Aburiya Toranoko (Los Angeles, CA)

Aburiya Toranoko
243 S. San Pedro St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Dining date: 2/11/11

I dropped by Aburiya Toranoko on a spur-of-the-moment idea. My friend and I were wondering where to eat and she asked, “was there anything around here you wanted to try?” A lightbulb went off as I thought of Michael Cardenas’ new Japanese spot. But it was Friday night at 6:20 – surely they would be packed and unable to accommodate us. Upon calling the restaurant, we were told we could get a table…if we got there at 6:30. Luckily, I live 5 minutes away.

Aburiya Toranoko is next door to Lazy Ox Canteen, another of Cardenas’ concepts. It’s got a similar “hip” vibe to Lazy Ox, but the food is very different – izakaya-based traditional Japanese. The menu is separated into different sections: vegetable, seafood, beef/pork/poultry, sumiyaki, oden, rice/noodle/soup, and sushi. My friend’s vegetarian, so we were heavy on the first category.

“Takana” croquette with mashed potato and mustard leaf

The interior was a little cold, which was disappointing. However, the potato was nice and fluffy, and I enjoyed the crispy breaded exterior.

Cha-mame

The server explained this as a sort of gourmet edamame. I thought to myself, “they’re just charging more for edamame.” However, these were pretty good as far as edamame go, with a noticeable hearty soybean flavor.

Asparagus sumiyaki

The asparagus was perfectly cooked, leaving it tender with a really nice smoky flavor.

Yanagita Seafarms uni goma tofu

Jonathan Gold recently raved about this dish. Uni and tofu? Sure, why not? The tofu was very rich, almost like peanut butter, with a hint of toasted sesame. The uni added a bright, fresh sea flavor which went really well with the tofu, while dark soy completed the bite.

Kinoko zosui porridge of rice and egg

Favorite dish of the night. I might come back here just to have a full bowl of this. I’m not totally sure what all the ingredients were, but the rice porridge had strong earthy tones from mushrooms and a dashi-like umami feel to it. I liked that the rice wasn’t broken down too much; it still had just a little bit of bite to them. Yum!

Oshitashi spinach and shimeji mushroom

I don’t think there was too much to this dish. The spinach and mushrooms were both okay, and the bonito didn’t really add too much to it. Not my cup of tea.

Jidori fried chicken

I find myself always ordering chicken karaage when it’s offered. What can I say – I love fried chicken. I thought this was a well executed version, but not really as flavorful as I had imagined. I was maybe looking for some type of sauce because I found myself getting tired of it.

Avocado and cucumber roll

As advertised.

There were definitely some hits and some misses. The menu is extensive and I only had a chance to try a few select dishes, so I owe it to myself to make a return trip to try more of what the restaurant has to offer. Or, I might come back and end up having a whole bowl of that porridge to myself!