Sōgo Roll Bar

Sogo Roll Bar is a hand roll and maki bar from the people behind Bar Covell and L&E Oyster Bar, with sushi master Kiminobu Saito of Sushi Note overseeing. This second outpost of the Los Feliz casual sushi bar on York Boulevard is one of the few places to score sushi in Highland Park. (It's also an occasional celeb-sighting spot, but we won’t say who because, well, decorum.) If you want temaki, you’ll have to sit at the bar, where the rolls come within seconds of being prepared (while the nori is still crisp). But Sogo goes beyond temaki. Any of their rolls can be prepared as temaki or maki, and the non-roll items excel, particularly the baked crab or the tuna crispy rice, and a black cod that arrives beautifully tender and slightly charbroiled. The quality of the fish is in line with Sushi Note, though fair warning: this is not a place for sushi purists. You won’t find a single piece of nigiri here (except for special events when chef Saito visits for the night—peep their Instagram for announcements). Like the neighborhood, the rolls here are dressed up with hipster flair. Expect lots of umami, acid and heat—I particularly liked the snapper with pops of wasabi, yuzu and lemon. If you're a wasabihead, try the salmon ikura and see if you can keep from crying. You can order à la carte or opt for roll sets. The wine list is inspired, thanks to the heavy influence of the oenophiles behind Bar Covell—it's structured (there's a printed menu, for one) and it rotates every couple of months. The wine flight is still a journey in its own right. Choose among the sushi bar, a handful of indoor tables, or a chill, dog-friendly patio. The bar is the move if you want some top-notch people-watching. E.g., a couple in the honeymoon phase, soul-gazing on one side of you, and basketball fans watching the game on their phone between bites on the other.