Matsuhisa International   

Nobu Matsuhisa's eponymous sushi salon is a central fixture of La Cienega's Restaurant Row. Since 1987, Nobu has stuffed celebrities and rich-blooded epicureans silly in his no-frills Beverly Hills digs, thanks in part to his omakase, a nonstop stream of hand-picked, hand-tailored dishes. Thanks to stints in Lima and Buenos Aires, Nobu now fuses worldly flavors into traditional dishes to create novelties like the tiradito, a star-shaped Peruvian turn on the typical sliced sashimi. But it's not just fresh ingredients that give Nobu's creations their special cachet; his kokoro, or heart, provides dishes like toro tartar with caviar and Kobe tataki sashimi with a mystery ingredient to boost their already sublime flavor. Among Matsuhisa's other inspirations are his signature broiled black cod with miso, baby squid in wasabi pepper sauce, and Chilean sea bass moromiso-yaki, but less daring diners might prefer simple udon or soba noodles, or any of Matsuhisa's soups. Of course, there's always sushi a la carte, which the restaurant serves at both its tables and the cramped tempura bar. Before arriving with a party of ten in tow, be advised that despite its titillating culinary lineup, Matsuhisa's space is cramped and often noisy, and the service on bustling evenings is frequently spotty. Nevertheless, it only takes one hand to count the number of chefs good enough to go by first name alone, and Nobu is straight up there alongside the Wolfgangs and Emerils.