In an effort to make the time pass more quickly until my beloved husband returns from a business trip to Asia, I spent the weekend in Los Angeles with my little sister. Even though I attended U.C.L.A. I don’t know the city very well at all. I didn’t have a car while I was a student due to super-high parking fees and scarcity of street parking. It worked out fine at the time since everything a 20-year-old needs is on campus - pizza, Taco Bell, and endlessly-refilled sodas.

But, now I’m older, car-equipped, and an enthusiastic new food blogger. There’s no way I’d be satisfied with dorm food today. I ate like a queen this weekend and loved every calorie of it!

First stop – Matsuhisa. As you may have gathered, Nobu Matsuhisa is my favorite chef in the whole world. I’ve been to the Nobu in Las Vegas 5-6 times and the Nobu in Tokyo once and each evening has been one of the happiest food days of my life. This past Friday night, I finally got to experience the other half of my favorite chef’s culinary offerings to the world – Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills.

I always assumed that since the name was different, the menu would be a change from what I’m used to at Nobu. However, the choices were remarkably similar. I can’t decide whether that’s good or bad. On the one hand, I got to eat my favorite dishes. While on the other hand, I was looking forward to some new flavors and presentations that I haven’t experienced before.

Since my sister had to work that night – we missed you, Amy! – my friend Jaime and I stopped by the restaurant around 9 p.m. without reservations. We were the last people seated for the night, but the maitres d’ made us happy and comfortable as we waited, bringing us glasses of Pinot Noir.

Once inside, we ordered a bottle of mango sake which came in a beautiful serving pitcher with a little nook holding ice that kept our beverage cold without watering it down. We poured mango sake for each other into little 1-ounce sipping glasses. I’d never had fruity sake before, but it was delicious and the perfect accompaniment to some of the citrus-y flavors that Nobu highlights on his menu.

Jaime was gracious enough to let me choose most of our order, and I basically picked my normal Nobu faves. Here’s what we got:

• Sashimi Salad – Perfect tuna sashimi surrounds a mound of leafy mixed greens with just the right amount of tangy dressing

• Kobe Tataki Sashimi – I don’t think I’ve eaten anything tastier than Kobe Beef Sashimi. I wish everyone in the world could enjoy the pleasure of these tender-as-butter little cubes of heaven. Slightly seared, pink and juicy… see what heaven looks like:

• Shiitake Mushroom Tempura – Two pieces of crispy mushroom with a traditional tempura dipping sauce.

• Yellow Tail Jalapeno Sashimi – One of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, with good reason. Just the right amount of spicy kick with a tangy drizzling of sauce.

• Tuna Tataki with Cilantro Dressing – A mildly flavored, bright green dressing complements the tender textures of tuna. Next time, I’ll have to remember that this dish is pretty similar to the Sashimi Salad, so I don’t need to order both. That frees me up to try something new!

• Bento Box Dessert – An exquisitely rich dark chocolate treat served in a deep red and black bento box. Once the lid is removed, you just have to dig right into the piping hot cake and vanilla ice cream. The best!

The Damage: It was $205 for 2 people, including tax and tip. That included 2 glasses of Pinot Noir and the Mango Sake for 2 and all of the dishes mentioned.

I’m a San Diego girl, through-and-through. While I attended U.C.L.A. I never really understood how people could live in Los Angeles after college. But after the amazing culinary adventures I enjoyed this weekend in La-La-Land, my heart is warmed to this huge city whose restaurants almost certainly dwarf what’s available in San Diego. So, I’m glad I can visit my sister and enjoy the world-class restaurants the city offers.

My other big meals were at Luna Park and Doughboy’s. I’ll fill you in on those delicious experiences throughout the week.

I hope you ate well this weekend, too! Have a great week!

Matsuhisa

129 N. La Cienega
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310-659-9639

P.S. The path to the restrooms runs through the hectic kitchen rooms. Since Robert DeNiro is an investor in Nobu’s restaurants, the halls are lined with DeNiro’s movie posters.