Oomasa...a Little Tokyo Gem

100 Japanese Village Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213)623-9048
Wed-Sat11:30AM-12:30AM
Sun 11:30AM-11:30PM
Mon 11:30AM-12:30AM
Tues Closed

If you'll notice, there aren't many sushi places on What's To Eat LA. Why do you ask? Well, to put it simply, I don't really know how to rate sushi. I mean I can tell what pleases me and obviously what makes me sick, but for the most part the true finesses and little touches that make sushi extraordinary are allusive to me. It's like drinking wine. I can drink and know it tastes good, but why it tastes better than others is something that seems barely tangible. I guess you have to have extremely fresh fish to examine first and then see how ones that aren't so fresh rate to it. When I've read other people articles and posts, the only thing people talk about is how well it's cut and freshness for the most part as if they're coneissures of those fine details of freshness. They must be better people than me and I commend them for it.

I, on the other hand, enjoy sushi quite a bit and have had my fair share of what I would consider very good sushi, so-so sushi and downright scary call the health department sushi. I would also say that I could try any piece of raw fish you throw at me as long as I know it hasn't been sitting out. In LA, there are a plethora of decent sushi places. I use the word "decent" loosely, and please understand that I state that word in a postive light and not a negative. To put it plainly, I would eat at them. Oomasa in Little Tokyo I would rate as higher than decent and a joy to visit when I'm in the Little Tokyo Village. I understand that most people might instantly respond with other places that far exceed Oomasa in the immediate vicinity, but I have yet to be let down here and that's why I'm writing about it.

The inside has a classic sushi bar feel to it except with the addition of booths that harken to a diner in the mid-west. The hustle and bustle is pretty non stop especially considering the constant clientele and the late hours they offer.

Here is their Pork Cutlet dinner combination plate. For $14.95 Celeste got more than she bargained for; a medium sized pork cutlet over salad, 7 pieces of sashimi, 1 tuna sushi, 1 sweet shrimp sushi, 2 big pieces of REAL california roll (ie-real crabmeat), pickled cucumbers, macaroni salad, orange slices, miso soup, a bowl of rice and one scoop of green tea ice cream. The pork was tender (most certainly brined by her opionion) but crispy on the outside with a great flavor of it's own and a sauce that was more savory than sweet, the sashimi was quite to her taste and generously given, and she essentially had to make herself to stop eating at a certain point because it was all so good and there was so much of it.

Here's a plate of their Chirashi Sushi (Chirashi means scattered and that's exactly what this is; a bowl of raw fish fish scattered over rice). All the fish tasted fresh and I must admit that this was the first time I had sushi like this as I'm usually just a sushi-by-the-bite kind of guy. I could do this almost every week. Though the food was a hefty amount (10 slices of fish), I found myself just stuffing it into my face bite after bite. It was really solid this time around and a pleasure to eat. 10 slices of fishes could run you modestly around $18 minimum (if you're lucky) but this plate will run you $16 which is a pretty decent deal.

Parking is available (and validated) at the adjacent lot to Little Tokyo as well as the surrounding streets for parking which, believe it or not, you can find pretty easily. Of course Little Tokyo is aimed at tourists, but don't let that stop many of you from coming on down and exploring. Many of the establishments there have been there for quite a while and with good reason. This place and a few others are quite the gems and cult favorites of downtown LA.

Free Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range: Lunch specials are $10 to $12 and sushi and sashimi plates will run you $15 to $20

Daikokuya Original Noodle & Rice Bowl...raumen of the gods

327 E. 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213)626-1680
Mon-Thurs 11AM-Midnight
Fri-Sat 11AM-1AM
Sun Noon-Till the soup is gone
(As a note on their website, if they run out of soup on any night, that's when they close. They do this to give you the best quality soup.)

Once I moved out of the house, I became rather acquainted with any "Cup O' Noodles/Ramen" type of meal I could afford. This is the way of life for many people who need to eat more affordably. You learn how to dress up these meager meals. Most people move on from this stage and dread ever hearing the word ramen. But, some people, especially if their initial introduction to ramen wasn't in styrofoam, go on to enjoy much better and more legitimate ramen. It is with this that you have to understand what a profound love I have for Daikokuya. It may be the best I ever have and for now it is the best I've had here in America (going to Japan in November possibly so we'll see).

How can I talk about soup with such a profound love? If you've ever been here you know how. There's so much detail in their raumen. But before we get to that, please notice the picture up at the top. People come here like it's their job. It's been a favorite spot in Little Tokyo for it's late hours, great food and cheap prices. While it is designed for parties no more than 4, the service makes up for it by being pretty quick. You enter and put your name on a list that sits on a chair as soon as you walk in. There seems to always be people ahead of you but it's never a worry, as I said, thanks to a really fast turnaround.

The shop has a very vintage theme with pictures and items from the 1940's on up. Also, I love the music they typically have playing, which includes some old school swing music typically when I'm there.

