Hamada of Japan, Las Vegas

Forget Todai's. If the only reason why you go eat at those buffet sushi places is to kill the sushi, then go to Hamada instead. This place served up both sushi and rolls (no Sashimi unfortunately) and it was FRESH fish.

I've only tried one other restaurant that does the "all-you-can-eat to order," and that place CLEARLY packed on the rice so you'd get full faster. Plus, they made that lousy rule where if you have left over rice they'll charge you extra bucks. Whatever. Hamada of Japan also said if we don't finish our sushi they'd charge us as well, but at least they didn't pack on the rice!

Albeit they sorta messed up our order multiple times (like they gave us 8 albacore instead of 4 albacore, 4 yellowtail) it's not like it stopped you from ordering the yellowtail that was missing from your original order. Story- so BF really loves salmon. After our first sushi and roll plates, we order a second round of salmon- 4 orders (8 pieces) of salmon and some other variety of sushi. only 2 orders of salmon came out and we're all confused. It's not like they had a policy against how much you could order per order. Anyways, I think our waitress just thought that we couldn't finish it, so she cut our salmon order in half. No problemo..we ordered salmon 3 more times. Do not underestimate us.

Now the only draw to eating here is that the selection IS rather small. And for people with a sweet tooth, it's unfortunate they don't include ANY type of dessert in your buffet. It's a shame they didn't offer any green tea ice cream. I've sorta learned to expect it after eating loads of sushi. B+/A- for all-you-can-eat sushi.

K-Zo, Downtown Culver City

Ok, I'm not going to lie- Ever since I ate at Sushi Zo, I'm such a sushi snob. Unfortunately that means it's increasingly difficult to find an enjoyable sushi restaurant unless there's something unique that sets it apart (i.e., sparkling sake or something of the sort.)

Anyways, K-Zo. Located nearby, which is always a plus, and free parking. Again, a plus. Sushi wise, it was about average. I think I enjoyed their cooked dishes a bit more. We tried the steak, which was delicious, popcorn shrimp and popcorn chicken (Fried = Yum). And also the softshell crab. I mean you can't really mess-up fried food, but hey, if it tastes good than that's always additional brownie points.

They also had some interesting drinks. The best I saw, was the self-squeeze grapefruit soju drink. If you're willing to put a little work into it, it's worth it. Fresh grapefruit in soju is pretty tasty, and now you know it's fresh.

Overall, I'd probably rate it a B-. Cute decor, cute drink ideas, but if you're really looking for some good sushi, try Sushi Zo instead.

Sushi Zo, Los Angeles, CA

I've passed this place so many times, and I never think to eat there. First of all, if you know anything about my area, asian food does NOT abound. Secondly, how much should I really trust a sushi restaurant that's neighboring a Mexican Taco Plus and shares a shopping center with Papa Johns and Vons. How snooty am I being?

Sushi Zo. So I don't really have words to describe it, except to say it's the best sushi I've ever tasted. Each piece is served alone (one piece per place per person), and can be as crazy as uni & noodles to something as ordinary as salmon. But what really blows my mind is how fresh the fish is. They must've JUST killed each fish as they were serving it because there was not even a hint of age in anything that we ate.

Another interesting twist in dining- Omakase-style (chef just busts out whatever he feels like). they tell you how to eat the fish. And for those of you who hate taking direction on your foods..trust me it's HELLSA worth it this time. I think I used soy sauce maybe twice through the entire meal. Most of the fish was so fresh or so perfectly matched with another flavor (lemon, ponzu, pepper, etc.) that there was no need to use soy sauce. Lastly, they top off the evening with THE MOST AMAZING blue crab roll I've ever tasted. Seriously. THE BEST. (MAN I wish I sucked up the embarrassment and took pictures. Now I have reason to buy a new camera)

one con- Now, I was fortunate enough to go for business, but I hear that it can be quite pricey, especially if you make it full circle around the menu of fish.

valuable learnings (as we call them at work!)- Did you know the correct way to eat sushi is fish side down (rice side up) so that you get the full flavor of the fish on your tongue? BRILLIANT.