Months ago, we asked readers to submit their worst dining experiences of the past year. In this space, we run those complaints, no matter how cranky. Have one of your own? Send it this way.
From: [an eater]
Date: Wednesday, August 12 2009
To: Shitshow Week complaints dept.
Subject: Rushed Out at Sasabune
——
A friend and I decided to stop in for dinner at L.A. transplant Sushi Sasabune a few months ago. We did the omakase, the only option, expecting to have a pretty drawn out, maybe even Zen-like Japanese experience. What we ended up getting was a 40-minute shitshow: courses were cleared at an astonishing speed, with our less than delightful waiter urging us to keep things moving throughout the ordeal (at one point, I distinctly remember him chiding me when I hadn't finished a piece of nigiri: "I don't want to see that.")
This might have been okay if the food had been spectacular, but it wasn't. The Brunz describes the approach to sushi here as falling somewhere between the creativity of Gari and the purism of Yasuda, which sounds awfully nice. But what the place ends up turning out is middling; one more piece of fish with the really warm rice and I'm throwing the shojirushi at the sushi chef's face.
You'd think that an omakase-only place with the reputation (and prices) of Sasabune's would have things figured out. Instead, they take advantage of their OP and churn out the meal without any concern for the diner or the experience they're creating.
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