Shibuya is excellent and a fine choice. Some of the freshest sushi you'll ever experience.

Laurel Tavern has some great burgers (the BBQ burger is my favorite), not to mention very tasty thin and crispy fries, as well as things my wife enjoys like their really delicious Brussels sprouts.

The patio is nice for watching the scene on Ventura Boulevard to boot.

OMG, it was such a "slathering" of mustard, a really thick layer.

After scraping it off, there was just a bit, so at that point it didn't overwhelm. Not sure if I just got a heavy-handed chef who applied such a huge amount of mustard, or if the "little bit" that you received is their usual MO.

Anyone else have this wonderful sausage?

I agree with you that the scallop sausage at Connie and Ted's was fantastic!!

Did you also find that the Dijon mustard they topped it with totally overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the scallop?

Once I scraped that stuff off, it was most enjoyable, especially when paired with their awesome, crispy skinny fries (with skins still on!).

I like Billy's buffalo burgers.

Nice and juicy, with fresh green leaf lettuce (not iceberg, which an ex co-worker of mine used to refer to as "the polyester of vegetables"), and a thousand island-type sauce.

Fries are pretty good, but they must be ordered well done, otherwise, they're too soft/limp IMO (but, not quite like the aberrations that In-N-Out fries are).

Thanks again, Savour.

On another visit, we'd consider either Seco or Kimagure, especially after the feedback from you and the other Hounds who've contributed to this thread.

Thanks again, TailbackU.

My wife is a very light eater, so we don't do omakase.

Any other recommendations, such as nigiri not to be missed, or rolls of some type (I trust they wouldn't be the gloppy mayo or cream cheese type, correct?).

Thank you, mc Michael.

Looks pretty good, but perhaps for another occasion. Not enough seafood choices for our tastes (not into oysters or tuna salads or trout...Shiro looks more like our seafood "cup of tea").

Thanks, Barryc, I appreciate your feedback!!

Doesn't sound like Gus's will fit the bill.

We don't eat beef, but do occasionally eat pork (baby back ribs are a rare treat for us!).

As for Bistro De La Gare, it looks OK, but the menu seems somewhat limited. What do you like there? Any seafood dishes you could recommend?

Thank you, Tailback U. We just might be in the sushi mood.

What do you like to order there, and, what's the atmosphere like?

Thank you, mc Michael. Seems Shiro may be the place for us.

Thank you, Ipse!! I appreciate the feedback.

After looking at their website and menu, Shiro looks very intriguing; the seafood choices especially.

Racion seems good, too, a bit too "French" (we like the fact that Shiro is also "Pacific Rim" in addition to French).

You got that right, Thor.

We especially like the blood orange lemonade. So, so tasty and sweet, but not sickeningly so.

All their lemonades are homemade, unlike the powdered crap that many resto's seem to offer.

I recall seeing "ono" on the menu at Midori Sushi, the all-you-can eat sushi place, in Studio City (there are other locations as well).

I made the mistake of ordering this, and even in small quantities (like one or two orders of nigiri), caused me some of the, um, "gastric distress" that Bert refers to above.

Kevin, Shish is pretty good. When I used to go there, I used to get the chicken kabob and tabouli salad. They have pretty decent falafels, too, if I recall correctly.

However, when Joe's Falafel opened down the street a few years ago, it ruined me for pretty much any other M.E. food and so I haven't returned to Shish since.

Joe's kicks serious ***!!!

BB, that location of Stevie's closed down, as Kevin mentioned above, a while back.

Looks like a ghost town now. The location is one of those cursed restaurant locations that can never seem to have something good so it has constant turnover/vacancy.

Salsa and Beer is kind of a dive, but has some pretty darn good, but Americanized, Mexican food.

However, on pretty much any night (especially Fridays and Saturdays), unless you're there by 5pm or so, you'll have a good 30-45 minute wait.

I'm talking specifically about the Encino location. Can't speak for the North Hollywood location, to which I've only been once and since it's much larger than the Encino location, we didn't have a long wait at all.

Yes, I would say so. I have been to a few different Katsuya locations (including Studio City) and found them all to be so so. Not a huge difference between locations in my book.

Believe me, from one hound to another, Sugarfish is a much better choice.

Katsuya's sushi leaves much to be desired. It's mainly a place to see beautiful people/porn stars, etc.

Sugarfish is delish, especially the hand rolls, between the crispy nori, warm rice and top quality fish. My personal faves are the lobster, blue crab and scallop hand rolls.