When you're sick of being snubbed by the ""sushi nazi"" and sky-high tabs for so-so Japanese food, TOT is the place to go. Tucked away in downtown L.A., TOT is popular for its inexpensive daily specials (which are first-comed, first served -- very often they run out of them before lunch hour is over). The menu features Japanese food as everyday Tokyo-ites enjoy it: simple flavors and fresh ingredients. The rice bowl combos are popular and the bento boxes offer a good taste of a little bit of everything for a very nice price. I love the deeply flavorful broth of their udon noodles -- it makes the udon you get at almost any other place in town taste like instant ramen. Fast, unfussy service.
Pros: inexpensive, tasty food, casual
Cons: can be crowded, not for sushi snobs
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