Nozomi: My New Favorite Sushi Restaurant

Thanks to Jean, five of us had a fabulous lunch and afternoon in La Jolla recently.  Jean had been promising me for months to find a good Korean restaurant for us to try.  She has some Korean friends through her church that were going to tell her the best Koreans eateries in town.  Unfortunately her friends are not crazy about any of the Korean restaurants, but they did turn her on to a Japanese restaurant that I loved.  It's called Nozomi, it's on Regents Park Row in La Jolla, and it is fantastic.

Actually, Nozomi is owned by a Korean entrepreneur, Duk Moo Han.  Duk began his career selling Korean food out of a push cart, but through years of hard work was able to open a restaurant.  He now has two branches of Nozomi, and life is good for this man.  That's because his restaurants are so good.  We went for lunch on a Wednesday at noon, and the place was packed.  Lots of businessmen and women, shoppers, and lots of Asians.  That's always a good sign.  The menu is too extensive to tell you everything they have, but here are some of the highlights.  My favorite dish was Nozomi's famous Chirashi Salad.  It's got greens, then is topped with several different types of raw fish, like salmon, tuna and octopus and orange roe eggs.  Mix it all together, add the chirachi sauce (or a ginger dressing if you don't like spicy) and you've got yourself a feast.  We ordered the original size, and five of us shared it.  We ordered several rolls, like caterpillar roll, soft shell crab roll, and California roll with salmon and tuna on top.  The rolls were good and fresh.  Nozomi is also known for a green noodle soup which Jean said was just ok, so we decided not to order it.  Also on their menu are sushi boats (so much fun to eat), sashimi combos, curry dishes, tempura, teriyaki bowls, and several rice bowls and even a few Korean dishes.  Please try this restaurant for lunch one day while shopping at Westfield Plaza in UTC.

Lunch was not the end of this fun filled day.  Carole and Jean suggested that we go over to the UTC shopping center and visit the store Pirch.  This was a first for me.  I had never heard of it before, but this first visit will not be my last.  It's a kitchen appliance and design store, a bath design and appliance store, and much more.  When you walk in, you see a big bar with a huge espresso machine.  Walk up and order any of a dozen different coffee, tea and flavored water drinks free, to enjoy while you shop.  I had the best cup of coffee I've ever had.  Then, browse.  We looked at kitchens, ovens, smokers, pizza ovens and super expensive ranges.  Pirch also has cooking demos daily, some requiring reservations, others are on a drop in basis.  One of the chefs was getting ready to do a smoked turkey, in a beautiful outdoor smoker/barbeque.  I didn't ask the price of anything.  I didn't want to be depressed by the fact that most of the things in this store are for the very rich.  However, don't let that deter you.  They treat everyone like a king or queen, and you'll feel great just browsing there.

Thanks, Jean, for planning such a fabulous day.  Thanks to Stephanie, Debbie and Carole for joining us and reminding me of how many great friends I have made since moving here.