Inn Ann - OOE Omakase

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Bangbangbang potential is high: Koji Kimura Food Bowl event, followed by Inn Ann, followed by L’antica Pizzeria da Michele…

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“sushi-only tasting menus $80-$100”

:thinking:

yelp menu states a $100 kaiseki option. Can’t find anything on a sushi only omakase…

lots of good pics on yelp:

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/inn-ann-los-angeles-2?tab=food

@Ns1, if you go to Inn Ann’s page on Open Table and click on menu, I think you will see that they started offering sushi only omakase starting at $75.

I loved Inn Ann and want to go back. Hopefully the L.A. Times review will help, but the restaurant doesn’t seem to be attracting a crowd – probably because of the out of the way location – and reservations always seem to be wide open. I’m one who likes to go out to eat at the spur of the moment (as much as I would like to try Hayato, I’m definitely not one who is going to make reservations, if I can even get one, months in advance or one who wants to try to work connections to get a reservation – just too much trouble), so for me it is a great thing about Inn Ann that it can be a spur of the moment place, but I worry the restaurant can’t stay in business that way.

The other night, I wavered between a spur of the moment dinner at Inn Ann or at Tempura Endo in Beverly Hills, which I had always wanted to try. I ended up at Tempura Endo (which was extremely pricey) and I definitely wished I had chosen Inn Ann.

I had another wonderful meal here the other night. The only issue with the sushi is that the neta is being served right out of the cooler, meaning it is fairly cold upon eating. I wish Chef Mori would allow it to rest and sweat prior to serving. I considered requesting this but then decided it would be rude to make such a suggestion to a master sushi chef. Thoughts on this?

Unrelated, but Chef Mori has one of the best “bedside manners” of any sushi chef I’ve encountered. He’s funny, knowledgeable and effortlessly charming. He also has a damn good memory. When I walked in (for the second time ever, with about 3 months between visits), he immediately told me “we have a very good hikaremono this evening”. He remembered that those types of fish were my favorite from last time. Total pro.

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@moonboy403 and i had the same issue. we noticed when he was backed up he would tend to rush and not allow the neta to rest before serving. was it pretty busy on your visit? i’d like to go back but would avoid busy weekends.

i asked the same thing in the mori sushi thread, one answer was “depends on the itamae.”

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When we pay a premium, we shouldn’t need to request it…period

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I agree that ideally I wouldn’t have to ask, but given the fish is coming out cold, the question is what the proper etiquette is.

Part of me wonders if he’s he’s serving it that way on purpose, as I’ve definitely seen reviews (on Yelp and elsewhere) that complain when the fish is not served cold. Maybe it’s a catering to American expectations thing.

It wasn’t busy. The sushi bar was full but the rest of the restaurant was empty, so I don’t think it was a pacing issue.

I don’t know what’s proper, but I would let the itamae know that the fish is a little too cold for my taste and ask if he can warm it up a bit more. But I wonder why he would serve cold fish if he’s not in the weeds to begin with. He ought to know given his experience right?

Maybe you could phrase it that way. Open a dialogue to give him the hint. Like “This is chilled. Do you prefer using colder neta?” Or something like that. I would definitely find a way to broach the subject. And you’re right about his ‘bedside manner’. Which is why he’d probably be cool with you. He’s been in L.A. a long time. I got the feeling he’s used to catering to all types of diners.

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Yeah, we get so weirded out about offending itamae. Which is part of what I love about sushi-yas. So polite & civilized. But at the end of the day you are paying for your meal and should have it the way you like.

I’m scared of every itaeme I’ve ever dined with

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Healthy respect, I say.

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He is still going strong at Inn Ann.
I was there a few weeks ago, it was outstanding.
Very unusual rice, he said he used aged vinegar or something along those lines, it was almost reminiscent of brown rice. We loved it.
Akagai (blood clam) was amazing again.

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Akasu, “red vinegar” or more appropriately sake lees vinegar requires at least 3 years aging to achieve that darker crimson color (if Mori san is using the most popular and widely used brand it’s aged about three years and there are at least 2 other offerings by the same company for akasu, one is more widely used than the other and one is more for blending).

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reason why Mori sold his restaurant: his mercury level was through the roof!

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