I had LUNCH with Sparky today at Nozawa on Ventura. One thing I love about this place is how fresh their fish is- you can tell because of the texture, it's almost too soft. Also their nori is nearly black instead of the usual deep dark green.

We sat at the bar and Sparky ordered a small bowl of rice as a side and we both picked sashimi as it made it's rounds on the tiny boats.

They have excellent Temaki and Ebi, but I noticed a considerable lack of excellence with their Unagi (my favorite- and thus a great disappointment)- much too bland and almost overwhelmed in taste by the nori. The Kazunoko, Saba, Tamago and Ika (possibly the toughest to prepare) were pretty exceptional though- which makes this place well approved; but the quality of their Unagi forces me to consider whether to make a second visit for the sashimi alone.

I had green tea while Sparky downed two bottles of Kirin.