Hump   

You'll probably never know the thrill of barnstorming over the snowcapped Himalayas, but thanks to The Hump, you can indulge your inner Walter Mitty with equally daring culinary explorations. No, those aren't the runway landing-strip lights aviators see upon their descent into Santa Monica airport, but rather The Hump's flaming conch, served with Japanese shiitake mushrooms and scallions. Plates like the black cod saikyo yaki and butter-smooth hamachi whiz by on their perfectly orchestrated flight routes from the kitchen and bar, for owner Brian Vidor and his superb staff map the sushi experience with the precision of epicurean air-traffic controllers. Sitting atop its roomier companion piece Typhoon, The Hump offers an intimate respite from the westside's trendier-than-thou Cal-Asian fusion joints or the draconian demands of Ventura's toro tyrants who tell you not just what to eat, but how to eat it and how much to enjoy it. If you can hear your stomach rumbling above the twin turbo-props outside, The Hump's excursion from edamame to mochi is just what you need to quell that gastro-turbulence.