Kotosh UPDATE - Lomita

I often forget how much I like Kotosh. It often gets bypassed in favor of faster options, but once in a while, I get to sit down and smell the sushi. 

When it comes to sushi, Kotosh's is clean. It's good, upper-middle quality, fairly reflected in the price. 

A neat line of hand rolls rest in crispy nori, spilling with spicy tuna, scallops with roe, and creamy crab. 

The Tuna Tataki Roll has stripes of red and green, a fresh and lean tuna with avocado over shrimp tempura. 

My favorite specialty is the SLUR, sweet salmon and avocado over asparagus and crab. The white sauce looks like mayo, but it's actually white wine, and the creamy texture is nice. 

The Eel & Masago Roll and the Waterpillar are the same-same but different; one has the eel on top, the other, underneath. The eel is prepared properly, with none of the rubbery aftershock.

For those who can't get full from sushi, a generous portion of Chicken Fried Rice should fill you up. They make it properly, and they make it well. I prefer their lomo and pasta, but there's something for everyone on this monster menu, and I can't get enough. 

Kotosh UPDATE - Lomita

I often forget how fond I am of Kotosh. Where else can you get fresh sushi, satisfying ceviche, stir-fry, pasta, and everything in between?

They do a solid ceviche here. Cebiche Pescado is cold and fresh, chunks of white fish squelching with lime. 

Cebiche Mixto is more of the same, with shrimp and octopus added to the mix. Both are good, but I'm partial to the pescado.

If you'd have your food extremely cooked, the Chicharron Mixto Al Ajo is the other end of the spectrum. Deep fried every kind of seafood, with a thick and pungent garlic-butter sauce that will stop you in your tracks. 

If you don't order Lomo Saltado, did you even order Peruvian food? Try their iteration of strip steak stirfry with wilting wedges of tomato and fries double-fried. Pleases all, offends none, ideal for picky eats and those with significant sensitivities. 

Shrimp Saltado is the shellfish variation. Same stuff, sub for shrimp, just as good, though I prefer the beef. 

Tallarin Verde is Peruvian pesto, made more robust with spinach in the mix. The spaghetti is al dente, the sauce is a noodle-clinging slurry, and the sauce is refreshing but balanced with cheese. Top with chicken katsu or beef for best results. 

Tallarin a la Huancaina is my favorite. Spaghetti in aji pepper cream with a topping of juicy steak. The pasta is perfect, and the steak cuts the cream. Didn't think this combination could work, but I love the balance. 

One-of-a-kind Kotosh, a little restaurant that does a lot. Another little Lomita gem, worth at least a long look.  

Kotosh - Lomita

The best of Peru cooked hand-in-hand with the best of Japan is clearly a recipe for success. So different but so much the same.

Cebiche Mixto, for example, isn't much of a stretch from sushi - just a lot more marinated. This mixto of tender tako, irresistable ika, and gigantic kernels of Peruvian corn is perfect.

From the other side, the Tuna Tataki Roll rocks seared strips of tuna with ripe avocado and crispy tempura shrimp.

And then the Chupe de Pescado, OMG the CHUPE DE PESCADO. The heavy, ricey stew brings tears to my eyes it's so good, and the description of "fish chowder" does it no justice. This stuff is hot and heavy, and the rich, savory chunks of fish spread through the soup.

I never thought I'd see pesto and katsu on the same place, but the Tallarin Verde makes it work. The pasta is great, but the lightly-battered and brilliantly fried katsu completes it, like the other half it didn't know was missing.

Peruvian and Japanese...I would love to hear how they met. But how they met is far less important than how they mesh. Mixed marriages make the most beautiful food-babies, and Kotosh delivers one heck of a hybrid.