Surprising sushi

For a while there, it seemed as if every new restaurant that was opening served sushi. In any case, here are a few unlikely spots where you can enjoy a tuna roll.

Bridge

Veal Milanese, pumpkin ravioli and sushi? It seems a farfetched grouping. Then again, the sister restaurant to this glam, not quite year-old Italian is Koi across the street, the trendy Japanese eatery. Koi sushi chef Rob Lucas had a hand in developing Bridge’s short and sweet crudo and sushi list, which includes favorites such as a veggie roll with burdock root and asparagus and spicy tuna roll.

* Vegetable roll, $8. 755 N. La Cienega Blvd., L.A., (310) 659-3535.

Minx

Chef Joseph Antonishek isn’t one to do things by the book. That shows on his sushi and sashimi menu at this stylish newcomer. For instance, he does a baked eel roll but adds fried onions and uses Kobe beef carpaccio to wrap it up. His most creative sushi offering, however, is probably the one that unites warm, crispy chicken, julienned Canadian bacon and Taleggio cheese in the traditional rice and seaweed delivery system.

* Eel roll, $12. 300 Harvey Drive, Glendale, (818) 242-9191.

M Cafe de Chaya

At this little macrobiotic-esque cafe, sushi lovers can get their fix with a variety of rolls -- grilled wild salmon with cucumber, shiitake and avocado. But the fat little purses of organic heirloom brown rice known as inari sushi always beckon. They are available with such toppings as baked eggplant, pickled lotus root and seared tuna.

* Inari sushi, $1.50 to $1.75 a piece. 7119 Melrose Ave., L.A., (323) 525-0588.

Cafe del Rey

Lots of places do smoked salmon rolls. But not many cure their own salmon. The kitchen at this popular waterside spot does. And tuna lovers get a double dose with the spicy tuna roll: finely minced tuna in the center and a “wrapping” of raw tuna.

* Smoked salmon roll, $10. 4451 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, (310) 823-6395.

Breeze

If you’re craving sushi, you don’t have to sit at the six-seat sushi bar in this hotel dining room. But why not? You can watch the chefs, whose specialty is a decadent and pricey affair called a dynamite roll: California roll topped with a creamy melange of scallops, shrimp, crab and mushrooms.

* Dynamite roll, $30. 2025 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, (310) 277-2000.

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-- Leslee Komaiko