Sushi

With the seriousness and precision of a surgeon, master chef Takashi Abe carefully slices a Japanese snapper and pidan -- a preserved duck egg with a mahogany-colored shell. This is the start of the special salad-of-the-day creation at Bluefin, a new upscale restaurant at Crystal Cove Promenade in Newport Beach. Abe is able to turn virtually every slice of sushi he touches into an edible work of art. It's a skill that has brought the 48-year-old a string of successes in the restaurant business, including his namesake sushi bar on the Balboa Peninsula that he recently sold.

A full service sushi restaurant has applied for a conditional use permit for alcohol sales at 2232 Honolulu Ave. The CUP will allow sales, service and consumption of alcohol on the property, situated in a commercial retail zone. Owner of the property is Philip J. Thomas. The restaurant, Sushi Plus, will be operated by Ki Seum Eum. He was represented at the city hearing by Nathan Freeman. Freeman said the applicant wants to serve Japanese beer and Sake, incidental to food sales.

All-you-can-eat sushi was the order of the evening at Montrose?s Sake Sushi Bar Lounge on Thursday. Overheard at the sushi bar, ?I feel I?m in heaven. All that?s missing is the chance to buy shoes.? Shoes weren?t in the offering, but silent-auction baskets were, and they were overflowing ? all in the name of charity, of course. Relay for Life was the beneficiary of donor largesse and the generous contribution of 200 pounds of sushi by Sake Sushi Bar Lounge owner John Yeo . Yeo?

Chamber to host April mixer The Glendale Chamber of Commerce will hold its April mixer at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Professional Business Bank, 250 N. Orange St., Glendale. The event will feature networking, refreshments, prizes and a chance to meet the city's newest business members. Parking will be available on the street or with validation at the Orange Street garage. For more information, call (818) 240-7870. New Chinese restaurant opens Wok Talk, a new Chinese and sushi roll restaurant, has opened at 932 E. Colorado St. between Adams Street and Glendale Avenue.

The Chinese buffet looms large in certain circles. Bodybuilders blog about how to load up on protein, with articles like “A guide to getting huge on the cheap.” For obesity researchers, the Chinese buffet is the mecca of behavior analysis, where they discover obese customers are more likely to sit facing the food and less likely to use chopsticks than are normal-weight diners. And for the rest of us? We tend to fall into two camps: the squeamish and the ravenous. Those who wouldn't eat sushi from a buffet line if Nobu Matsuhisa himself inspected it first, and those who throw elbows to be the first to grab from a replenished tray of yellowtail.

ichibanI confess -- I am not a sushi maven. I was pregnant during much of the 1980s, the period I consider the sushi decade, and I guess I missed out. I appreciate the artistry, the uber-freshness of the ingredients, and all, but I lack the passion many folks feel for this food art form. It was one of those very kids who got me to Ichiban. The middle son is a sushi guy. His high school buddies taught him the sushi-ropes, and they frequented several local spots. (Trust-fund kids, apparently, as good sushi is not inexpensive!

Some kids have mentors that take them to ballgames, help with their homework, or simply guide them through the obstacles of life. I have a food mentor. As soon as I got teeth, I was chewing on a gyro and learning that raw fish comes on a roll of rice. My mentor is my cousin Anita, who lives in Oregon now and works for Harry and David. So when she's not sending me Moose Munch, she is here visiting her old hometown and teaching me a thing or two about food. Last week, I knew the perfect place to take my mentor for lunch was Octopus Japanese Restaurant.

There is so much to like about the new Sake Sushi Bar Lounge in Montrose, it’s hard to know where to begin. What jumps out first and foremost is the super-friendly attitude of the place. The employees are funny and young, and they aim to please. The look is very cool, like you stepped into a bistro in Santa Monica. And the sushi rolls are creative, tasty and quite a bargain. Eating out is so much more than taking in food. People want a complete experience, an adventure, if you will.

Just because a 3-year-old girl has never heard of the Beastie Boys doesn't mean she can't wear the hip-hop group's logo on a pink T-shirt. Mac & Madi, a children's clothing store, opened July 18 at South Coast Plaza, store manager Koko Lerner said. In addition to some of the smallest rock 'n' roll shirts on the market, the shop also sells dresses featuring images of sushi. "We're famous for our sushi dresses," Lerner said. "Everybody comes here for the sushi dresses."

