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- Sushi restaurant welcomes its 14th anniversary in an area where many hot restaurants are gathered
Japanese Sake : All Japan News,Inc
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By All Japan News,Inc
Yuji Matsumoto
Master Sake Sommelier
Finalist of the 2nd World Sake Sommelier Competition. Graduated from Keio University Faculty of Law, Department of Political Science. Worked for Nomura Securities for 10 years. Former president of California Sushi Academy Former chief of planning dept. at Mutual Trading. Currently working for Kabuki Restaurant Corp. as a Beverage Manager of Sake.
Kosuke Kuji
Fifth Generation / Brewery Owner
Nanbu Bijin, Inc.
Born May 11, 1972. Entered Tokyo University of Agriculture's Department of Brewing and Fermentation. In 2005 became the youngest person ever to receive the Iwate Prefecture Young Distinguished Technician Award. In 2006 was selected to be a member of the board of trustees of his local alma mater, Fukuoka High School. Currently is featured in a number of media outlets including magazines, radio, and television.
*Positions of Public Service: Chairperson, Cassiopeia Corporation Youth Conference; School Board Member, Fukuoka High School, Iwate Prefecture, Vice-Chairman, Technology Committee, Iwate Prefecture Brewers and Distillers' Association.
Ayaka Ito
Owner of BESHOCK Ramen Sake Bar
Born in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture. Started going abroad including the US, Canada, and South Korea to study and deepen knowledge while still in high-school. Encountered with Japanese sake in Tohoku, while being involved in a long-term volunteering activity for the Great East Japan Earthquake. Sake of Miyagi, a famous region for sake making, was so impressive- ”I didn’t know such delicious domestic sake existed in Japan!” BESHOCK was opened in San Diego to let the world know the goodness of Japanese sake and Japanese cuisine for a responsibility as a specialist/Sake sommelier.
Ryuji Takahashi
Regional Sake Specialty Store "Ji Sakeya" Owner, Master Sake Sommelier, Shuto-Meijin, and the charismatic guru of ordinary sake.
Plans and manages events and seminars with his own unique flare to introduce the appeal of Japanese sake and cuisine, unaffected by the latest trends, while managing a jizake retail store.
David Kudo
Sake Sommelier
Master Sake Sommelier
President, All Japan News Inc.
Born Kita-Akita City, Akita Prefecture. Took over as Executive Officer of the Japanese Food Trend News founded in 1991, when the predecessor was assigned back to Japan. Currently distributed as Japan Restaurant News (20,000 issues published electronically) in North America, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
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Sushi restaurant welcomes its 14th anniversary in an area where many hot restaurants are gathered
By Keiko Fukuda
In Culver City which is located between the city of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, hot restaurants keep popping up one after another in the past few years.
The Sony Pictures Studio is located in this city, and many people in the entertainment industry reside there, and they love sushi.
Sushi Karen which is run by the owner/chef Toshi-san (Toshikazu Shimomura), is a popular sushi restaurant known for its great sushi and Toshi’s cheerful personality, and just celebrated their 14th anniversary. According to him, 97% of the customers are non-Japanese. When I ask my acquaintances which sushi restaurant is the best in the Los Angeles area, more than a few of them appoint Sushi Karen of Culver City. I asked Toshi about the secret for the popularity. He says that he makes sure of the perfect freshness of the seafood he buys, and memorizes each regular customer’s name and face and preferences perfectly to enable him to serve sushi in omakase-style. He changed the place where he buys the fish a few times before he settled with the present seller.
Toshi is from the Kagoshima area of Japan. After learning the fundamentals of sushi-making there, he went to Europe. He ended up in the United States, worked in various sushi restaurants in the Los Angeles area, and then spent 5 years in a sushi restaurant in Santa Maria. After that, he came back to LA, and worked in a restaurant in Venice’s Abbott Kinney district on Ventura Blvd. He heard about this Culver City location while he was thinking about starting his own place. He used his daughter’s name, Karen, to name and open the restaurant.
