No.1 in LA eh? So we went there out of curiousity. It’s inside a plaza I’ve been to before, nearby there are nice furniture stores and cafes (and ‘Last Chance‘, the little designer brand fashion outlet that you all ought to know ^_-). The interior is cold cement & minimal designy (in fact quite like the Art Center building) and the crowd is the older “artsy/upscale westside” yuppie type. And like the usual westside yuppie crowd, everyone seems to know each other. I overheard the couple next to us telling the other couple on the other side, “I heard from radio about this place being No.1 Best in LA…” ^^;;
Beacon Bento Box $14.95: Miso Soup, Kazuto’s Sashimi, Chilled Vegetable Crudité, Sumiso Sauce Grilled Thai-Marinated Chicken, Kazuto’s Selection of the Day, Hijiki Onigiri. I was a little bit shocked at such small portion of the food But everything taste really good except for the chicken which is normal. All the fishes taste really yummy. Even the vegetable are flavorful. The miso soup taste so delicious! Maison Akira ‘s bento box was much bigger portion and has more premium items (not just green beans).
Ahi Tuna Pizza $7.95 Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Mayonnaise and Pickled Ginger. Tasty~ It’s meant to be an appertizer, so I devoured it in 2 mins. Coconut Rice and Mango Brûlée $6.25 Very yummy!! Even coconut-hater Freda find it delicious!
Conclusion: the dishes are crafty, taste unique…but I dunno, one glance overlooking the menu there’re ‘Crispy Springrolls,’ ‘Chicken Pad Thai’, ‘Green Tea Soba Noodle,’ etc., giving me that western-appealing hip yuppie trendy Asian fusion vibe that’s…errr… The dinner menu isn’t too much different from lunch menu too, either. The chef is a Japanese chef who used to work at Spago and other famous high end restaurants. I guess the reason why the article award it No.1 is because of low price for such ‘stunningly high quality’ (quote from the article) for yuppies. The five dollar ‘kaki fry’ seems nice. Not sure I’ll recommend it, maybe to “gwai-lo.”
What that bento….portion so stingy!! ^^;;;; Even for small-appetite girls, it won’t be enough~~~look at that tiny little rice ball….^^;;;; The pizza seems alright – attempted fusion? The best-looking one is definitely the brulee. I want to try that! I dunno, the food strikes me as more trendy-cafe-food than proper restaurant food..you know.
Yup exactly! Portion is toooo little~~~
I think they expect you to get a lot of other small plates and other extra stuffs (sushi, sashimi) to accompany with the main meal. But that will add up to $$$! there are lots of sandwiches on the menu too…errr…may be those would be filling.
How very sad it would be to go to LA No.1 restaurant but order sandwiches to fill up stomachs….^^;;;;;