#TastyThursday: Best #Sushi & #FriedChicken @BlueRibbon_west @theGroveLA #blueribbonsushi

May 12, 2016SobeSavvy Leave a comment

California. People think of many things when conjuring up images of the golden state. Beautiful beaches. Movie Stars. Mountains and huge Sequoia trees.

When I hear that word, only one thing comes to mind. Sushi. Not just any sushi mind you, but world class sushi. California {besides Hawaii} is the closest an American can get to the Asian origin of sushi while still being on the mainland. Los Angeles has a plethora of sushi places, but only one caught our eye on this swing out to the left coast: Blue Ribbon Sushi !

Located in the The Grove shopping area adjacent to the famous Los Angeles Farmers Market , Blue Ribbon Sushi did not dissapoint. With hubby and 4 yr old in tow, we were promptly seated inside their attractive dining room. In addition to a classic sushi bar, they also have a full liquor/Sake bar area in the rear of the restaurant.

Usually restaurants kids’ menu leaves a lot to be desired but not here. Tiger shrimp, black vinegar glazed ribs just to name a few of their sophisticated, yet kid friendly choices.

My little one choose the filet of beef. It came with a side of sticky rice. High quality tender filet literally disappeared from her chop sticks in no time at all.

We decided to start with a bowl of miso soup (miso served on the side so that one can add as much or little paste as they want) and hamachi yellowtail w/Jalepeno & Ponzu Sauce. It was fresh and the jalepeno gave it the perfect “kick”.

Next up was a unique small plate of grilled avocado. It melted in our mouths with various salts and spices. It was warm to the touch. Pure heaven.

Crispy Rice Shrimp Toast w/Spicy Wasabi Mayo was also scrumptious.

Next up was their famous fried chicken. Yup, you read that right. They are known to have a unique type of fried chicken. The batter is hard to describe ,other than to just say it is a MUST have when dining here. It was a Bucket O’ Wings with delectable Wasabi Honey and House Chili Sauce. INCREDIBLY GOOD !!

We finished our incredible meal with their version of a Key Lime Pie a la mode. It tasted as good as it looks !

Next time you are in the City Of Angels make plans to dine here! We chose to sit inside but they do have outside seating, perfect for people watching or catching the musical fountain show. With locations in New York and Vegas, I am sure to dine here again and suggest you treat your tastebuds to their delicious cuisine!

Hey #Miami, for Sensational #Sushi and Creative #Ceviche check out @Suviche ! #Suviche #Wynwood Review by #SobeSavvy .com!

March 13, 2015SobeSavvy Leave a comment

Peru’s Asian population is almost 5% of their total. That is the highest percentage of all of Latin America. This has made their cuisine some of the most unique in the world. Latin and Asian influences show in their food and drinks.

SuViche is a restaurant that combines Japanese and Peruvian cuisine in a tasty yet creative way!

They have three locations : Brickell, Sobe or Wynwood. On Thursday I headed to the Wynwood location because out of all the locations, this one has a unique Pisco Bar! Our waiter, Nick explained how they take fresh herbs & spices and blend them with high quality pisco for what is called a Macerado. The mango flavored Macerado along with a lychee cocktail were great cocktails to watch the sunset on the beautiful outdoor patio. We arrived in time for their daily happy hour between 3-7. They offer 2 for 1 drinks and food specials.

We started with the Lomo Saltado Spring Rolls. It is described as, “All the things you love from our famous lomo saltado chopped and stuffed inside a crispy wonton skin with a side of homemade huancaina sauce” Next up were the Suvama Ceviche which is special blend suviche and aji amarillo sauces.

After the ceviche we ordered Sushi. La Cruda Verdad :Fresh salmon, mango and avocado topped with ceviche style marinated white fish. Yummy !

We also ordered the Perfection Roll. Made of Crispy shrimp, cream cheese and real crab salad, topped with avocado and tempura flakes, garnished with spicy mayo and eel sauce.It was delicious to the highest order. Our last order was a traditional specialty that was recommended for us to try. Called Arroz Chaufa, which is a
peruvian take on the well known cantonese-style fried rice, this dish is a no-brainer! We start with our homemade chaufa sauce that perfectly blends sweet and savory, then add our famous lomo sauce. Available with chicken breast, lomo (steak) or seafood. We ordered with steak which was tender, flavorful and prepared perfectly medium.

For dessert, the waiter told us of a couple of items that we had to try. After describing the salted caramel pie with oatmeal cookie crust aka crack pie, we decided to see how good it was. It blew us both away that we got a slice to go! Great ending to a great foodie experience.

