izakaya personal ads - musha

musha
424 wilshire blvd.
santa monica, ca 90401
310.575.6330

Despite the torrential rain, we decided to go out for dinner, and even with many a food allergy, a whole spectrum of diets, and particular preferences, I made a reservation that was a bit daring for our group: Musha - a tiny japanese (izakaya, to be exact) place on wilshire that before last night, I completely ignored on my countless drives over to Santa Monica.

we had to wait a bit, even with a reservation. the place truly is tiny, with only one table large enough for our very wet group of eight. a troop of shiny pink-faced japanese girls were still twittering away over their sake at the table, though it was apparent that the food had been finished and cleared away long before.

thank goodness for the little delay, else i would never have wandered to the back of the restaurant to use the restroom. i discover that for next time, i should reserve one of the curtained off rooms hidden back there, where patrons remove their shoes at the door and sit on the floor inside! eating sexy.

and of course, i discovered the gem of the evening in the restroom - the head waiter at musha, hideo, is searching for a female friend. forget internet dating. just post a cute little sign in the ladies restroom!

i love almost everything we ordered, though i wish we could have been a little more adventurous:

• tofu cheese - soft cheeses blended with tofu, served with crackers, bread and honey
• green bean salad - green beans and baby greens tossed with a sesame dressing, served in a deep-fried eggroll skin bowl
• negitoro - green onion (negi) and toro sashimi (tuna belly) served with nori
• nasukani - eggplant (nasu) stuffed with crab (kani)
• lobster roll - lobster and avocado rolled in soy paper
• sake sashimi - sake (salmon) sashimi
• ribeye - grill yourself at the table on a tiny charcoal grill
• musha fried chicken - similar to chicken katsu, but with tempura batter instead of panko
• shrimp tempura - unusual tempura of small shrimp rather than the large "prawns"

rating out of 5: food = 4, experience = 4, overall = 4
i'll definitely go back.