man, i confused this for a bit with the new “mori nozomi,” previously “mori sushi,” owned by maru, (where yoshi trained), who took over for mori onodera, who now runs “morihiro” and has nothing to do with the beverly hills branch of “ginza onodera,” where both yoshi and nozomi trained. yoshi also worked at “wadatsumi” during quarantine while cranking out amazing chirashi boxes at yasu’s “i-naba” spot in Manhattan Beach before yasu got his speakeasy inside the “i-naba” in Torrance.
anyway, i haven’t been to this nozomi. i managed to get a reservation at i-naba with @CatDad last night and it was fucking incredible. his rice is perfectly up my alley and it is worth the price of admission.
if you’re looking for inexpensive sushi, waka sakura was surprisingly good in that tier. weekends are fucked, but weekday lunch is pretty open. walked away around $120 pre-tip/tax for three people. it’s not going to change your life but it’s better than a lot of cheap sushi in the area. it’s not a mom and pop vibe, but i haven’t really gotten that from any of the places listed by @Ted lately