The Alex & The Eleanor + 1

Sat. Dec 22 2007
Lv. NYC, arr LA
The flight was uneventful, if rather full and tiny (insert comment about how awful American seats are). Hopefully we will get upgraded on the way home.  Everything bodes well so far, our bags were early off the plane, and the flight was in fact a bit early. The only concern is Alex is feeling a bit coldy, so we both are stocking up on Vit. C and thinking healthy thoughts. We stop at the hotel and change and head off to dinner, Sushi Zo, which Alex has been raving about for a while. In fact, it seems cruel, but I would say he is more excited about Zo then New Zealand. I would love to complain about it, but I have to somewhat agree with him, there is something about NZ that just doesn’t seem real. Maybe its that we have been planning it for so long, maybe I just have no idea what it will be like. I am not not excited, but I am not bouncing off the walls either. I think I am a little freaked by the whole 3 week nature of it, I haven’t been away for that long since Euro-tripping in college. But back to Zo. It’s in a strip mall, which it seems most restaurants in LA are, but this takes it to another level, very very spare ambiance. And its none for being fierce about its sushi, there is a sign : no California rolls, no cut rolls. And I have heard if you don’t get the omakase, don’t bother – well, it doesn’t take much to get us to have an omakase, so we do. I’m just gonna hit the highlights, although it was all very good. The yellowtail was so good you wonder how it can have any relation to the stuff you normal get, buttery and rich. The scallop was a lesson is tenderness, cut in a way I had never seen before. The salmon with strip of seaweed was divine. The golden eye (ice?) snapper was really suprising, I am not often a fan of snapper, but this was something else, buttery and so delicate. Toro, what can I say, I love the stuff, and Zo has the warm rice which pre-melts the fat for you. Sigh. The piece was cut in a very unusual way, showing the grain of the fish in a way I have never seen before. The monkfish liver I was a bit anxious about, not loving either monkfish, or any sort of liver. But wow. Wow. Not at all fishy, not at all livery, but creamy goodness. Then to finish I had 2 handrolls, the current rage in LA – blue crab, which was very good, but (suprising to me) mixed with mayo, which makes it very very rich. And a toro roll. Yum. Again, such a different food then what toro rolls typically are. And to finish, a yuzu shot. Like lemonade, but nicer.  It somehow managed to finish the meal in a way that did not make me crave ice cream.