Finally hit up Shogun over the weekend - definitely a legit Japanese restaurant in the AV. Food quality above average, but my god that pricing hurts. We split a dinner combo, got 10 pieces of sushi (aka 5 orders), 1 appetizer, NO drinks - $130 before tip. O_O The fresh soft shell crab appetizer alone was $24. The “yellowtail collar plate” is like $30 bones.
I can easily see myself doing $100pp omakases here…
So this brings me to my next sushi joint - Saki Sushi in Lancaster. This is like, the exact opposite of Shogun - it’s a place I would have sought out in my college days. They bang out cheap rolls all day (2 for $17) and when I order nigiri they seem legitimately confused. Protip: don’t order nigiri from Saki Sushi. But you know what? Their yellowtail collars are $7 (as compared to $15+ from Shogun) and they do $4 large asahi’s almost all day/everyday. So I go to Saki Sushi and get some yellow tail collars, sushi rice, tuna/salmon sashimi app, and asahis. Total damage is like $30pp AFTER tax/tip.
I did say it was pricey. Due to that, Shogun is truly more of a “special occasion” type place. In my case, very rare occasions.
There are plenty of cheapish sushi & rolls places out here as well. At one time, there were something like 3x more sushi restaurants than Starbucks in the AV. There was a time when I was on first name basis with many of the area sushi chefs (some of whom drove up from L.A.). That, along with good tipping, got me some perks (ipse would be so proud!). Plus, they were impressed that I knew the fish. I passed their tests
Ah, now I know which place. Under its earlier name, I believe that might have been the second sushi place in the AV. The chef/owner sold it a few years ago, after it had been up for sale for quite some time. I recall a time when there were only about 6 sushi bars in the AV.
Praise be to FSM, pork AND lamb loaf gyros can be had at Gyromania in Santa Clarita. QPR is out of control, crispy edges all over, and giant side of tzatziki w/o having to ask for it.
SCV Fish Market on the west side of Santa Clarita - southern style fish joint. Fish/shrimp by the pound but also battered/fried. The catfish and shrimp were very clean tasting and fried perfectly; the corn meal seasoning was such that I didn’t really even need any additional sauces, but hot sauce makes everything better so… Decent hush puppies and well seasoned collared greens to boot. We’ll be back as often as the drive will allow.
Vietnamese Noodles in Palmdale - after being burned SO BAD by Anghkor we were cautiously optimistic about this Vietnamese restaurant with Vietnamese text on the menu. But this is probably the most legit VN restaurant in the AV - Vietnamese staff, Vietnamese menu, Vietnamese cooking. It reminded me of any neighborhood pho joint in Litlte Saigon, which is probably the best compliment I can give this place. We’ll be back (probably tonight).
Its predecessor (Saigon Pho) was the first, and only legit, Vietnamese place in the AV. A Vietnamese couple ran it. It was quite good too, though the replacement has a much larger menu.
I still wonder why/how you wound up at Angkor It’s run by a Cambodian family, used to called Mana and is defenitely geared to the dreaded all-encompassing “Asian” and “fusion.” Caveat emptor.
We ended up at Goldfish next door because Saku was closed and spotted Angkor. We went there the day after due to the Vietnamese writing, pink bowls, and 4* yelp review - I should’ve stuck with the orange chicken.
I thought it was less of a fusion joint and more of a small town 6-cuisines-in-1-restaurant deal…
Oh well, going back to Vietnamese Noodles tonight - they have more than made up for it.
Now, yes. When it was known as Mana, it was sort of “fusion.” Emphasis on “sort of”, and perhaps not in the way you might be thinking of “fusion” (IOW, “Asian” elements)
It’s run by a Cambodian family, used to called Mana and is defenitely geared to the dreaded all-encompassing “Asian” and “fusion.” Caveat emptor.
