Bite-Size Bargains

The bad news is that nothing but a scuffed parquet floor remains of Sushi on Tap, the clever little Studio City place where sushi was served by tap-dancing waiters and waitresses while somebody played an electric piano.

There’s very good news, though. This location has morphed into Sushi Yasuke, one of the city’s most reasonably priced places for quality sushi. Hand rolls can be had for $3, and most sushi items are only $2.50.

This bare-bones operation has black tables and rough brick walls with nothing adorning them except a few framed calligraphic posters. It caters to a twentysomething crowd. These days the music is mostly hip-hop. The service, although friendly, is a little diffident, and the waitresses are less than fluent in English, so it’s easiest to order from a paper list of sushi items. (But not all the good dishes are on it. Check the specials board for Kumamoto oysters from Puget Sound or delicious broiled yellowtail.)

One of the best dishes on the sushi list is seared tuna--three perfect little chunks topped with green onion and served with fresh ginger. Other good ones: salmon roe (ikura) sushi, toasted salmon-skin hand roll and freshwater eel roll. The last is six pieces for an incredibly low $3.

Special rolls are double that price, but a few are well worth it, including the beef teriyaki roll (broiled tenderloin with asparagus, avocado, cucumber and a touch of mayo) and sashimi tempura roll (tuna, whitefish and salmon in light tempura batter).

A few dishes come straight from small neighborhoods in Tokyo. Chicken soboro rice is a rice bowl topped with ground chicken marinated in sweet soy sauce. It’s Japanese kid food, and it’s really comforting. For $3 you can get a mountain of edamame, boiled soybeans you pop out of their pods into your mouth.

There are one or two missteps. Dynamite roll, a combination of baked scallops, smelt egg and California roll, has way too much mayonnaise. Mixed tempura--two pieces of shrimp, two green beans, a mushroom, a carrot slice, zucchini, onion, broccoli and onion--is fried in a heavy, oily batter.

Altogether, though, Sushi Yasuke is a major find. And it even has, for those who are hungry enough, a separate noodle menu. Try a hearty bowl of Osaka-style curry nanban: noodles in a light curry broth. For my money, it’s best with beef (instead of chicken) and wheat noodles instead of udon buckwheat noodles.

At $7.50, it’s the most expensive dish here. Magically, it still seems a bargain.

BE THERE

Sushi Yasuke, 11056 Ventura Blvd., Studio City. Open noon-10 p.m., Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday. Parking in lot. Beer and wine. All major cards. Dinner for two, $18-$35. Suggested dishes: seared tuna, $2.50; chicken soboro rice, $2.50; beef teriyaki roll, $6; curry nanban, $7.50. Call (818) 985-2254.