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Zip Fusion Sushi In a jumble of odd-angled streets South of the burgeoning downtown arts District, this place would be a hidden gem if word of mouth hadn't spread. Save for a few souls at the sushi bar, the restaurant is usually empty but there's plenty of buzz on the covered patio out back. Zip's kitchen excels at sushi concoctions that would make a traditionalist wince: A salad of diced tuna, yellowtail, tomatoes, and crunchy roe in a spicy dressing served over a California Roll seems like a Hawaiian festival platter. But admirers dig right in. One of the beautifully composed entrees is a seaweed and green mango salad arranged like an artists palette around a mound of golden roe and vegetables cut paper thin. Like many of the dishes on the menu, it's large enough for sharing. open Monday through Wednesday, 11:30 to 2:30 and 5 to 10; Thursday through Saturday, 11:30 to 2:30 and 5 to 11:30. 744 E. 3rd St., 213-680-3770 or www.zipfusion.com. ZIP_IT Arts District Eatery No one wants to eat at Zip Fusion. Everyone wants to binge. The Year-old restraunt has already made a name for itself by itself by serving some of the best sushi Downtown. RESTRUANT REVIEW Additionally, its entrees are under $16, the portion are heaping, the outdoor garden is a bougainvillia paradise and parking's a breeze. All of which helps explain restraunt is drawing a wide variety of customers. On a recent friday night there were a trucker-hatted, t-shirt clad quartet, an asian family, and a young professional set, among others. Zip means "home" in korean, the native language of owner Jason Ha. The restraunt recently expanded its menu, adding 11 dishes that are reminiscent of, if not directly transplanted from, Ha's homeland. One of the standout new appetizers is the cozy shrimp served with kim-chi dipping sauce ($7.50). These fried dumplings filled with cream cheese have a crispy outside and a cramy filling. The cabbage kim-chi adds crunch and kick. The crazy porktofu, which comes as both an appetizer and an entree, has a deft interplay of cool and hot ($6.50). The spicy pork is pan fried and placed in the middle of the plate, while cool, silky tofu lines the outside. A similar appetizer, the vegetarian kim-chi tofu, is a delicious dish fried with butter and topped with cold tofu. The bulkogi tofu brings together the sweet and salty thinly sliced beef that is a popular Korean dish and pairs it with that cool tofu ($6.50). Another mild option is the crystal pasta (appetizer or entree sized), a traditional Korean glass noodle dish, jobchae, stir-fried with vegetables, shitakae mushrooms and beef (appetizer is ($6.50). Here, the dish can also be ordered without meat; the potato noodles are soft and slippery and slivers of red pepper and mushroomhold it together. Dressed in creamy sesame dressing, the cool, light dish is perfect for a hot night. Although there are more than 100 kinds of kim-chi, the one that Zip Fusion sprinkles throughout its menu is the most common, cabbage kim-chi, which is eaten as a side dish in Korea. Zip Fusion introduces that custom to some of its new entrees as well, such as Black Mushroom Heaven ($12.50). The vegetarian stir-fry features shitake mushrooms, onions, carrots and brocolli in oyster and chilli sauce. The kim-chi is fried and put on the side with rice. It's the same in the Ocean Harvest seafood stir-fry, a rich sea feast that contains scallops, calamari and shrimpin oyster and chilli sauce ($15.50). Zip's chefs visit the produce and seafood markets in the morning. Some of the old menu items illustrate that freshness best; Try the Whiskey and Soda Back Roll to get that bursting flavour in your mouth in one pretty little, low-carb bite ($11.50). The no-rice roll contains tuna, salmon, tamago, asparagus, crab, gobo and avocado inside a tempura-fried package of red, orange and green; it's all balanced flavour and complementary textures. The spicy tuna salad is a living garden piled lavishly and artistically onto a plate as big as the outback. The contrast between the iceburg lettuce and zingy daikon sprouts is played out in smaller ways - between the cucmber and radishes, then between the tuna and the sweetly spicy vinaigrette. A proper binge desert. Ice cream and donut lovers should try the tempura-fried ice cream. If your binge already has you on your last belt hole, pick up the art menu and spend a few grand on one of the arresting works you see on the wall. At 744 E. 3rd St., (213) 680 3770. Lunch Mon-Fri. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.; Dinner Mon-Thurs. 5p.m. -11p.m., Fri- Sat. 5p.m. 12a.m. Best Restraunts It's Happy Trails With These Downtown Destinations Best Sushi Sushi Gen; R23; Oomasa; Zip Fusion; Frying Fish From the street, the blue neon sign for Zip Fusion glows as a beacon to hungry visitors craving finely crafted seafood. Zip Fusion has both the suave atmosphere to house hip and ritzy Angelenos as well as loyal customers simply in love with the California-influenced Asian cuisine. The restraunt caters to its dinner crowd but has a number of lunch specials. 744 E. Third St., (213) 680-3770. Best New Business Zip, which means "home" in Korean, has found just that in the Arts District. The eatery offers more than 30 special rolls and sushi at affordable prices -- $3.50 to $5.50 (even cheaper at happy hour from 5-6:30 p.m.). Not to be missed is the restaurant's Friday night lounge where Djs spin and local artists present their multi-media creations. The lush patio is one of the biggest draws, and is a perfect place to congregate during warm summer evenings. Owner Jason Ha, who is always on hand to disarm guests with a warm greeting, has given the century-old building a top-to-bottom makeover with a super hip decor -- exposed brick, corrugated sheet metal and patterned sarongs for tablecloths. At 744 E. 3rd St., (213) 680-3770 BEST Sushi BEST New Business - Best of Downtown 2003, L.A. Downtown News
