THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED R-23

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED R-23 Restaurant Review:

Yes, R-23 is located in the warehouse-inhabited Artists’ District east of Little Tokyo, between Second and Third Streets, where railroads cross everywhere---the inspiration for the restaurant’s name. Once you have entered the eatery you will forget the outside environment and feel comfortable in the high-ceilinged neo-industrial room, with its red-brick and white walls. The paintings are from a Japanese artist who, a long time ago, waitressed here (the restaurant has been open since 1991). The Frank Gehry-designed cardboard chairs are an attention-grabbing design element. The gallery next door is available for private dinners if you want to eat among more art; the space is a favorite among celebrities. Longtime chef Tobi-Sane prepares sushi and sashimi served on impressive black-and-white dishes, made especially for the restaurant in Japan---they are also displayed as artwork behind the sushi bar. The rest of the menu is predominantly Japanese-influenced with Dungeness crab salad, crispy rice cakes, lobster tempura with vegetables, yellowtail carpaccio with yuzu and caviar, grilled black cod, monkfish liver, grilled stuffed duck with scallops, and rib-eye steak in ponzu sauce. The desserts are classic, including mochi ice cream, green tea-chocolate mousse or raspberry chocolate mousse cake. The wine list is interesting, but why not drink saké instead?