Sushi Kushi Imai

More sushi posts? I guess I've been on a sushi kick recently, or have been just really lazy about getting around to posting about sushi joints. Seriously though, if someone told me I had to choose one food type to have for the rest of my life - I think I would choose sushi (before dying of sweet sweet mercury overdose.) Sushi Kushi Imai was within walking distance of my former company (weird to say that, I got laid off recently so it is now my "former" company instead of my "current place of employment"...but I digress), so we would frequent there because of their decent sushi and lunch specials.

The place is usually always hopping with people during lunch, and sometimes the service can get a little slow (especially when the check is supposed to come.) But it didn't deter me too much, again, their specials were hard to beat.

Every lunch special comes with miso soup, every time I went there it was always too salty but I always gulped it down without too much complaint.

A bowl of rice is set down before actually getting your combo plate, for some reason. I am always tempted, at this point, to start eating the rice out of hunger. But I do my best to hold myself back because I know what's coming...

...the combo lunch. My choice that day was kushi and sushi, just like the name of the restaurant, conveniently. The kushi (skewers) are chef's choice, that day was fish, okra and chicken. Pretty tasty, especially if you dip it in a special kushi sauce they have - a mayo based sauce. For the sushi, I got spicy tuna roll. Solid showing of spicy tuna. A mixed green salad comes with the lunch, as does some steamed veggies in ponzu sauce. It's a lot of food, and there's plenty of choices to tailor it to your liking - there's teriyaki of all kinds, handrolls, sashimi, tempura - you choose 2 for the lunch combination.

On another visit to Sushi Kushi, Stacey got the salmon bowl - the special of the month. It was coho salmon sashimi from Alaska, atop sushi rice. They were quite generous with the salmon sashimi so that was much appreciated, I'm sure.


This is a thing of beauty to look upon - this is the chirashi set, which also comes with the salad and miso soup. Generous cuts of sashimi, including tuna, salmon, albacore, a mound of spicy tuna, whitefish - all attractively displayed in a box, the bottom filled with sushi rice. This is a SERIOUS amount of fish, and the quality is pretty good too (I mean, yeah it's not like, Sushi Sasabune or anything, but for $11.80 for all this fish,it's way worth it!) Looking at it again makes me want to go tomorrow...

I've never gone for dinner, so I can't vouch for the prices then, but there's a happy hour from 5:30 pm to 7:30pm. Sounds good to me...!

Sushi Kushi Imai
8300 Wilshire Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
tel: 323.655.2253
http://www.sushiandkushiimai.com/