“The first year was rough. I didn’t have the liquor license, so customers who walked in often left as soon as they found out that they couldn’t drink saké or even beer. It took a year and 3 months to obtain the license. I waited so long for it, so I try my best to have as good a variety of sake brands as possible. American customers like Kikusui or equivalent brands, and we do have about 20 different kinds of sake.”
Including getting the old regulars back who followed Toshi’s tasty sushi from the Abbott Kinney restaurant, the business got on the right track from the second year after obtaining the liquor license. The selling point is definitely Toshi himself. There is another sushi chef working with him there, but the restaurant needs to be closed whenever Toshi is unavailable to work.
Not only the aforementioned fact (Toshi knows every customer’s preference) which pleases the regulars, but he is confident about his speed in making sushi as well. “I serve very quickly. The speed is very important. The door is also open even during off hours. If a customer walks in, and requests sushi to-go, I will do it right there. It doesn’t matter if I am on a break or not.” It seems like he would never say “No,” unless it is totally necessary.
“My motto as a sushi chef is nothing but to satisfy customers. I want them to eat delicious food, and enjoy a peaceful atmosphere.” This genuine thinking and attitude of Toshi’s has resulted in the fact that 70% of the customers are regulars.
At the end of the interview, Toshi treated me to yellowtail carpaccio. The yellowtail is so fresh, and the jalapeno pepper topping effectively accentuated the refreshing yuzu flavor. It seemed to go well with cold saké. “Lately, American customers love yuzu flavor,” says Toshi. I can imagine that customers who enjoyed conversations with Toshi across the counter and spent nice relaxed time like I did will surely want to come back. “I would like to hear customers say “I will be back!” like the Terminator,” said Toshi wearing a carefree smile.
話題の店が集中のエリアで14周年迎えた寿司店
ロサンゼルス市とサンタモニカ市の間に位置するカルバーシティーには、ここ数年で話題のレストランが続々と誕生している。ソニーピクチャーのスタジオがあることから、市内にはエンターティンメント関係者が多い。そして、彼らが好きなものが寿司だ。
今年で開店14年を迎えたSushi Karenは、オーナーシェフのトシさん（下村敏一:シモムラトシカズ）が握る寿司と、彼の明るい人柄で人気の寿司店。トシさんによると「日本人以外の顧客が97％を占める」そうだ。筆者の知り合いには、「ロサンゼルス周辺で一番美味しい寿司店はどこかと聞かれたら、カルバーシティーのSushi Karen」と答える人が数人いる。その秘密をトシさん本人に聞くと、活きがいい魚の仕入れに徹底的にこだわること。さらに顧客の顔、名前、好みを頭に叩き込んで、客の好きな寿司をお任せで出すことだと語る。魚の仕入先は何度か変えた後、現在の業者に落ち着いた。
鹿児島出身のトシさんは、地元で寿司の基本を身につけた後にヨーロッパの旅に出た。その流れでアメリカにたどり着き、ロサンゼルスの寿司店数店で勤務した後、サンタマリアの寿司店に５年勤めた。さらにロサンゼルスに戻り、ベンチュラブルバード沿いの店、ベニスのアボットキニーの店と渡り歩き、独立を考えていた時に今のカルバーシティーのロケーションの話を聞きつけた。そして、お嬢さんの名前Karenを店名にして、今の店を開けた。
「最初の１年はリカーライセンスが下りなかったので苦労しました。お客さんが飛び込みで入ってきても酒もビールも飲めないとわかると、そのまま店を出ていくということが続きました。ライセンスを取得するまで実に１年３カ月もかかったんです。やっと取れたライセンスなので、その後は日本酒の品揃えにはこだわっています。アメリカ人のお客さんには菊水あたりが人気ですが、種類は20数種類用意しています」
アボットキニーの店からトシさんの寿司を求めて移ってきた常連も含め、リカーライセンスが取れた２年目からは軌道に乗った。店の看板はなんと言ってもトシさん自身だ。もう１人の寿司シェフと２人で回しているが、トシさんが店に出られない時は休業すると話す。
寿司は前述のように顧客の好みが頭に入っているため常連に喜ばれるだけでなく、握る速さにも自信があると言う。「とにかくパッと出す、スピードが大切です。営業時間外でもドアを開けています。そんな時にお客さんが入ってきて、持ち帰りの寿司が欲しいと言われたら、その場で作ります。休憩時間だろうが関係ないんです」。よほどのことがない限り、ノーと言わないのがトシさんの姿勢のようだ。
「寿司シェフとしてのモットーはお客さんに満足してもらうことに尽きます。美味しいものを食べて和やかな雰囲気を味わってほしいですね」。トシさんのその気持ちは、常連が70％以上という結果につながっている。
取材の最後にトシさんがハマチのカルパッチョを出してくれた。フレッシュなハマチ、爽やかなゆずの風味にトッピングしたハラペーニョのアクセントが効いている。冷酒が進みそうだ。「最近はゆずがアメリカ人のお客さんに受けています」とトシさん。こうして、カウンター越しにトシさんとの会話を楽しみながら、リラックスした時間を過ごした客はまた必ず戻ってくるのだろう。「お客さんにはwe’ll be backって言ってほしいですよね。ターミネイターじゃないけど」とトシさんは屈託ない笑顔でそう言った。
Sushi Karen
10762 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 202-0855.