Enjoy my photo slideshow of our delicious experience at Suviche!
https://instagram.com/p/0Joy0iiXJ2/

Sensational #Sushi and More! @KatsuyaAtSLS #katsuyabysbe #sbestyle Recap by #SobeSavvy !

November 30, 2014SobeSavvy Leave a comment

I recently wondered whether Katsuya, 2014’s Open Table Diner’s Choice award winner was deserving of such a coveted award. After dining there this past week, I wonder no more. It’s located within the uber fab SLS Hotel on Collins Avenue.
http://katsuyarestaurant.com/southbeach Upon entering the crisp Philip Starck designed dining room we were seated promptly. The dining room was attractive and very stylish but make no doubt about it, the food is the star here. One had to travel to Los Angeles or Las Vegas to enjoy Chef Katsuya’s unique take on Japanese cuisine prior to this Miami outpost opening. He is a master sushi chef but also much more. His menu takes the palette on a journey to the far east with worldwide influences.

We wanted to try everything but knew that was impossible. We were ecstatic when our waitress pointed out that they had a tasting menu. Dinner Omakase is the name of it. It promised, “The best of the best signature dishes! All of the items that Chef Katsuya is famous for in one tasting menu”. That was an understatement. Our experience began with a tasty serving of seared tuna With Japanese salsa baby heirloom tomatoes and was topped with a dollop of what I call wasabi crème fraische. Great start. Although they have a great cocktail and wine menu, we opted for a bottle of sake. Their sake menu is extensive.

Prior to our first course we ordered five oysters from the raw bar. Kumamoto oysters specifically. There are my favorite oyster of all time. I enjoyed just sitting at the raw bar and watching the sushi chefs at work. The oysters came on a ice platter that resembled a work of art. So fresh I could still taste the Pacific Ocean in them. From that point on, sampler plates came out in a synchronized ballet from the kitchen at perfect intervals. Chef Katsuya invented a dish called spicy tuna on cripy rice. Sounds simple right. It is simply divine. The kind of dish that one can only experience to appreciate. The crispy rice absorbs the spicy from the tuna in an amazing subtle way. Fresh sushi, creamy rock shrimp and their baked crab hand roll were just a few of the myriad of dishes that came out during the Omakase. Service was exemplary. Attentive without being instrusive is a skill few restaurants have mastered. Katsuya has it down packed. Our wonderful experience ended with their version of donuts which had a passion fruit glaze… H.E.A.V.E.N. Perfect ending to a perfect meal. No. The perfect experience. Making the experience a little more special is that it happened to be my husband’s birthday. The waitress brought out a beautiful version of their birthday “cake”. Great place to celebrate birthdays or any special event.

Enjoy the pics of our special experience below

Lovely’ Leslie Heigh / Freelance Photojournalist
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#SobeSavvy Presents #thePowerofHappyHour! Vol 3 @dorakusushi #southbeach #miami #happyhour #review#sushi #dorakusushi #theroadtohappiness

May 23, 2014SobeSavvy Leave a comment

Today, I was feeling happy hour-ish, but also Sushi-ish. Hmm I thought, where can I go with the pefect combination ? DORAKU on Lincoln Road of course ! http://dorakusushi.com/ Doraku has been a staple on “the road” for over a decade. It’s location on the far western end has endeared it to us locals. We yearn for a place on the beach where people don’t have cameras around their necks or have on neon T-Shirts. Their happy hour runs 7 days a week. That’s right..Saturdays & Sundays too between 5 and 7pm. They have a special happy hour food and drink menu that is priced perfectly for LOCALS, NOT TOURISTS. I sampled some delicious shrimp & basil tempura, salmon carpaccio and also the philly roll which has salmon and cream cheese. I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy their bok choy w/garlic turned out. All were uber fresh and uber good. Service was excellent. We ended our happy hour with some sake. Although a busy spot no one hurries you and there is no chaos. After work or play, this is the spot.Their dark yet fun asian inspired interior decor went well with the cuisine. Buddha heads abound everywhere. Besides having a formal restaurant table area, they also have a outstanding sushi bar in the rear of the restaurant where you can witness their top notch sushi masters create some creative dishes. As we sipped on our delicious glasses of white Sangria and a watermelon lychee martini cocktail we spoke with one of their managers named JC, who told us of their new venture in the extension of Dadeland mall. It’s called Aoki Teppanyaki. http://www.simon.com/mall/dadeland-mall/stores/aoki-teppanyaki I will be sure to check it out. If I were you, I would check out Doraku happy hour. Now.