There was a time when restaurants with the word sushi in the name just served sushi, and restaurants without that word in their name didn’t. No, really. The former might have had some cooked dish they could knock together for the occasional diner who was repelled by raw fish, but it certainly wasn’t anything they put any creativity into.
There has been a convergence – sushi has gone so mainstream that some contemporary American restaurants serve it, and most restaurants that specialize in sushi now also offer creative dishes that have nothing to do with fish and vinegared rice. The line has blurred, with the restaurants on both sides more interesting and varied.
Exhibit A could be Sushi Akatora, which does have a dedicated sushi bar occupying about a third of the multi-level space at the corner of Rosecrans and Highland. Since most of that is workspace, there are only about eight seats at the bar, with about thirty more chairs at the tables on the other two levels. Since opening in July those seats have often been full – when I dined there this week it was my third try at getting a reservation. I had heard recommendations from other diners who I trusted, mostly of cooked dishes, so I knew the kitchen was versatile.
Once we got a look at the menu while sitting in the comfortable middle level, it was clear that Akatora departs from tradition with abandon – the lamb meatballs in marsala-soy sauce over wild rice contains only one Japanese ingredient. They are delicious, the meatballs cooked yakitori style on a skewer to create a crisp layer of caramelized sauce. The mix of wild and medium-grain rice (and counting that we’re up to two Japanese ingredients) is nutty and tasty but hard to eat with chopsticks or a fork, since the rice blend doesn’t stick together. When we tired of chasing individual grains around the bowl we turned to the next item, eggplant chunks quick-fried in mildly spicy miso sauce. This was remarkably good, the vegetable lightly cooked so it still retained natural texture, with the sweet sauce balancing the slight natural bitterness of eggplant.
Based on these two items, I could have easily spent the evening grazing their cooked menu, but since the name of the place referenced sushi, we decided to sample that side of the menu. The whiteboard listing the fresh specials of the day was intriguing, but we went with items on the standard menu: a Highland roll, tuna wasabi carpaccio topped with flash-fried spinach, and a white tiger roll. Though all of these are modern, they are more in harmony with a Japanese sense of flavor than most rolls found elsewhere in the South Bay that have a Korean or Thai influence – there is no sriracha, no drizzles of garlic mayo or dusting of sesame seeds. When rolls are spicy, like the white tiger roll that contains jalapenos and wasabi-spiced tuna, it’s a clean, sharp burst of heat that owes more to the natural flavor of chili and mint than vinegar-based sauces. More of the flavor of the fish comes through the mix, though subtly accented. Similarly, the sprigs of micro-greens in the Highland roll enhanced both flavors and texture, adding delicate crunch and herbal bouquet to the shrimp tempura, avocado, and albacore.
The wasabi tuna with crispy spinach is listed as a carpaccio rather than a sashimi, another example of blurred definition; I would presume that some distinction was being made between sashimi and carpaccio, but neither carpaccio or sashimi are marinated the way things are here. By any name this tuna is a winner, the wasabi used sparingly, the flavor of the spinach intensified by frying. The two main ingredients had a marvelous contrast, one cool and moist, the other warm and crisp, and this is a must-have item.
We went back to the cooked dishes for the final savory, ordering a filet mignon with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. I though this might be presented in a clever Japanese way, but it wasn’t – it was a classic steak platter, the meat about eight ounces and very tender, over mashed potatoes with the veg on the side. There was probably some Japanese-style seasoning on the steak, and the vegetable mix seemed to include some steamed diaikon, but other than that it was a steak with no cultural identity.
The desserts did have some of the signatures of Japanese sweets, though handled unusually well without the sugary excess that is often a problem. We had pumpkin cake served with berries and green tea ice cream, and sweet potato pudding, which was served inside half a baked sweet potato, topped with a scoop of caramel ice cream. Of the two I liked the cake better, though the novelty of the sweet potato dessert made it a hit at our table. The root vegetable sweetness with ice cream and berries is quite a combination, and when you go here to dine you might want to order both to share.
Dinner at Akatora was surprisingly reasonable for the quality and location – three people spent $146, and that includes a bottle of decent sake. The atmosphere is very pleasant, the rustic décor and relatively moderate sound level making this a good choice to relax over a meal. Don’t dawdle too long, because there are probably people outside waiting to get in, and one of them might be me coming back for more.
Akatora is at 306 Rosecrans Avenue, corner of Highland. Open Mo-Fr 11:30 am-2 pm, daily at 5 pm for dinner – close 10 pm Su-Thu, 11 pm Fr-Sa. Beer, wine, and sake served, wheelchair access only to sushi bar. Reservations recommended. Partial menu at akatorala.com, phone 310-802-1131.
