Editor’s note: Dine LA Week returned to Pasadena on Friday.
There are special lunch and dinner menus at scores of local restaurants throughout Pasadena. During this Fall 2023 event, dine-in restaurants are being featured only. So grab a seat. Dine out at a participating restaurant, ask for the Dine LA Restaurant Week menu and enjoy. We’ll be highlighting as many participating restaurants as we can through the “week,” which runs through October 20. Here we go.
A late afternoon, early October heat wave is making its presence along Holly Street in Old Pasadena. But at Mama M Sushi on Holly Street in Old Pasadena, all is cool and quiet before the dinner rush.
With nearly a score of sushi restaurants available within Pasadena’s environs, Mama M certainly has their work cut out for themselves. Opened in 2019 just before the Pandemica, the comfortable sushi-teria has established itself as a desirable and comfortable sushi getaway.
Let’s get right to it: Their Dine LA Week dinner special begins with a complimentary Toro sushi or Wagyu A5 sushi. We left ourselves in their capable hands, and let them bring their own choices to the table.
Following the Toro sushi, which was creamy and mild, they bought our starter—the Hotate Crudo, which is sliced jumbo scallop, yuzu, ponzu, grapeseed oil and micro greens. Scallops are generally mild as well, so the combination of sauces and flavors gave the dish a more distinctive and welcome savory flavor.
Our entree was the Omokase A, which was eight fresh pieces of nigiri, the popular style of sushi served in most sushi establishments—an oval-shaped mound of sticky rice flavored with salt and sugar, with a slice of raw fish on top. In fact, much of the taste appeal of sushi is the sugar used to create the rice.
The word “nigiri” is taken from the Japanese nigirizushi, which translates as “hand-pressed sushi.”
The rice is molded by hand and the fish or other topping is pressed by hand atop the rice. The sticky rice, combined with the moisture from the fish, helps to stick the strip of raw fish to the mound of rice underneath.
Not being ichthyologists, our best guess was that our nigiri featured salmon, tuna, mackerel and yellowtail among the selections. It wouldn’t matter. All of them were delicious.
The whole affair comes with miso soup of course, and a salad.
When you’re ready to begin your Dine LA Week experience, Old Pasadena, as well as the rest of Pasadena, offers a wide range of participants which you can find here.
If your choice is sushi, it might be best to see Mama.
Mama M Sushi is at 29 E Holly Street. Pasadena, CA. (626) 568-1500.The Dine LA Restaurant Week special is available Tuesday-Thursday, and Sunday from 4:30 – 9 p.m. Available Friday and Saturday from 4:30-9 p.m.
