365 Places to Eat

sugarFISH is an innovative type of sushi bar. For one thing, the sushi is made out of sight. While there is a bar, per se, it’s not really a sushi bar in the traditional sense.

sugarFISH Interior (image from their website)

sugarFISH is an offshoot of the popular Sushi Nozawa in Studio City. The menu changes according to what’s fresh and in season. “Trust Me” is the theme here, meaning you put your choices in the hand of the chef. It’s not a bad way to go, especially when the fish is as fresh and well chosen as Nozawa’s.

sugarFISH Box

For the dineLA menu, you can get the dinner Trust Me for $26. We ordered after I picked my wife and son up from the airport. By the time we got to Marina del Rey our boxes were waiting.

sugarFISH Sushi

Pretty boxes they are. Pure white and sturdy with the colored metallic logo embossed on top. The compartments inside holding the sushi delight. Two pieces of yellow tail, two pieces of salmon, two halibut and one albacore. Tuna sashimi, toro roll and a blue crab roll with edamame on the side.

It’s a fun way to eat, especially on the go. The sauces are provided, along with a key card to tell you what goes with what. They even go so far as giving you tiny containers of scallions to top the albacore and lemon wedges to top the halibut.

At $26, it’s a fair price for the sushi you get. The deal runs through the end of February at least.

sugarFISH
4722 1/4 Admiralty Way
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
(310) 306-6300

The light yellow building is easy to miss, on the corner of Washington and Walgrove, just east of the Costco megacomplex. Parking is available, but not abundant, be sure to observe the street signs.

After are short 10-15 minute wait, we scored one of the booths right under the window. Even with the blazing heat outdoors, the open windows and high ceilings invited a cooling breeze — even though we were on a major boulevard, it almost felt like we were in the tropics.

The Maxwell’s menu is extensive, with the standard breakfast fare, as well as unique options such as a number of breakfast sandwiches, a selection of different benedicts, a few breakfast burritos and a range of sausages. I went into selection overload and had a hard time narrowing down my choices. Our incredibly nice waitress was kind and patient as I waffled (ha) over my order.

I finally settled on one of the breakfast sandwiches, the one with the chicken cilantro sausage on rye bread with some Swiss cheese. You can see by the picture above that the thing was massive! It was stacked with tomatoes, the sausage patty, cheese, scrambled egg, lettuce and light mayo. I was actually only able to finish half, but I enjoyed every bite.

My wife had the breakfast combo with french toast, egg whites and two strips of bacon. Thick bacon, cooked chewy, the way that she likes it.

Maxwell’s has a comfortable, local diner feel with the counter and friendly, efficient servers. I saw a number of people who came in to eat at the counter by themselves chatting with other folks seated around them. It’s just that kind of place.

I will note that the prices are on the higher side for a casual breakfast, but not outrageous or out of line for the quality you get. For instance, omelettes range from $8-$14 which seems to be about $2 more than the average joint. I think that my breakfast sandwich was about $10, but easily could feed two people (and lasted me for two meals).

Open for breakfast and lunch.

Maxwell’s Cafe
13329 W Washington Blvd,
Los Angeles 90066
(At Walgrove Ave)
Phone: 310-306-7829