September 15, 2011

Crazy Rock'N Sushi

This place
YUM

Wow, I just tried a wonderful little easy to miss gem that has been down the street from me for ages and I never took a second glance at until this week. Tucked away in the West Hollywood Gateway shopping center Crazy Rock'N Sushi is what seems to be your typical sushi joint. It is, except instead of skipping breakfast and lunch so that you can afford decent sushi for dinner you don't have to save for this place, you can even treat your friends!

Crazy Rock'N Sushi's happy hour lasts all day and includes 50% off their sushi (nigiri) and house rolls. While my favorite of theirs, the West Hollywood Roll, is not included in this discount, plenty of other delicious treats, such as your standard rolls, spicy rolls, and the super yummy Big Roll are. With prices at $2.99-$4.95 a house roll you can afford you try new things and still get a specialty item at full price that you know you love.

The place stays pretty packed, there was a line out the door on the weeknight I stopped by. I gave the young lady at the front my checklist and asked when it would be ready (It was takeout night so I was simply picking up something convenient to my other errands) and was told to return in 20-30 minutes. That wait time might deter some people, but let me tell you, it's worth it. Given the fact that they are located next to a Target, a Best Buy and a Starbucks anyone can find something to keep themselves busy while they wait. When I got home with the food and we all sat around filling our plates with our favorites we quickly realized we had WAY too much for us to finish. With such low prices we might have gotten a little too excited and slightly over-ordered. Thankfully I had a teenage niece and her friend who were coming by that night and were thrilled to have a meal waiting for them. I have to say, on top of the convenience and price, the rolls were delicious.

I've bought sushi before that I knew wasn't the freshest just upon looking at it. You know the kind if you've been served it. You immediately wonder if eating this might kill you, then quickly decide that maybe you really aren't that hungry after all. I've also had sushi that tasted like cold, wet nothing. The kind were you can't tell the tuna from the salmon. Everything just kind of tastes like nothing more than rice, and the soy sauce and wasabi you add yourself. Thankfully those experiences were not repeated. The fish here was fresh, flavorful and beautiful. I could taste everything in perfect balance, from the sweet tamago in the Big Roll to the delicate avocado in the Mexican Roll.

I cannot sing their praises enough, Crazy Rock'N Sushi really does rock. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. And hey, if you totally disagree with me and hate it, they've also got a pretty impressive saki lineup to drown out your obvious bad taste and make the anger go away.