Lots of Japanese restaurants in America are owned and operated not by Japanese but by Koreans and Chinese. As long as they are run well, that is not a problem. Those handled by the Koreans naturally have a Korean twist to it: the food is a tad bit sweeter than the traditional Japanese taste, and the offerings included some menu entree that cannot be found in regular Japanese restaurant. The Korean-owned, in my experience, tends to be generous with their "on-the-house" items or freebies.
That brings me to Sushisaurus, a no-nonsense Japanese establishment on Long Beach's Second Street, the main drag lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants. I never check out who owns the joint, but it seems to be operated by Japanese sushi chefs and waitresses. What the restaurant lacked in interior decoration is made up in the freshness of the fish and inventiveness of the entree. On my visits to Long Beach, I never fail to visit this restaurant since I was introduced to it by a local friend.
There are some favorites of mine: Spicy Tuna tartar, which is a dish of chopped tuna sashimi mixed with chili sauce and surrounded with tempura crumbs. The idea is to mix the tuna and the crumbs to produce a crunchy effect on one's palate. Another favorite is Sawagani, the pan fried miniature crabs, where you eat the entire crab and its shells (the shell is tougher than a soft-shell crab's shell, but nevertheless, all edible). The cut is generous and to me, the fish always taste fresh, an important factor for my frequent visits.
I reside in Tokyo, but when visiting southern California, I always look forward to eating at Sushisaurus with the same friend who had recommended it to me. He took me to two other new sushi restaurants, one operated by art students from Thailand (not really that fresh; be warned!), and another owned and operated by a Korean (also on Second Street) but neither of them matched the simplicity and the taste of Sushisaurus.
