The fetish object of the week? My money's on the uni goma tofu at the new Aburiya Toranoko in Little Tokyo, which is to say a smallish cube of firm, blackish tofu made from ground, toasted sesame seeds, served in a shallow puddle of soy and topped with a lobe of sea-urchin roe. When the consistency is right, and the uni is at its freshest, the interplay of squishiness, of sweetness, of the tiny spark of salt from the bit of caviar tweezered on as a garnish, is pretty extraordinary, a nutty, toasty fugue of similar flavors.
243 S. San Pedro St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Category: Restaurant > Gastro Pub
Region: Downtown
|
0 user reviews
|
Write A Review |
| Save to foursquare |
|
The restaurant, next door to Lazy Ox Canteen and owned by the same guy, Michael Cardenas, is an attempt to bridge the elbows-on-the-table informality of a Japanese izakaya with the high-decibel sheen of a high-end gastropub. And it pretty much works: long communal tables and chandeliers, graffiti murals and slick paintings, a fairly hip, inexpensive wine list and a fetishistic list of oddball beers and sakes that are probably better suited to the small-plates cuisine.
An aburiya is a restaurant specializing in grilled food, and you will probably be nudged toward an order or three of the sumiyaki dishes, skewers of fluffy chicken meatballs, shiitake mushroom or chicken with Tokyo green onions cooked over special bincho charcoal.
Chef Hisaharu Kawabe comes from a long stay in the Nobu empire, and there are all the sashimi plates and fancy sushi rolls you'd expect. But the heart of the restaurant is Kawabe's take on the classic izakaya repertoire: the beef tongue with miso and the melting Kurobuta pork belly braised with daikon; the tart jellyfish salad with crab and the salad of McGrath greens with crisply fried whitebait; the "french fries" made from slippery mountain yam and the plate of infant turnips and radishes planted root-down in what seems like half an acre of snow. Are there organic, crafted cocktails made from obscure Japanese fruits? One would expect no less.
ABURIYA TORANOKO | 243 S. San Pedro St., Little Tokyo | (213) 621-9500 | toranokola.com
mr. gold. i have to say i disagree with your comments. i actually have had almost everything you mentioned here and, with the exception of the pork belly, it was pretty mediocre at best. with the jellyfish being exceptional below average. the crab tasted like it was imitation and had texture definitely of frozen and not well thawed. disappointed that you seem to like it as i value your reviews quite a lot.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