Zip It Art District IS the Place if You're Cruisin for a Fusion Blindfolded, kidnapped, thrown into the trunk of a car and transported to one of the numerous sushi restraints in Los Angeles, I would not know, upon opening my eyes, where I was sipping sake or eating edamame. Sadly the décor of most L.A. sushi bars is a cookie cutter as their California rolls. But in the Artist District of Downtown,, where the residents take pride in transforming the ordinary to the extraordinary. A sushi restaurant opened last month that stands out from the rest, in more ways than one. If you need hand finding where you can be handed a hand roll while sitting on a hand shaped chair. Check out Zip Fusion, on East Third, just a few blocks from Little Tokyo. “Zip” means “home” in Korean (the native language of restaurant owner Jason Ha),but it's a fair bet that the eatery is nothing like any home you've ever seen. The front door is decorated with sheet metal. Above the sushi bar, the ceiling is painted lavender. The adjoining main dinning room boasts a green ceiling, with a green sarong hanging from it. Further examination reveals a rainbow coalition of sarongs with different patterns used as tablecloths, with one black booth sporting a purple tie-dyed model. Did I mention that the walls are orange? Trying to keep my senses focused on the food, I sped through the adjacent “Style Lounge,” with its unlikely blend of red walls, exposed brick and hand-shaped chairs, and parked my party on the indoor-outdoor brick-walled patio, where we enjoyed some traditional Japanese cuisine, and some that was off the wall of any color. The very-well-priced sushi ($3.50-$5.50,30% cheaper during Happy H Our, 5-6:30p.m, Mon. – Fri.) and sashimi ($7-$11) were so fresh, the giant clam's nervous system was still moving when it reached our smoked glass table. Its recoiling from our touch disturbed some in my party, but I was bothered more by the disco version of the “Sanford & Son” theme, which played – and replayed – through the booming sound system. Zip Fusion sports a menu of more than 30 special rolls ($3-$12), with detailed descriptions for each. The Zip Fusion roll, consisting of an aquarium of fish (tuna, salmon, yellowtail, snapper, crab, avocado and smelt roe) is huge, flavorful and a bargain at $9.50. The Caterpillar Roll ($7.50) is a tangy blend of cooked eel, cucumber and avocado, and tasted nothing like its namesake. Besides the eponymous roll, there is also a Zip Fusion bowl ($12), which utilizes Chef Nick C. Kim's Korean heritage. A stone bowl of rice and vegetables comes to the table sizzling beef, seafood or tofu. The server stirs the mix together, while diners add toppings like soy, a peppery fermented bean sauce, and baby anchovies. The result is a hearty Korean comfort food with subtle pickled aftertaste that puts fast food rice bowls to shame. Kim chee, though not on the menu, is also available. The most surprising dish Chef Kim prepares is also the main reason to visit: The Zip signature Ravioli ($13) consists of a filled of six ravioli shaped like flying saucers from a'50s sci-fi film. The dough is fashioned from sweet, sticky rice powder, filled with shrimp and cheeses, boiled then placed in orbit in a bowl filled with a light cream and tomato sauce, then baked. Kim has experience in Italian restaurants, and the Asian-style ravioli is a big cross-cultural hit, even among diners who abhor cream sauce. A bowl of tasty tofu-filled miso soup ($1.50), a specialty roll, an order of ravioli, and a bowl of tempura fried green tea ice cream ($4.50) would make an inexpensive, satisfy8ing meal for two. As if the restaurant isn't funky enough, Friday nights the Style Lounge features DJs spinning music and local artists presenting multimedia works. The ad promises a visual spectacle,” but Zip Fusion already delivers that, along with some great food. If only a DJ would do something about that “Sanford and Son” song. The hip Zip Fusion is the Arts District's newest eatery, and attracts diners with its Friday night Style Lounge featuring Djs spinning music and local artists presenting multimedia works The artist district of Downtown L.A. is home to a second Zip Fusion Sushi, while the first is still in the heart of Korea town. Jason Ha (a fashion entrepreneur) launched the Downtown Zip Fusion Sushi a little over six months ago, out of the necessity for an electric sushi restaurant hosting itself to artists, but above all, to provider a space with great food and reasonable prices on the east side. The building is ninety years old, well lit, and designed with contemporary with Asian fare. Zip offers a beautiful patio, with a century old tree situated in the center, and great music… not to mention a DJ (Thursdays- Saturdays). The chef, Charlie Shin, has created a wide-ranging menu fusing American, Korean, Italian, and Japanese cuisines. On the menu, you might find the likes of udon to fried chicken salad to shrimp ravioli. My favorite choice of beef, seafood or tofu, mixed and served at your table by some of the most attentive restaurant servers I've seen in a long time. From Thursday to Saturday, the evening lasts until about 2am, where you can partake in a very social atmosphere of intelligent diverse people hanging out after dinner, enjoying sake, beer, or wine… or even soju cocktails in a plum, lemon, or herb tea fusion. For lunch, happy hour sushi, dinner, or desserts, Zip is a definite gem. –RB Zip Fusion Sushi |
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