It was a planned night of drunken debauchery that went something like this, friends, drinks, laughs, drinks, talks, more drinks, Little Bar, and yet more drinks, last drink, really the last drink this time, talks, laughs, drinks, stumble stumble stumble, hungry let's eat. This is how I came to find Sake House, conveniently located across the street from Little Bar, literally a couple doors down which is how we came to stumble into Little Bar after too many drinks one late night hungry from... drinking. Sake House reminded me of a hip version of Daikokuya in Japan Town, on this night I ordered sushi carpaccio and a noodle dish each bite washed down with Nigori sake, both seemed to be rather delicious- but was it the drinks? Was it the fun? Was it being with friends that made the evening and the food so appetizing? I don't know. So naturally, I had to go back.
This time Mr. Borscht and I came alone, dinner at Sake House.
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| Complimentary cucumber wedges served with a sweet spicy sauce |
I loved the sushi carpaccio so much the last time that I decide to order it again. Choices of sushi for this dish are tuna, albacore and yellowtail. We opt for sushi carpaccio with half albacore and half yellowtail. Once again really delicious. The special house sauce used for this carpaccio tastes very much like ponzu sauce with a bit more citrus flavor. The albacore was melt in your mouth, quite literally, the slices of albacore simply melted away, and though the idea may seem quite disgusting- fish melting in your mouth?! It was actually beautifully tasty. The yellowtail however was my favorite, the texture soft and supple and the light flavor of the yellowtail easily picked up on the right amount of carpaccio sauce flavors while the albacore flavor was a bit more aggressive standing its ground against the carpaccio sauce thus not melding as nicely together.
The sushi carpaccio is definitely something to be had here at Sake House, it's a burst of flavor, fun, intriguing and makes you want to eat more.
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| Albacore & Yellow tail sushi carpaccio in special house carpaccio sauce |
Mr. Borscht ordered something called Bibimbap which in my experience is a Korean dish, but I found that on the Sake House menu quite a few Korean dishes were listed, which I think is really great for the sake of options and variety. Bibimbap is rice topped with vegetables such as sauteed spinach, shredded carrots, slices of mushrooms, many places even add cooked bean sprouts and a number of other vegetables, usually this dish is topped with a fried egg which is then mixed with sesame oil and spicy sauce. The bibimbap at Sake House was a simpler version that came in a hot pot where you'll find that the rice is sizzling away. I took a couple spoonfuls for a taste and found that a better bibimbap (should this be what you are craving) can be gotten somewhere else.
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| Bibimbap: Rice with an assortment of vegetables all mixed together with spicy sauce |
And feeling adventurous as always I decide to go for the Unagi Tofu Steak, something I've never had, seen or even knew existed. A hot plate with a cooked egg omelet style, topped with fresh soft tofu warmed by the hot plate but not cooked, topped with bits and pieces of unagi and sweet brown sauce, topped with sesame seeds and green onions. This was an interesting dish where the flavors were unusual together (perhaps because I have never had it), at the same time I felt the flavors went very nicely together: the eggy omelet along with the nutty-ness of the tofu and the sweetness of the brown sauce along with a bit of sweet unagi went wonderfully, and thought it very imaginative of the creator. One complaint I have is the lack of unagi, I love unagi and would have enjoyed bigger slices of unagi on top, perhaps not even bits and pieces but instead four whole pieces of unagi (as you see served in the Unagi Bowl)- this would have created large layers of egg omelet, large squares of soft tofu and layed out whole pieces of unagi- now this would have been spectacular!
And though I did like the Unagi Tofu Steak dish very much it is probably the last and only time I order it, it's no sushi carpaccio!
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| Unagi Tuna Steak: Egg omelet style topped with fresh tofu, unagi & sweet brown sauce |
A few reasons why I like Sake House...
The location: next to Rascals the wine & beer bar that also serves food, next to Little Bar my favorite bar in LA.
The atmosphere: quiet but casual, filled with murmuring customers your age (20-40s), reminds me of Daikokuya in Japan Town (though it really can't compare but is a great alternative for this side of town).
The food: may not be the absolute best but still has a variety of interesting options...
and also, the SUSHI CARPACCIO!!!
The Damage: $35.72
1 Sushi Carpaccio
1 Unagi Tofu Steak
1 Bibimbap
809 S. La Brea
LA CA 90036
(323) 939.7075
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