Hear This: Showdown in Little Tokyo

I always tell people to ignore the menu when they go out for sushi and instead talk with the chef about what to eat. But many Americans are intimidated by sushi chefs, and understandably so—they don’t often look very friendly.

I was especially intimidated by the chef at Sushi Go 55 in L.A.’s Little Tokyo, when I sat down at the bar there for lunch back in June, with John Rabe, host of the radio show Off-Ramp, produced by the NPR station in L.A., KPCC. Sushi Go 55 is the direct descendent of the second-oldest sushi bar in America. John and I—a pair of tall, gangly white men—got no love from the severe-looking Japanese chef at first. John challenged me to walk my talk, so I set about trying to establish a rapport with the chef, with the goal of soliciting treatment for us that would be similar to what a Japanese customer might get. Click here to listen to how it went.

Friday, September 7, 2007

the Scrawling Claw

Click here to listen to how Trevor fared soliciting a Japanese-style sushi experience in L.A.’s Little Tokyo.