Thursday, January 7, 2010

A spicy tuna night at Take Sushi

So the thing is, I don't particularly like fish (unless it's cod or Chilean sea bass) let alone raw fish. Perhaps I haven't acquired the taste for sashimi but it's not from a lack of trying. Growing up, my dad would occasionally purchase a sashimi boat and I've attempted a couple times but didn't like the raw fish flavor, even if the fish was fresh and no one else could taste any fishiness. BUT I still love going to sushi bars because there are sushi that I DO like to eat specifically uni, unagi, masago/smelt eggs, spicy tuna and spicy scallops. Yes, odd I know. I don't like raw fish but I'll eat uni which is bright orange gonads with that sharp taste and creamy texture.

Located on Sunset strip by Viper Room is a tiny sushi joint called Ta-ke Sushi. It's an authentic, no frills, intimate sushi joint that kind of doesn't fit in with the Hollywood trendy sushi scene i.e. Sushi Roku and Katsuya. But it's right by my friend J's place and is one of his favorites. Like at most sushi joints, the prime seating is at the bar. It's a great spot to sit and watch the chef whip up all kinds of interesting rolls.

Bottle of cold Sake. We polished off two of these by the end of the night.

Spicy tuna on crispy rice
This is a staple at most Japanese restaurants these days. I never get sick of it. I loved the cold, semi-creamy spicy tuna (which thankfully wasn't doused with too much mayonnaise) on top of the warm, crunchy rice.

Fried jalapeno and spicy tuna

The jalapeno was halved, then filled with spicy tuna, breaded with tempura batter then deep fried. I loved loved loved this dish because of the heat that the jalapeno packed and I've never met a tempura that I didn't like. Which segues to our next dish...

Tempura Scallops
Sounds simple but this was absolutely heavenly. The scallops were huge pieces and were cooked perfectly. They were sweet and tender. I also liked that the breading wasn't too heavy.

Miso Cod
This is one of my must-get dishes at any Japanese restaurant. The cod was buttery and sweet, but perhaps a tab bit sweeter than the ones that I've tried and liked. Still a good piece of fish which was simple in preparation but very flavorful.

OK, obviously I like spicy tuna and tempura. So to end the meal, we ordered the perfect marriage of the two. Shrimp tempura topped with spicy tuna. Shrimp tempura and avocado was wrapped up like a California Roll, topped with spicy tuna and dollops of hot sauce. The portion was pretty large.

Ta-ke Sushi isn't that top notch sushi bar that serves expensive and rare fish, nor is it that trendy Hollywood spot with it's fancy, sexy rolls. Ta-ke is really just a neighborhood spot that offers good, affordable sushi where you can get your spicy tuna fix. And it's prime location allows you to walk over to Red Rock bar for more drinks and a couple game of darts. Yes, I'm hurting a little today...

Hits: scallop tempura, spicy tuna, jalapeno
Misses: located on the traffic-heavy Sunset Strip
Rating: ***

Ta-ke Sushi
8866 W. Sunset Blvd.,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 659-6580

1 comment:

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