simple sushi lunch - furusato japanese restaurant

you don’t go to little tokyo for korean, and you certainly wouldn’t go to koreatown for sushi, but when you’re already in k-town doing things that only korean girls and their mothers would do to their faces *raising eyebrows*, you go to furusato for a sushi lunch.

furusato has gone through a bit of a makeover since last i was there, and i swear they must have sold half the real estate to what is now a korean restaurant next door with a $4.99 lunch special. furusato used to be brighter inside, with light wood furniture in the front dining room, and an open sushi bar toward the back. it wasn’t quite “atmosphere” like the trendy fendi sushi bars, but a nice, clean, everyday restauarant that worked for parents. now it’s gone a bit hipper, a bit younger, a bit more street japanese, as i would call it. it’s darker, and feels smaller, cozier. patrons can dine and dish in semi-private booths that are enclosed by jet black wooden slats on either side and long wooden beams across the top. small colored lights are strung from black wooden pole to black wooden pole, and a neon-lit sign board announces the lunch special for the day in hot pink and lime green, “hae-dup bahp” (sashimi rice bowl). the black interior decor accented with bright colors now seems to better match the bold black and red signage on the exterior.

at 12:30, we have to wait, as furusato seems a popular place for groups of power lunch-buddies who have walked a few blocks from their local offices. we sit down in a booth, and as i fold my usual chopstick wrapper origami stand, we start with a few tiny bahnchan, for though this is a japanese restaurant and sushi bar, still we are in k-town. the kimchee’s a little over-ripe, begging to be made into jji-gae, but the sook-joo namul (mung bean sprouts) and oi jee (pickled cucumber) are refreshing and light. “hurry up and finish so we can ask for more” is what my mom says to me. koreans, i swear.

we absentmindedly eat a ginger dressed salad of iceberg and carrots, while reviewing the menu. it’s easy and familiar, though a few of the fancier dishes that i had seen before the restaurant’s makeover are gone. we order one salmon teriyaki combination and one udon combination, then sip a simple, light white miso soup.

the bento combination is clearly an oft-ordered item, as the bento box is scratched and worn from repeated spins through the dishwasher. it’s not the usual two-by-three compartments, but two separate three-partition boxes that the server places together like legos on the table. it’s a big lunch for one person: three pert little pieces of california roll, and one big circle of what the japanese call futomaki, but koreans call gim-bahp, a fairly large piece of salmon glossed with teriyaki sauce, three slices each of maguro (tuna) and hirame (whitefish) sashimi, and tempura.

on a dry, windy, and unseasonably chill l.a. day, nothing could have been more perfect than the steaming hot broth of the udon. i left most of the noodles in the bowl (ugh, carbs, i know), and masochistically gulped down the broth, burning not only my tongue and the roof of my mouth, but my insides all the way down. it hurt so good. the udon has oh-deng (fishcakes) which i was happy to trade for some sashimi with mom. oh-deng is a bit of an acquired taste, i think. like the bento combo, the udon comes with three pieces of sushi: sake, maguro, and hirame. in a maneuver that would be grounds for arrest by the sushi police, i peel the fish off the rice. a miniature cold compress for my now udon-broth-burnt tongue.

green tea ice cream comes with the lunch specials. it’s rock-solid, and stuck-frozen to the birthday party colored plastic bowl. the restaurant must have scooped the ice cream the night before and placed them pre-into a sub-zero freezer for quick service during lunch. with only a miniature disposable spoon that didn't look like it wold stand up to the frozen mass, we had to leave the ice cream untouched for the clean up crew.

lunch was good, not great, though a tiny bit expensive for about $15 per person. i wouldn't drive to koreatown for it, but if i'm already there near western and wilshire, and need some sushi, furusato will do.

furusato japanese restaurant
3881 wilshire blvd.
los angeles, ca 90010
213.380.0400