How much does a couple bottles of sake and some good sushi cost you?  What if I told you I went to an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink event last night where I partook of the best sushi in town and 20 of the best sakes in the world continuously over the course of four hours for $35?

The Spectacle

What a site to behold!  Two types of sake at each of the ten tables!  Sushi for miles!  DJ spinning tunes!  Happy, beautiful Angelenos from all over town eating the finest sake and sushi to their hearts content (which took awhile because we all know what big hearts Angelenos have!). 

The Layout

Upon walking in, I was treated to a site beyond my wildest sake sushi dreams.  Stretching to my left and to my right were what seemed like an endless string of tables of different sake and sushi, carefully arranged by event expert Hideyuki Sakurai and masterfully assembled by Sake Sommelier Yuji Matsumoto, the Tokyo Table sake master who was brought in from the homeland of Japan to oversee the sake supply and choose the best sakes in Japan to stock Tokyo Table with.

The Experience

Sommelier Yuji Matsumoto is a sake master who represented the USA West Coast Region at the 2006 World Sake Sommelier Competition.  Hideyuki Sakurai is a Director of New Store Openings who has opened fine dining establishments from all over LA to Honolulu.  Together, they created a feast of dreams:

At each table, two types of top shelf sake and two types of succulent and oh-so-fresh sushi awaited.  Cards were available at each table describing the offerings, and the friendly staff re-filled each cup with a beautiful smile, as teeming crowds of Angelenos became ever more sake’d and sushi’d out, or should I say, in.

The Sake

Let’s start off by saying that there were far too many varieties of sake to describe, but some of the options ranged from Kaguyahime, a Junmai from Kyoto, Japan with a refreshing aroma with sweet rice flavor; to Shirakabegura, a special full-bodied Junmai from Hyogo, Japan rich in rice flavor; to Kikusui, a Junmai Ginjo from Niigata, Japan with light to medium body and crisp, smooth aftertaste, to Daishichi Kimoto, a Junmai from Fukushima, Japan, with a smooth but pleasant and long-lasting after-taste, etc.  You get the idea?  This was going on at every table. 

Suffice to say, by the end of the delectable rounds, I had learned about a whole new world of sake, and was amazed by the quality and distinct taste of each one of these hand-picked offerings.  In fact, I was humbled.  I have so much to learn!  My mouth waters at the prospect.

Health Benefits

For the record, sake and sushi are two of the healthiest things on earth.  As a matter of fact, in Japan with the rise in the sales of beer, wine and liquor, sake is now being diverted towards women’s cosmetics for its cleansing qualities, where the rice extract has proven to be beneficial to skin tone first and foremost while providing nutrient support for a whole range of cosmetic and dietary benefits.  

Informative Staff

This was told to me by the aforementioned friendly staff, who were attentive enough to provide me with interesting background information between the sushi pours and sake samples. 

Test Your Knowledge

And at the end of all the tasting, at the last table I found the sake challenge, hosted by none other than resident master Yuji Matsumoto, who was administering the special test.  We drank from unmarked glasses of sake, then filled out forms challenging us to name the sake in glass A and glass B. 

Sake Nights Success

Kudos and thanks to Tokyo Table for their creativity and care in bringing off a rousing success for Sake Nights, Part II of a two-part series.  But if you missed the first series don’t fret.  They are bringing it back.  Just keep an eye on their website, www.tokyotable.com.

Take it from an intrepid party critic who will never endorse anything unless he means it, this night of 20 varieties of top shelf sake and impeccably delightful contemporary Japanese Cuisine (translation: sushi!) was an extraordinarily creative, interactive, educational and plentiful event.  The sushi flowed, the sake flowed, the music flowed, and a warm Tokyo Table vibration enveloped all.

No Need to Wait

But you don’t have to wait for Sake Nights to sample the delicacies of Tokyo Table; you can come into the restaurant any night before then.  Tokyo Table even has a Dream Diner Card available, which enables you to accumulate dining points and receive discounts and invitations to upcoming Tokyo Table events.  The sake and sushi awaits.  So does a better complexion.  Between the healthy product and the smile it puts on your face, you cannot lose.

Sushi Nights is a regular monthly event at Tokyo Table, with next dates TBA.

Tokyo Table is located at 50 N. La Cienega, Ground Floor North End in Beverly Hills.  For more information please call 310-657-9500 or visit the website at www.tokyotable.com.