Zo not omakase

Sushi Zo, sushi-nazism at its finest.

"Chef Keizo say no soy sauce."

"Chef Keizo say you can put soy sauce now."

"Chef Keizo say no photos. Or you will get kicked out."

And these are the orders that are commanded of us from Keizo's army while each dish is placed in front of us. As I sheepishly stuff my camera back into my bag, I think to myself: Aren't I a patron? Sure as hell doesn't feel like it. But I had it coming. Clearly printed in bold ink, on the menu in font 32, lists Keizo's "10 Commandments" of sushi doctrine. Need I say more?

Even with these strict rules, Sushi Zo has its share of die hard fans. Many go as far as to claim that Zo lies next in line to Urasawa! And truth be told, it is probably one of the finer, if not the finest sushi joints I've experienced. Not only are the morsels of fish fresh, but fresh to a point where I even forget that I'm eating expired fish. This may be an oxymoron, but I didn't note the slightest fishy-ness. Keizo has a dizzying array of sushi; some specials are imported from Japan. So you will be able get your hands on exotic, bite-sized pieces of Baby Tuna - tuna in its adolescent stage, thus "baby", creamier than its older counterparts, and very good -

and maybe some Skipjack Tuna which is also a rare but delicious find.

Even the Spanish Mackerel, which I usually shy away from because of its intimidating glistening skin, is devoid of fishy-ness and lies in harmony with the ponzu sauce and ginger.

Salmon with pickled radish

Normally a mundane sushi on its own, but paired with Keizo's homemade soy sauce and a sliver of pickled radish, seem to perk it up a bit.

The damage? 24 whopping pieces per person! The only gripe I have is the non-appearance of uni and salmon roe. Which makes me wonder, has our hunger for sea urchin finally drove them to the brink of extinction? Twice I've entered Nijiya Supermarket with disapoinment. No uni. Even Kiriko on Sawtelle did not carry uni that night. Once again, we've inadvertently finished off a specie.

 But there's a caveat to all this gushing. Fridays and Saturdays are omakase only. Which is fine by me. I've no qualms with omakase, it's the lazy man's way of enjoying sushi in gastronomic porportions. Although I do believe that omakase should be creative, seasonal, and different from the regular menu. The whole point of omakase meaning "entrust" should be a journey of the unexpected, at least I wholeheartedly believe so. Sushi Zo fails in this aspect. Each small piece of sushi is straight from the sushi checklist without deviation, save a few in the opening act:

What a peculiar presentation! Although the taste is anything but intriguing. Two baby squids with a dallop of miso dressing. Let your imaginations run wild.

The closest thing to uni tonight: ika (squid) noodles infused with uni.

So is this a true omakase? Keizo's creativity is somewhat limited to the first few offerings, then followed with everything off the sushi menu. There is no contest to the quality of the seafood and I have no objection to his traditional-Edo style method. I've even grown to love the warm rice that sometimes falls apart in the soy sauce. But to install the omakase only decree is a bit hard to stomach, even if it is only on weekends. Since the dishes are strictly from the menu, I would prefer the liberty of ordering my favorites and leave off the likes of salmon and such. Grumbling aside, I will be back for the iron-fisted sushi policy, being the masochist that I am. But on weekdays, undoubtedly.

Sushi Zo

9824 National Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90034-2713 -

(310) 842-3977