The Chinese buffet looms large in certain circles. Bodybuilders blog about how to load up on protein, with articles like “A guide to getting huge on the cheap.” For obesity researchers, the Chinese buffet is the mecca of behavior analysis, where they discover obese customers are more likely to sit facing the food and less likely to use chopsticks than are normal-weight diners. And for the rest of us? We tend to fall into two camps: the squeamish and the ravenous. Those who wouldn't eat sushi from a buffet line if Nobu Matsuhisa himself inspected it first, and those who throw elbows to be the first to grab from a replenished tray of yellowtail.

Sushi Ike in Hollywood had a voracious following for years thanks to its legendary sushi chef, Ike. That restaurant recently changed ownership and we Eastsiders are the luckier for it. Ike-san brings his considerable talent to a brand new eatery in the Del Mar train station center called Sushi Kimagure. You won't find crispy tempura rolls here. No chicken teriyaki or cream cheese dynamite rolls. This is for sushi purists. Be forewarned: You must make a reservation to eat at this 34-seat restaurant.

The recently opened Kyoto Seafood Buffet is without a doubt the best dining bargain in Glendale, especially at lunchtime Monday through Friday, when $8.99 brings you a fully stocked sushi bar, an ice table with fresh oysters, mussels and jumbo cocktail shrimps. Then there’s a hibachi grill with a chef standing by to cook ingredients that you choose, including extremely fresh boneless chicken breast, shrimp and sirloin steak. Kyoto also offers a wide variety of pre-cooked hot Japanese and Chinese dishes that include a very good hot and sour soup, orange chicken and other traditional offerings.

Going to Sakana Japanese Sushi Bar & Grill is a little like walking into a fairy tale. You step through the big wooden doors of an ogre's house, walk over the bridge of the three billy goats Gruff, and end up in a room filled with red chandeliers amid a chorus of welcomes. The similarites don't stop there. A happy attitude pervades the place that is true to its published motto, "fabulous, friendly service from the heart. " The 2-month-old Sakana has taken the place of the short-lived Love Sushi.

The boom of the Japanese drum made us jump as the wait staff began their parade through the dining room. A guest at a neighboring table was having a birthday, and the nice folks at Sushi Kai in Glendale were helping celebrate. A group of six hungry men were to our left, and four women wanting a quick bite before a movie were to our right. Add to that our family of four and the romantic couple across the way, and this restaurant seemed to attract every kind of diner. Why is this such a neighborhood hangout?

There is so much to like about the new Sake Sushi Bar Lounge in Montrose, it’s hard to know where to begin. What jumps out first and foremost is the super-friendly attitude of the place. The employees are funny and young, and they aim to please. The look is very cool, like you stepped into a bistro in Santa Monica. And the sushi rolls are creative, tasty and quite a bargain. Eating out is so much more than taking in food. People want a complete experience, an adventure, if you will.

All-you-can-eat sushi was the order of the evening at Montrose?s Sake Sushi Bar Lounge on Thursday. Overheard at the sushi bar, ?I feel I?m in heaven. All that?s missing is the chance to buy shoes.? Shoes weren?t in the offering, but silent-auction baskets were, and they were overflowing ? all in the name of charity, of course. Relay for Life was the beneficiary of donor largesse and the generous contribution of 200 pounds of sushi by Sake Sushi Bar Lounge owner John Yeo . Yeo?

Foothill Boulevard continues to be plagued by vacant storefronts, but two Asian restaurants that moved onto the strip last month could add some activity to the business corridor. The restaurants, Sushi Zen Bistro and Shabu Town, opened the week before Christmas and are hoping to hold on to customers long enough to survive a challenging region for many businesses, the restaurant owners said. “We like the location,” said Marvin Hur, the owner of Sushi Zen Bistro.

There were salads and sandwiches, soups and sushi, as well as more desserts than even a diabetic could desire. Variety was the common denominator as nearly 200 people flocked to the Marketplace Shopping Center last Wednesday evening for ?A Taste in the Foothills,? a 2 ½-hour-long banquet of food and beverage samplings from more than a dozen local restaurants and businesses. The event was hosted by the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce, and for a $15 donation diners could choose from several succulent and savory selections.