Author Archives: Gary Idama

Kinjiro is carrying the torch passed on by BOS, which was a beef centric restaurant in the same space. The layout is about the same, but the open kitchen is now surrounded by clear plexiglass. Jun is still at the … Continue reading →

Walking around the pure whitewashed building housing Fig & Olive, I was reminded of the thick, white walled, red tiled roofed villages all along the shores of the cobalt blue Mediterranean Sea. Upon entering, the interior walls, table cloths and napery, and the ceramic service … Continue reading →

Hirose is a hidden sleeper of a tiny sushi restaurant sandwiched between a Jersey Mike’s & Ko-ryu- Ra-men.  It’s mostly a Japanese speaking clientele, especially during the lunch hour, but that shouldn’t discourage non-Japanese speakers from enjoying the fresh, light, … Continue reading →

Inaba is noted for its handmade Soba which is difficult to make.  Buckwheat has very little gluten so that it doesn’t “stick” together easily.  Therefore, in order to facilate the making of Soba, about 20% is wheat flour to create … Continue reading →

I remember coming to the LA Rose Café during the first wave of Nouvelle California Cuisine which started sometime in the mid 1970’s in Los Angeles and incorporated mainly French cooking technique with Japanese aesthetics.  Around 1982, we stepped into … Continue reading →

The gyoza (ghee yoh zah) at Jinya is, for me, the best that I have had so far in Los Angeles. The Kiyoken Gyo-za Ekimae Bento  at Yokohama Train Station may be better although tasting quite different from Jinya’s, but may … Continue reading →

Nozomi means hope in Japanese. Is it hope by the restaurant to do well in serving its customers or hope by the customers to have a good meal? I am always all for the latter. The interior is a nondescript, pleasant … Continue reading →