I love Mori - and they’re my favorite sushi spot. I just with they weren’t so damn expensive. Then again all the good ones are expensive.
I’ve tried most of them all - a few times even - still have Mori on top. I think it’s the traditional style - the rice, the temp, the seasoning, the impeccable treatment of the fish. And their apps too.
So I took a couple friends. If you’re not familiar with it - I was told it was a humble place in a strip mall in the valley. (Well, me and the two friends did a lot of growing up in Canoga Park - so it was fun to go back and drive down Sherman Way to see if any of it looked familiar. It was near Shoup.)
The place isn’t humble - and thought I woudn’t say it’s a dump - because that connotes a feeling of uncleanliness - I didn’t get that (but then it looks anything but pristine). If there was every a hole in the wall - this is it. In fact, it feels almost like a 3rd world hole in the wall. And the layout is funky - there’s a display case up front, but in the hall on the side on the way to the bathroom - is the small sushi bar! Hole in the wall along the lines Mel’s Fish Shack on West Adams. But cleaner.
I like it. But…
It’s not like Mori, more like Kiriko - modern sushi. With a lot of flavorings. Very good, often different kinds of the same fish, or different treatments of the same fish.
It was pretty great.
But then I have to weigh it against this thought - that for the money - I could’ve gone to Mori’s! In fact, Mori is a little less expensive. Who knew?!
And Mori is a humble place, quirky and interesting sense of design, and not what you would expect to see in a place with a Michelin star. But if feels downright upscale compared with Go’s.
But the food is absolutely star-worthy. Not sure if I would say that about Go’s. (where Mori puts that fish out with a sense of purpose in the timing - eat it and eat it now - Go’s is making up three lovely plates with three or four pieces and then serving it to you. Rice doesn’t have that elegance in the flavor profile (part of which is the temperature). And the flavoring might be a little too powerful (it becomes the star rather the place a supporting role and let the fish take the bows).
Not sure I agree. While they definitely don’t have chirashi bowls, I’ve seen plenty of customers order a la carte off the menu board. If you order sparingly you can likely clock in at under $100 while still getting a sense of the style.
How the hell do you aim for < $100 with no prices listed. For all i know king crab = kegani topped with gold flake, black truffle (or perhaps more appropriately truffle oil), caviar - $40
I think most items are by the piece, regular tuna 4 bucks.
Gold caviar/toro ~ $11 to $12 per piece.
sea urchin ten to 12
snapper, $6 or $7
i don’t know keganiska.
That should give you an idea.
You can get CA rolles and maybe chirashi even if sitting at the bar, i saw a bunch of Valley high schooler boys eating rolls at the tables. with miso soup. didn’t look like they were doing the $150 deals.
Correct – the items here are priced by the piece, so if you order 1 order aji sushi, for example, you would get 1 piece, not 2 like you would in most sushi restaurants.
