Mizu 212

We were both in the mood for a light dinner tonight, so we headed to Sawtelle to try Mizu 212°. "Mizu" means "water" in Japanese, so it's an appropriate name for a shabu shabu restaurant.

The restaurant is set up around a large central bar, with a few tables for four scattered in the corners. Each person has his/her own pot of water on a hot plate, ponzu sauce, sesame/peanut sauce, a saucer, and a utensil set that includes a strainer and a ladle.

Mizu 212° gets very good reviews about its vegetables, and I can see why. Everything was fresh and tasty, and there was a nice variety of greens. I love kabocha squash, so I was happy to see it here. The fish dumpling was also a nice surprise, and very tasty. I will order a few more of these next time.

I ordered black pork, and J ordered beef (not pictured). His beef was fine, but I contend that pork does better in shabu shabu because the meat stays more tender. And I am a beef-loving gal, so for me to say that really means it's great. We both agreed the pork went better with the sesame sauce.

Service at Mizu 212° is fantastic! One server in particular was head and shoulders above the rest. We suspect she's the owner, or at least in the family. She knew several of the customers, was extremely friendly, and ran around the bar making sure everyone's beer glasses were full and helping them skim the skum (floaties, as she calls them) off the top of their soups. Then, when we insisted we were too full for dessert, she brought us each a spoonful of gelato just to try and said we would have to come back next time and leave room for dessert.

Total bill was $47 after tax, a rare find in LA. The next time it's chilly out, you'll probably find us at Mizu 212°.