http://sushikaren.com
Tuesday - Friday: Lunch 11:30 AM - 2:15 PM
Monday - Thursday: Dinner 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Friday - Saturday: Dinner 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Sunday Closed
In Culver City which is located between the city of Los Angeles and Santa Monica, hot restaurants keep popping up one after another in the past few years.
The Sony Pictures Studio is located in this city, and many people in the entertainment industry reside there, and they love sushi.
Sushi Karen which is run by the owner/chef Toshi-san (Toshikazu Shimomura), is a popular sushi restaurant known for its great sushi and Toshi’s cheerful personality, and just celebrated their 14th anniversary. According to him, 97% of the customers are non-Japanese. When I ask my acquaintances which sushi restaurant is the best in the Los Angeles area, more than a few of them appoint Sushi Karen of Culver City. I asked Toshi about the secret for the popularity. He says that he makes sure of the perfect freshness of the seafood he buys, and memorizes each regular customer’s name and face and preferences perfectly to enable him to serve sushi in omakase-style. He changed the place where he buys the fish a few times before he settled with the present seller.
Toshi is from the Kagoshima area of Japan. After learning the fundamentals of sushi-making there, he went to Europe. He ended up in the United States, worked in various sushi restaurants in the Los Angeles area, and then spent 5 years in a sushi restaurant in Santa Maria. After that, he came back to LA, and worked in a restaurant in Venice’s Abbott Kinney district on Ventura Blvd. He heard about this Culver City location while he was thinking about starting his own place. He used his daughter’s name, Karen, to name and open the restaurant.
“The first year was rough. I didn’t have the liquor license, so customers who walked in often left as soon as they found out that they couldn’t drink saké or even beer. It took a year and 3 months to obtain the license. I waited so long for it, so I try my best to have as good a variety of sake brands as possible. American customers like Kikusui or equivalent brands, and we do have about 20 different kinds of sake.”
Including getting the old regulars back who followed Toshi’s tasty sushi from the Abbott Kinney restaurant, the business got on the right track from the second year after obtaining the liquor license. The selling point is definitely Toshi himself. There is another sushi chef working with him there, but the restaurant needs to be closed whenever Toshi is unavailable to work.
Not only the aforementioned fact (Toshi knows every customer’s preference) which pleases the regulars, but he is confident about his speed in making sushi as well. “I serve very quickly. The speed is very important. The door is also open even during off hours. If a customer walks in, and requests sushi to-go, I will do it right there. It doesn’t matter if I am on a break or not.” It seems like he would never say “No,” unless it is totally necessary.
“My motto as a sushi chef is nothing but to satisfy customers. I want them to eat delicious food, and enjoy a peaceful atmosphere.” This genuine thinking and attitude of Toshi’s has resulted in the fact that 70% of the customers are regulars.