Their raumen as I said before is something to behold. Starting with the broth, it's made using pork bones that have been in there for a day (this gives it a slightly thicker consistency then most broths), the egg, which many people talk about, is a hard boiled egg that sits in their own special sauce over night, giving it an ever so different taste... hard to put my finger on it but it's subtle, the noodles are always just firm enough, lots of green onion, and their choice of pork is to die for. It's a fatty black pork that's rich with flavor. I must admit that pork, in general, is my least favorite meat, not that I hate it or anything, but on the meat rankings list it comes after all the other meats. THEIR pork is exceptional by any meat standard. It's so freaking delicious. A big plus is that the bowl of raumen is huge and in and of itself is quite the meal. But you can add on more by making it a combination as seen below:

We added one eel (unagi) bowl that had very hearty pieces of sweet eel.

Another bowl we added was some fresh tuna sashimi. Very fresh and richly colored!

Then also the egg and chicken bowl, which seems like they fried an egg over hard, but while it was cooking on the first side they scattered diced up chicken that had been cooked or marinated in a shoyu based something or other. All of these little bowls were served over yummy Japanese short grain sticky rice.

There is little not to like about this place, unless you're trying to keep it kosher that is(but I'm sure even then you could enjoy a yummy rice bowl). Oh, and before I forget... cheap Japanese beer! $2 for a mug of Kirin and $10 for a pitcher make this a place to go to anytime with some friends. Parking is all on the street and usually you never have to go too far to find a spot. The late hours make this an awesome treat when you don't mind a little waiting around. If you can't wait and are in the area for some "down home" Japanese nonetheless, try Suehiro's a couple of doors down. All in all, you should give this place a try no matter how much you said you'd never do another "Top Ramen"... this place will make you rethink your whole soup experience.

Free Drink Refills: Yup
Entree Price Range: Raumen bowl $7.50 and combinations are between $10.50 and $13

Philippe's...you make me want to live closer to Downtown

1001 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213)628-3781
Everyday 6AM-10PM

I like the word institution. Besides the fact that it's been used to simply describe LA's Philippe's, it also reminds me of being crazy. What makes this interesting though is I would say that you'd be crazy to NOT go here... religiously. Now on the other hand, once you've had one of their French Dip sandwiches(of which they are noted as being the arguable creators of), you can realize what addiction is about on a small level cause it causes cravings which can be maddening.

It's located about a city block away from Union Station, residing there since 1908. It has lasted this long thanks to a couple of factors. I'll start with the fringe factors. They have a charming location on a corner close to a major travel hub, that being Union Station. Back in the day when that was the major form of transportation, Philippe's neon sign was clearly visible as soon as you stepped outside and looked down the street. Once inside the family owned establishment, you're treated by old school business at it's best. You get a sense of Depression era hardworking workers mixed with customer brotherhood. I feel I could sit down with just about anyone there and have friendly conversation.

You get in line in front of the counter and when you reach the front(which never takes long with how quick everyone works), the person who you give your order to is the person who handles your entire order, from taking your order, to receiving your food, and then finally paying them. It all happens in a super short time...think normal meal but done warp speed!

Word of mouth plays an important role as well in how long they've been around. People like me who've had an amazing meal and just decided to tell others about it have kept this place gaining fans since their inception of the French Dip. Story has it that the first Dip was a mistake where their original owner dropped the sliced French roll in some still hot roasting pan drippings and the officer who he was serving it to was in hurry so he took the sandwich anyway. He came back the next day with some friends who wanted the exact same thing and so a fad was born that really hasn't died down. Fact of the matter is that it's hard to find a normal diner type place that doesn't make their own French Dip.

But really what makes Philippe's so special is that though they are often imitated, they still reign as one of the best if not THE best. Quite simply, there's little to go wrong with. They have perfected their au jus sauce (not salt rich) and their cuts of meat are soft tender pieces of meat that seemed like that's all they were designed to do. Just to sit inside of an ever so crisp French roll. I can't tell you enough how good they are as I really can not come up with enough adjectives... you'll just have to take my word for it and get on down there.

As you can see they open at 6AM, and most likely most of you will not be up for a French Dip sandwich that early(though I can eat them anytime of day). For you, they have traditional breakfasts that were made for the All American hero. Fluffy pancakes or French Toast (which I love), eggs that are picturesque (hence the picture), sausage that savors in the mouth, coffee which is .09...that's right NINE CENTS, or for you non coffee drinkers they have their lemonade which is 65 CENTS! Old school prices all around when you think about, seeing as how the most expensive thing on their menu is their Ham Steak or Two Pork Chops with 2 eggs combo at a whopping $8.35. That's an incredibly hard to beat value.

Here's some food for thought I was thinking about while writing this. There's a debate as to who created the Dip sandwich. While I don't claim to know much about the full history, I do know the claims. Philippe's has the legendary story of how the bread was dropped by mistake and a legend was born in 1918. Down the street, Cole's P.E. Buffet (which opened the same year as Philippe's in 1908) said they invented it shortly after they opened in 1908. Now considering the way people and businesses operated way back when, it should be obvious as to who invented it. You know what I mean, a time when there wasn't much talk going around except for the little things, like food and sports. You would think that in the amount of 10 years it would be obvious that Cole's invented it, and yet that is not the case. Not only that, word would have gotten around that there's this amazing place that makes this new hot sandwich that is to die for. I am so not knocking Coles' dip, which is pretty rocking in it's own right, but I do find the discrepancy of 10 years as to who created it pretty odd. I'm not solving the mystery but adding logical fuel to the age old war of devastatingly good sandwiches in LA.


