sweet shrimp to teriyaki served in hubcap-sized combo plates

Fast Food Sushi vs. Supermarket Sushi

Edwin GoeiSushi Boy's Sushi​ Fast food sushi. If there's a better food oxymoron out there, I think it'd have to be "veggie burgers". But that's disingenuous of me to say. I've actually enjoyed more "fast food sushi" than veggie burgers. Most of the time, it's Sushi Boy; not usually for the sushi, ... More >>

Sushi Box Is Teriyaki-rific

[Hole In the Wall] Elevating the placing of grilled meat on top of rice to an art form

The Six Most Disgusting Foods Offered at This Year's OC Fair

​Fair season is over, at least here in the County of Oranges. We set out to try the most gruesome foods from the darkest depths of the deep fryer. For the reading pleasure of those who survived the Fair, here's our casualty report in the food department: a nonexistent appetite for half a week; an ... More >>

Drunk After Work: Ra Sushi

Edwin GoeiOnly Saturdays at 3 p.m. is it this empty.​The Place: Ra Sushi, 2401 Park Avenue, Tustin, CA 92782;(714) 566-1700. The Hours: Mon.-Sat., 3-7 p.m. The Deal: $2 hot sake. $3 domestic beers. $4 well drinks, Corona, Sapporo, Stella Artois, and Tsingtao. $5 Kirin, Le Terre Chardonnay, Le Te ... More >>

Eat Here, Not There: Poke Bowls

Edwin Goei​This post is another one of our series under the category "Eat Here, Not There". But this time, I could also put this under "fast food guilty pleasures I shouldn't like". What I'm about to recommend comes from the chain known as Sushi Boy, which a typical sushi purist would never come n ... More >>

On the Line: Owner Daniel Woo and Chef Greg Ong of Sushilicious, Part Three

Kevin LaraChef Greg Ong​To conclude our time with Daniel Woo and Greg Ong of Sushilicious, today the two gents share a recipe.  If you missed the interviews, click here to read owner Daniel Woo's answers from yesterday, and click here for Chef Greg Ong's from the day before.

On the Line: Owner Daniel Woo and Chef Greg Ong of Sushilicious, Part Two

Kevin LaraChef Greg Ong​Yesterday we heard from Chef Greg Ong of Sushilicious.  Today, for Part Two, it's Daniel Woo's turn at the mic as he talks about iPods, marketing, and how the name Sushilicious came into being.Tomorrow, the guys share a recipe!Proudest moment as a restaurant owner:The ... More >>

Nuclear Meltdown Might Cause Sushi Shortage

ynetnews.com​With as many sushi restaurants as we have in Orange County, the possibility of a sushi shortage after the tsunami disaster hadn't crossed my mind until this story in Israel's Ynet Business News. It's true that nearly all the hamachi sold is farm-raised and most likely routed through J ... More >>

Naked Sashimi Shunned in South Africa

Flickr user Ko_An​ South Africa's ruling party has proclaimed that eating sashimi off a semi-nude model's body is officially offensive. Known in Japan as nyotaimori, the practice involves a nude female model lying supine, her lady-parts covered discreetly with leaves or other garnish on which raw ... More >>

Bistro Anju Has an Iron Chef

Hideki Saito weathers drunkards and the clueless alike at his Laguna Niguel eatery to deliver greatness

Buy Me Some Sushi and Cracker Jack

[Summer Guide] A rundown of the best non-chain eats at the Big A

Kula Offers Sushi Not As Art, But As a (Still Tasty) Commodity

The Stepson Also Rises the Sushi-Bar Stardom at Nana San

[Hole in the Wall] Say Mucho Domo Arigato to Wafu of Japan

Bai Plu Makes the Combination of Sushi and Thai Food Seem Like It Was Meant to Be

Chef Cody Requejo Shreds With Both Sushi Knives and Stratocasters

OC's Rock-Star Chef Takashi Abe Does San Clemente at Sea Smoke

Despite a Few Menu Kinks, the Tattoo-Inspired Sushi Joint Irezumi Earns Some Very Good Ink

What Rent Payment?

Hamamori is pricey, but worth every bite

Sashimi Surrender

Let Ikko Kobayashi have his way with you

Sushi Revolution!

The chefs at Kaisen are masters of all they convey

Fishing for Quality

Skip the rolls at Takaraya and go straight for the good stuff

Snowflakes From the Sea

The delicate, delicious treats of Sushi Wasabi

No Katakana Necessary

Drop your culinary bigotry at Ami Sushi

Some Like It Raw

Dan Lauriano repeats his North County success with Riptide

Plum Pickings

Two grand ways to eat at Kappo Suzumaru

Wanna Seafood?

O Sushi Cafe satisfies eaters of raw fish and cooked meat alike

Good Sho

Japanese cuisine cut five ways

You Gotta Really Like Fish

Kasen hates California rolls, likes Californians

Sushi Master in Training

Lessons from Wasabi & Sushi

Hapi Accident

Each meal at Hapi Sushi is a delightful exploration of the unknown

Mahe Wowie!

Sushi and meat, together at last