En Sushi

June 24, 2007

When my friends and I say that we want to get sushi, we are inevitably referring to “En Sushi”, a casual and relatively inexpensive Japanese restaurant on Hillhurst in Los Feliz. En Sushi passes my five-tier sushi test:

#1 Are the California rolls mayo-free?
Call me a purist, but mayo has no place in, on or near sushi. Thankfully, En does not make this mistake. See Exhibit A:



#2 Is the sashimi firm and fresh?
You can bounce a quarter off of that fish.

#3 Is there complimentary green tea?
All you can drink.

#4 Is it affordable?
As sushi restaurants go, En Sushi is by far one of the best deals. You can get a rainbow roll for $12 that is better than most rainbow rolls in L.A.

#5 Can I see famous people there? (Haha, okay, I just threw this one in)
It's reassuring to know that famous people eat just like you and me. My friends and I have seen Christina Ricci (+bf), as well as Shirley Manson (of Garbage) eating here.



When I go to En, I usually get the Rainbow Roll. Tonight, however, I decided to mix things up. For starters, an oyster shooter (with sake, raw oyster, raw quail egg, fish roe and green onions):



This was a delicious mix of my two favorite super-foods of all time! (For non-health freaks, i'm talking about the raw oysters and raw egg... but i guess sake could be considered a super-food too!) I would have had ten of these, if not for the fact that they cost $7 each.

I also ordered the Fried Mussels appetizer, which was irreverently covered in mayonnaise (ugh!) and cheddar cheese (double ugh!). I peeled off the rubbery cheese covering and just ate the mussels underneath. This was an uncharacteristic miss:



Better than the mussels was the gyoza, which I always have to order when I come to En.



These gyoza skins are doughy and flaky, almost like pastry. They are surprisingly grease-less, and filled with chicken, ginger and green onion. Yum!

One of my friends got the Chinese Chicken Salad with mandarin oranges and crispy wonton garnish. She loves this salad:



There is just one caveat for this awesome restaurant: I have heard that the En Sushi on Santa Monica is nowhere near as good as the one on Hillhurst. A friend of mine took a first date there, and let's just say that it was the last time he went to that En, and the last time he went out with that girl!

En Sushi
972 N Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 664-1891