It so happens that a teeny tiny onigiri/omusubi shop In New York validated some of my long-held views.
Oms/B has a beautiful selection of omusubi. This isn’t your run-of-the mill umeboshi or okaka. The selection is vast and imaginative. Take a look at their menu—it’s not easy to settle on just three. For a quick, on-the-go lunch, Oms/B was quite good and the line was perpetually long. I was impressed.
After talking with the woman behind the counter, we chose the Crab Salad, Mackerel with Yuzu, and the Ippudo Pork (below) and the Shrimp Pop Corn, Gorgeous Football Rice, and Spicy Tuna (above). Yum. The rice was cooked just right, something you can’t take for granted. Even the mackerel with yuzu—something I wouldn’t have chosen on my own—was a pleasant surprise. The pungent yuzu cut the flavor of the mackerel nicely.
Here in Los Angeles, Little Tokyo desperately needs a hot bento shop. Even something like the Hoka Hoka Bento chain in Japan would be a reasonable alternative to the chilled boxed bentos sitting in the grocery stores. Stale tonkatsu, soggy tendon, cold rice… not very appetizing. When I visited Oms/B, something inside me said—YES! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about—we need a place just like this.
Oms/B
156 E. 45th Street
New York, NY 10017
(212) 922-9788