At the end of the interview, Toshi treated me to yellowtail carpaccio. The yellowtail is so fresh, and the jalapeno pepper topping effectively accentuated the refreshing yuzu flavor. It seemed to go well with cold saké. “Lately, American customers love yuzu flavor,” says Toshi. I can imagine that customers who enjoyed conversations with Toshi across the counter and spent nice relaxed time like I did will surely want to come back. “I would like to hear customers say “I will be back!” like the Terminator,” said Toshi wearing a carefree smile.
話題の店が集中のエリアで14周年迎えた寿司店
ロサンゼルス市とサンタモニカ市の間に位置するカルバーシティーには、ここ数年で話題のレストランが続々と誕生している。ソニーピクチャーのスタジオがあることから、市内にはエンターティンメント関係者が多い。そして、彼らが好きなものが寿司だ。
今年で開店14年を迎えたSushi Karenは、オーナーシェフのトシさん（下村敏一:シモムラトシカズ）が握る寿司と、彼の明るい人柄で人気の寿司店。トシさんによると「日本人以外の顧客が97％を占める」そうだ。筆者の知り合いには、「ロサンゼルス周辺で一番美味しい寿司店はどこかと聞かれたら、カルバーシティーのSushi Karen」と答える人が数人いる。その秘密をトシさん本人に聞くと、活きがいい魚の仕入れに徹底的にこだわること。さらに顧客の顔、名前、好みを頭に叩き込んで、客の好きな寿司をお任せで出すことだと語る。魚の仕入先は何度か変えた後、現在の業者に落ち着いた。
鹿児島出身のトシさんは、地元で寿司の基本を身につけた後にヨーロッパの旅に出た。その流れでアメリカにたどり着き、ロサンゼルスの寿司店数店で勤務した後、サンタマリアの寿司店に５年勤めた。さらにロサンゼルスに戻り、ベンチュラブルバード沿いの店、ベニスのアボットキニーの店と渡り歩き、独立を考えていた時に今のカルバーシティーのロケーションの話を聞きつけた。そして、お嬢さんの名前Karenを店名にして、今の店を開けた。
「最初の１年はリカーライセンスが下りなかったので苦労しました。お客さんが飛び込みで入ってきても酒もビールも飲めないとわかると、そのまま店を出ていくということが続きました。ライセンスを取得するまで実に１年３カ月もかかったんです。やっと取れたライセンスなので、その後は日本酒の品揃えにはこだわっています。アメリカ人のお客さんには菊水あたりが人気ですが、種類は20数種類用意しています」
アボットキニーの店からトシさんの寿司を求めて移ってきた常連も含め、リカーライセンスが取れた２年目からは軌道に乗った。店の看板はなんと言ってもトシさん自身だ。もう１人の寿司シェフと２人で回しているが、トシさんが店に出られない時は休業すると話す。
寿司は前述のように顧客の好みが頭に入っているため常連に喜ばれるだけでなく、握る速さにも自信があると言う。「とにかくパッと出す、スピードが大切です。営業時間外でもドアを開けています。そんな時にお客さんが入ってきて、持ち帰りの寿司が欲しいと言われたら、その場で作ります。休憩時間だろうが関係ないんです」。よほどのことがない限り、ノーと言わないのがトシさんの姿勢のようだ。
「寿司シェフとしてのモットーはお客さんに満足してもらうことに尽きます。美味しいものを食べて和やかな雰囲気を味わってほしいですね」。トシさんのその気持ちは、常連が70％以上という結果につながっている。
取材の最後にトシさんがハマチのカルパッチョを出してくれた。フレッシュなハマチ、爽やかなゆずの風味にトッピングしたハラペーニョのアクセントが効いている。冷酒が進みそうだ。「最近はゆずがアメリカ人のお客さんに受けています」とトシさん。こうして、カウンター越しにトシさんとの会話を楽しみながら、リラックスした時間を過ごした客はまた必ず戻ってくるのだろう。「お客さんにはwe’ll be backって言ってほしいですよね。ターミネイターじゃないけど」とトシさんは屈託ない笑顔でそう言った。
Sushi Karen
10762 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 202-0855.
http://sushikaren.com
Tuesday - Friday: Lunch 11:30 AM - 2:15 PM
Monday - Thursday: Dinner 5:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Friday - Saturday: Dinner 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Sunday Closed
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