nishimura.

for the last 6 years, i've wondered about the small, inconspicuous place on melrose, across the street from the pacific design center, with the address 8684. there's no sign, nothing to clue you in that there's a restaurant behind those walls. when i eventually found out the place was a sushi bar called nishimura, i knew that one day i would have to try it. i mean, why not? i passed by it virtually every day, it was super close to my place...after some research, i learned that nishimura was known for it's sushi and exquisite design -- the pottery dishes, the decor...i also learned that it was incredibly expensive. expensive enough to realize that i might not ever get the chance to go there. my parents had been once and they spent a crazy amount -- but they loved the food.

well, this past friday night, a few of us ventured out, coming to a consensus that we had to try this place at least once. i won't lie, when we drove up i was definitely excited. i was finally going to see what lay behind that front wall. walking in, i was surprised by the simplicity. very minimalist and small, but still inviting. one cool touch: what looked like art on the wall behind the sushi counter was actually dishes for the sushi to be served on. they literally take pieces from the wall. pretty cool.

anyway, we took our seats and set out to enjoy a meal that consisted of everything from the normal: yellowtail, toro, albacore, snapper -- to the more daring: eel with shishito pepers, sea urchin, oysters topped with caviar, sweet shrimp...etc. i must say, the sushi was amazing...like butter. i only had water (of course), but the others had sake. when the bill came we all took guesses. we were all way off. and not the good kind of way off. it was more expensive than we thought. the total came out to $360. despite the empty bank account, it was worth the trip. it will be a while before we go back, but if money isn't an issue for you, take the plunge.

below, a few pictures...the sushi master, nishimura...plates of mouth-watering sushi...dessert...me and elliott outside. (i would've taken more pictures of the decor and the food but it was quite dark and i felt a little funny having the camera out. so i took what i could...)