This is called being in your face and Keeping it Real. Upon walking into Sasabune (located in West Los Angeles), this is what you are greeted with. A sign telling you to seriously to get the hell out of there if you are planning or even remotely thinking about ordering non-authentic Japanese food and various signs all over the restaurant that tell you to "Trust them."Awesome. That's right weed out the weak. This place is for the big boys girls. If you ever wanted to have a taste of sushi heaven, then Sasabune is the place for you. This place serves omakase, which is chef's special where basically the chef decides on what to serve you. Prices vary day to day depending on the market price of the fish. The owner was telling us how he wakes up every morning at 5AM to go buy the fish. Sasabune's omasake had a total of 10 plates of mouthwatering, melt in your mouth amazingness. And yes that's exactly how you would describe it too. I imagine the only thing able to beat this would be going to Ursawa, but since even I cannot justify spending $500 for omakase there we will have to make due for the next best thing. And it was delicious!
Here come our appetizers! Baby tuna (Box 1) and Albacore sashimi (Box 2) with Ponzu sauce. So freaking good. I wanted to freeze time and stay in that moment forever. The chef also told us that their sauces are made fresh everyday. I'm was in love...
Here were have toro/tuna (Box 1) and Yellowtail & mystery fish? (Box 2) I really tried hard to remember all the names of all the fish I was eating but I got so engulfed with the deliciousness in my mouth I really stopped caring. I was scrambling to take a quick pictures as the chef was telling us where the fish was coming from that day. You also want to eat the fish right away or else it might get soggy because some of the pieces of sushi were soaked in ponzu sauce. The tuna was from Spain that day. I remember that! *pat on the back for me*
Here is salmon sushi and mystery 2 (Box 1) & Oysters that were from Canada (Box 2)! Delicious!! The chef tells you which peices you can eat with soy sauce and which not to. Whatever... anything he was saying at this point I would have just ignored. Heavenly bliss!
Halibut from Japan/ Scallop from Boston (Box 1) and Sasabune's famous Butterfish (Box 2)!
These were the last dishes to our omakase and at this point I really stopped listening to what I was eating. I just nodded to what the chef said and indulged in whatever goodness was put forth in front of me. I knew our meal was coming to an end when I was given the famous Blue Crab Roll. That was definitely one of the highlights of the night! At first I thought this meal would not fill me up, but once the Blue Crab Roll was ingested I was totally full. It was the perfect amount.
Sasabune was awesome. A great first omakase experience for me, which I've been waiting to try. It's definitely pricey though so I know I can't come here everyday. They have an American version for about $70/80 or more depending on the market price of the fish and a Japanese version ($80-100) depending on how hardcore of a sushi eater you are. I got the Japanese version. I've read some reviewers on yelp that complained of the Chef as a "sushi nazi" because he was telling you how you should eat your sushi. My opinion is to seriously shut the hell up. This man was sushi god and we are obviously mere mortals. What do we know?
Make like Sasabune's logo and trust them. (Yes, this is really a picture of their napkin.) Awesome. Happy Eatings!