Yoshi Sushi

After reading several positive reviews about Yoshi Sushi (and due to my affinity for the Nintendo character), Griffin and I tried the Japanese joint a couple of years back. Though we don't go there for sushi all the time, we are always pleased when we dine here. We've never sat at the sushi bar, so I'm not really sure what a different experience it is from the sushi bar to a table, but it at the very least seems brighter over the sushi bar. The tables in the back are where we prefer, where it's dimly lit, but you can still admire the bizarre fish paintings on the wall (think the crazy paintings in Royal Tenenbaums). There are two days we especially love to come here: Friday night for 1/2 price drinks all night and Saturday for sake bomb night (order a beer and get some warm, cheap sake free). On those nights, we always order a Sapporo to share upon sitting down. The hostess/owner (I think?) is always so nice and accommodating. Before you order the staff brings you thinly sliced cucumber in a sweet sauce with sesame seeds. I rarely care for cucumbers, but these are actually pretty good. Much preferred to edamame in fact. We definitely have our favorites here too, like at any good sushi place. The crispy rice, one of my favorite all time dishes, is pretty delicious here. The rice cake is denser and cooked longer than most other places and then topped with a mountain of spicy tuna and sesame seeds. The real pull to come here is the sushi bomb and the spicy California ball. First - the bomb. It's like a spicy tuna roll with a little bit of crunchy balled and wrapped in seaweed. For presentation they put tiny little wicks on foil and light it as they place it on your table. It doesn't take long for the spark to go out on its own, but if you can't wait, you can always just blow it out. The bomb is split into four medium size pieces (about the size of a piece of nigiri) and is really only enough to share with 2 people max. Similarly, the spicy California ball is sliced in quarters of the same size, though ingredients and presentation differ. The California ball is stuffed full of spicy crab meat on the inside and then layers of avocado are placed around it in a ball shape. Then the dish is drizzled with a creamy sauce. If you don't like a lot of rice with your sushi, this is your dish - there is none. The nigiri here is very fresh and fairly reasonably priced. We also really like the miso sea bass here. It's sweet and a little tangy but comes in portions that end up really only being about 8-10 bites. Like most places, Griffin and I can get out of here spending roughly $60 for the two of us. There is no valet and it's in a pretty busy part of West Hollywood (pretty much across from Marix and Basix) so street parking can sometimes be hard to find. On the bright side, if you live close enough, Yoshi does have a delivery service they use, but I'm not sure what extra cost is incurred by that. Overall, the people are always really friendly and the food is really great, so we'll continue to keep coming back.

Warning: This is not that great of a representation of their menu.
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