Orris 'Asian Tapas'

Went last night with Maggie and my sister Nubi to check out the new restaurant by the owner/chef of Shiro in South Pasadena. Orris is located on Sawtelle, in the westside equivalent of little tokyo. Although there is no giant fried catfish, this place is DELICIOUS!! Orris is small and neighborhood-y, little plates run about $7-14. It was a full house at 6:30 on a Wednesday.

Started out with some sake, served out of a squiggly blue ikea glass vase. Although kind of weird at first, I don't think anyone else noticed. I'd recommend the Otoyama (sp?) sake, very dry and a great foil to the food.

IF YOU GO, GET:
-sweet shisito peppers, deep fried and sprinkled with shaved parmesan and fried pancetta (kind of spicy)

yes this a camera phone pic, Thanks Noobs!
-dungeness crab served in a salad of cucumber spaghetti like strips
-mini potato pancakes with lox, cream cheese, and red roe YUM!
-egg rolls stuffed withs scallops and served w/a sweet and sour sauce extra YUM!

-snapper carpaccio (again, slightly seared, like albacore) and served with a light black bean sauce. This might have been the winner last night!
-manila clams, served in a buttery frenchy kind of broth, with slices of baguette to dip in.
OK, BUT PEDESTRAN
-ahi tuna tataki (slightly seared again) served with a super caramelized onion concoction
I'D SUGGEST YOU PASS ON:
-sauteed sweet breads fried in butter and served with mystery mushroms :( tasted like it had been fried in butter too long, like kind of burnt, and the mushrooms were flavorless and rubbery.

Can't remember anything else we ate, but overall the place was unpretentious and delicious. plus there free parking in the back, and you can go check out the Giant Robot store across the street after dinner.

Orris 2006 Sawtelle Blvd (corner of La Grange) next to Mizu 212 and Hanoi Cafe.