Inventive and Most Excellent.
Japanese small plates restaurant on Sawtelle, moderately priced. According to Jonathan Gold's mention of the restaurant, some of my favorite dishes were cliches brought up from the 80's. But that doesn't stop me from ordering the shrimp ravioli in shiitake mushroom sauce every time I go. I had my #2 Dessert Of All Time here, a beautiful tiramisu in a cup with a patina of misty mocha powder on top that essentially fills your esophagus and nasal passages with delicious chocolate on every bite. Choking on chocolate... is not so bad of a way to go. UNFORTUNATELY, every single time i've gone back, it hasn't been on the menu. I asked the waiter on my fourth return visit, and he said it was an extremely rare occasion that hasn't been repeated again. I guess that fits the Japanese aesthetic of perpetually leaving you wanting more.