The sushi handroll, the Japanese equivalent of the hot dog, is made, in numerous restaurants, right in front of diners. You can watch as a sheet of dried seaweed is laid flat, then vinegared sushi rice is layered onto the nori and flattened (sort of like a smash burger). Seafood of sundry sorts are spread over the rice, along with various vegetables and condiments. Or not. Then, it’s ceremoniously rolled, and handed to you to eat — usually in a ravenous bite or two.
The handroll is a performative exercise in taste and texture. Most sushi is fun; handrolls approach the pleasure of biting into a candy bar.
The Japanese word for handrolls is “temaki.” It’s portable. It tastes as good on the go, as it does sitting at a sushi bar. It’s relatively simple to make, and even more simple to eat. Depending on what’s in it, it can be messy. And it gives a lot of satisfaction for not a lot of money.
Temaki is a fun food. And as complex as the ingredients in the handrolls at Uoichiba Temaki may be, they never lose that edge of the pleasure that comes from culinary simplicity.
But in this case, there’s a complication that sets the Uoichiba temaki apart from the crowd. For this is a handroll bar inside a seafood mart — The Joint on Ventura Boulevard — that’s famed for its dry-aged fish. About which some words of explanation are called for.
Dry-aged seafood is the aquatic version of dry-aged beef. As with steaks, the fish is stored in large glass-fronted refrigerated cases, in which whole gutted fish hang in a carefully curated, cool, dry space, where the fishy enzymes break down the muscle tissue, tenderizing the flesh and intensifying the flavor.
This is a triumph of the hard-to-define flavor called umami, with a hint (to some) of blue cheese, or dry-aged nuts. To me, the fish just tastes richer and deeper — but not more fishy. The aroma of dry-aging fish is not bothersome at all. It’s just good.
The Joint is the creation of master fishmonger Liwei Liao, who expanded to his first Uoichiba Temaki in the Citizen Public Market in Culver City. With the Sherman Oaks branch, he opened a sequel in his home base, where window shopping in the various glass cases is a pescatarian’s dream come true.
The temaki bar is a simple affair, just 10 seats with a front-row view of the process in action. The handrolls are served to you one at a time, as they’re made — the message being that you should eat slowly, and savor every morsel. They make it easy; there are four OG Handroll Sets. (OG is hipster for “original” … shortened from “original gangster.”)
The Mini has three rolls (lean tuna, steelhead salmon and prawn), the Small has four rolls (same as the Mini but with fatty tuna as well), the Medium is five rolls (add whitefish), and the Xtra Medium is six rolls (the above five with a “special” added, maybe something like crunchy crab, or marinated chu toro).
If you want to do it yourself, there are six à la carte hand rolls, plus three “baller” handrolls; “baller” translates as “high roller.” The à la cartes include a remarkable Toasted Lox Bagel handroll — a lox schmear, hot smoked salmon, capers, wasabi, scallion, pickled onions.
There’s a Spicy Tuna, too, made with sweet Kewpie mayonnaise. And a Slammin’ Salmon with “torched” crab and salmon, spicy eel sauce, pickles and rice crackers. The baller rolls run to Santa Barbara uni, fatty Wagyu and Astrea caviar. High-end rolls made with high-end ingredients.
Tasting the dry-aged fish can be challenging in some of the rolls, because they’re surrounded with so many other flavors. But you’ve definitely got to pause mid-bite, stop and think — what am I tasting? What am I really tasting? Mindfulness, as ever, increases your pleasure.
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In case you need, there are a few sides: bone stock miso soup, edamame with chili butter, seaweed salad with shrimp and octopus.
Afterwards, there’s the whole market menu, very extensive, with five fresh fish (by the pound), about 20 dry-aged fish, six roe/caviar/uni options, seven shellfish, six smoked fish. Plus, half a dozen dry-aged beef options. There’s a whitefish dip that’s a true baller. The lox spread is pretty great, too.
And, as an add-on, you can get any fish on the menu “miso beer marinated” — and “ready to roast.” Or turn into sushi handrolls. The Joint also sells soy paper, nori seaweed and a sushi rolling mat. A wasabi grinder and a shucking knife, too. They even have a to-go “Hamachi’s Choice” frozen bag of dog food. For very OG baller dogs.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
Uoichiba Temaki
- Rating: 3 stars
- Address: Inside Joint Seafood, 13722 Venture Blvd., Sherman Oaks
- Information: 818-510-0626; www.jointseafood.com/uoichibahandrollbar
- Cuisine: Inside what’s probably the best dry-aged seafood market in town, this ultra casual, 10-seat sushi handroll counter is a wonder and a joy — the best fish, turned into easy-to-eat handrolls right in front of you. Lots of great seafood to take home as well.
- When: Lunch and dinner, Wednesday through Sunday
- Details: Beer and sake; no reservations
- Prices: About $35 per person
- On the menu: 8 Soups & Sides ($4-$8), 7 A La Carte Handrolls ($6-$9), 3 “Baller” Handrolls ($20-$48), 4 Handroll Sets ($18-$32), 1 12-piece Superset ($78), 2 Desserts ($5)
- Credit cards: MC, V
- What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)