Free Drink Refills: No, but they might as well be with how cheap it is!
Entree Price Range: The French Dips range from $5.15 to $6.25 and the breakfasts range from $3 to $8

Suehiro Cafe

337 E. 1st St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-9132
Sun-Thurs 11AM-1AM
Fri-Sat 11AM-3AM

When I first moved to LA from Pasadena and I lived in K-town with a good friend of mine by the name of Takeshi Nishimoto, a brilliant guitarist who taught me how to just love making music in the moment. We had many a night making music in our place and then grabbing food afterwards. As any of you know there aren't many places that are open super late (at least that have good food) in LA. I was fortunate that he knew of one such place in Downtown LA (on the edge of Little Tokyo) called Suehiro Cafe.

When I had no job and watched TV a good portion of the day as a kid, I would see this show that I still don't know the name of, but it was on KCET and it was like a diner version of Cheers except really cheesey and seemed as if the stars were all extras prior to doing this show. Somehow Suehiro's reminds me of that place. I would call it a family Japanese diner. There are 2 waitresses that are there that have been there since I started going there in 2000. One's a grandma type and the other is a sweet bubbly 20 something who is the picture of Japanese sweetness... just constantly adorably cute. Me and my wife come here and forget about what the rest of the world is like. It just has that effect on us. We've been blessed to find a place like that in LA.

The food is Japanese standard faire with an emphasis on noodle bowls and combination meals. The noodle bowls are yummy with very well balanced portions. I usually get the combination plate which has chicken teriyaki and tuna sashimi and comes with sliced pickle cucumber, potato salad(the odd man out but very tasty) and shredded cabbage salad which has a dressing that I wish I knew what it was cause it's so good and Celeste always has a hard time getting me to eat vegetables at home. I will also mention that it comes with a scoop of ice cream and I always get the pineapple cause it's so perfect for after the meal with whatever I've gotten. The tuna has always been very fresh and nice colored when I've gone here, and rest of the food is just good and consistent. This night we also got a Chicken Katsu Curry over rice which was huge (leftovers were great as well), Spam Onigiri and their Shumai which we almost always get. It was a blessed evening and I must admit that it's nights like last night that make me so happy I live in LA, where I can get good food and a great atmosphere.






One last little bit of advice is that the area is street parking only. Seeing as it it Little Tokyo area you shouldn't have to worry too much about scoring a parking spot and remember the LA insider advice that after 6pm loading zones are legal to park in(I promise you you won't get ticketed) and there are a fair amount of loading zones in that neck of the woods. I won't call this a date spot but it's a date spot that reminds me and Celeste of when we were just dating and life was like a sitcom with extras serving me food.

Free Drink Refills: Yes
Entree Price Range: Noodle Bowls are $6.50 average, Over Rice plates are $7 average and the big combo dinners are about $12 to $14 average.

Venue Food: Leela Thai

1737 Silverlake Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90026

(323) 660-6100

Mon-Thurs 11:30AM-10PM

Fri-Sun 11:30-11PM

(Press play on the youtube above so you can get in the mood for this post.)

A new section for you lovers of music in LA...where to eat that's close to music venues. Last night I went to go see the gentleman up there on the youtube (that you're hopefully listening to) who's name is Ferraby Lionheart. He was playing in Silverlake at Spaceland for there second slot of the night. Great show and it was nice to hear some new songs from his next album due out later this year. With that being said, a great place to try when you want to eat before popping into Spaceland is literally steps from the place. And I mean steps. It couldn't have been more than 100 steps from the entrance of Spaceland to the restaurant entrace. Leela's Thai is beloved by many a "Silverlakian". Great "healthier" Thai at great prices. I say healthier cause they have vegetarian conscious plates for those who would rather murder plants then animals...I'm more of a strict carnivore though I'm learning to stab carrots and corn as of late. Just kidding but not really.

We had the Pad Thai (which was super yummy), the "Secret Spice" which had a sort of coconut based chili sauce, some soup and the appetizer sampler (the shrimp and spring rolls stood out above the rest of the appetizer items). If you enjoy Thai Iced Tea, there's is pretty tasty (of course there will always be those that argue that they taste like wind instrument reeds). The entire meal was perfect for a pre-show dinner. A small word of warning and it really is small...it's a cash only place. Also I'd like to share with you the unique fact that they have a one dollar per person corkage fee in case you'd like to bring your own wine...which we love doing! We'll be back...with a bottle of wine...or maybe even two.

Free Drink Refills: Only on Iced Tea and Lemonade (can you say Arnold Palmer?)

Entree Price Range: $6 to $8