Sushi Sasabune - Los Angeles

This is the Brentwood location, a favorite of locals, located on a lively Wilshire strip. The lunch deals are where it's at, several pieces of sushi and fresh cuts of sashimi for a very good price, especially in these parts. We splurged on the Signature Japanese Omakase instead, and if I am entirely honest, I think we made a mistake. 

There’s sashimi for starters, triangles of tender Baby Tuna in something gooey-soy. 

Albacore is silky and soaked in bright ponzu. 

Get to the nigiri and the problems start. The just-rice falls apart immediately, long before it hits your mouth, possibly before it even hits the plate. It’s just the plain white short-grain stuff, held together with determination and a prayer, and it makes the experience extremely difficult as determination doesn't stick. 

The cuts are what you'd find in any decent omakase, starting with bluefin Tuna and Toro served side by side. Meaty then melty, 

onward to a smooth Halibut and buttery Snapper with ginger and green onion.

This Shellfish Trio is wholly unnecessary, though that tiny, buttery oyster is nice. The bland scallop and shiitake are rather noxious in a bland broth, but the dynamite mussel has a surprisingly light cream sauce which shows some skill but is again, not something I really needed. 

Yellowtail is lovely and Salmon is sweet, covered with a complementing sweet strip.

Goldeneye Snapper is tender meat, and a smooth Scallop topped with yuzu pepper is fairly fresh. 

A steaming slab of Butterfish brushed with sweet soy is served next, 

followed by Amberjack and Albacore Belly. 

A Blue Crab Handroll is second-to-last, crunchy nori encasing a stuffing of sweet crab. 

Your choice for the last piece, and mine is always Uni. It’s a pretty good one; sweet not bitter, smooth and barely briny. 

Their website advertises their claim to fame as one of the first to introduce omakase to LA. But first is first, first is not a synonym of good. Here, while their cuts are actually good, the rice is a disaster, and there’s just too much good sushi in this city for this to be overlooked. Their fish might take off in a smaller pond, but I can immediately name at least 3 better places at this price point where the sushi is substantially better. It's clearly a beloved spot by locals and lunchers alike, but I suspect they stick to the lunch specials.