Blutusk

Came here to try the famous Korean J-​shaped cone with soft serve ice cream inside of it. The store was super clean and the employee was nice. My friend and I were the only ones in there so I got my ice cream pretty fast. The cone is definitely a different way of eating ice cream, but I actually liked it more than a regular cone. It was much easier to eat the ice cream because it was encase rather than just sitting on top. The ice cream itself was very smooth and creamy, while the cone was pretty light and flakey (think Corn Pops). While it was definitely an interesting try, I’m not sure I would get it again as it just felt like a gimmick on the presentation of ice cream rather than the flavor of it (which is what I care about most when I’m eating anything). Not bad, just not something I’d go out of my way to get.

Rating: ²²⁄₁₀₀ pts
Admittedly, the awkwardly suggestive shape of this dessert is what drew in myself and a group of buddies that were seeking humor more than fine eating. Still, I went in with an open mind, but I found the food quite terrible.
We got the #3 combo ($ 6.00) that included one of the eponymous «tusks» and 4 «deli manjoo».
The tusk is a long and curvy corn puff filled with ice cream and topped with a raspberry. The corn puff base tasted like stale breakfast cereal, and there was nothing special about the ice cream inside – it tasted like generic soft serve ice cream. After one bite, I was done.
The deli manjoos (which I know as taiyaki in Japanese) are small fish-​shaped waffle-​like cakes filled with your choice of red bean paste or custard. The taiyaki I’m used to getting in Japan are baked fresh to order, filled with paste and still teeming with steam when you bite into them. These, unfortunately, are not. They are not made fresh, giving them a stale texture, and further, the filling is scant and airy.
I could continue about there is no logical way to hold the tusk + deli manjoo combo (the tusk is handed off directly, and the deli manjoos are placed in a cup – how do I hold and eat this??) – but let’s just stop here and suffice it to say that I do not recommend Blutusk.

While it does look funny, do not be fooled by the tusk ice cream. It is literally watery, liquidy (crappy) ice cream in a J shaped sugar cone. Nothing else to it.
The ice cream tastes exactly like the ones you can get at Zen Buffet. Exactly (for chocolate atleast).
I also got a pack of 6 red bean/​custard fish cakes, in which was almost completely hollow, tasteless and rubbery.
Not great, not the absolute worst place I’ve been to, but it’s down there. :/

I feel bad, but I didn’t enjoy the ice cream or the fish pastries (deli manjoo). This place is tucked on the second floor of a plaza on Sawtelle, which is sadly a poor location. I recommend coming out and advertising (with samples?) on the streets at night when a lot of students are walking around.
I wish they used normal soft serve for the tusks. The ice cream (I got vanilla) is a bit too airy, bland, and not creamy at all. The tusk itself is alright and has a cereal flavor.
As for the deli manjoo, I was disappointed when I saw everything was pre-​made. Since there seems to be rarely a line, I wouldn’t even mind waiting a bit more for fresh, warm crunchy pastries. Instead, even though they were reheated, the red bean and custard were just average and the batter seemed like a basic waffle batter (which I get tired of easily).
If there was a revamp, I’d be willing to come back and try again because the concept is good!

I’ve always loved the tusk ice cream in Korea and I’m so happy it finally came to the states! They don’t have the fun flavors in Korea that I like, but I like the vanilla and chocolate swirl. The tusk has a corn flavor that is unique and not for everyone, but it is for me.
For $ 3.50, it was worth every penny for me. The employees are super nice and friendly and put a lot of effort into making your masterpiece. I especially love the little raspberry at the end of one side.
I like that they have a lot of royalty member rewards. They have a check in deal, free deli manjoo if you sign up for their rewards, AND a stamp card. It’s so easy to work your way towards a free goodie.
Parking is free, outdoor seating (not a whole ton of seating indoors) but this is a grab and go dessert spot.
Too bad I live far but next time I’m in the area, I’ll be stopping by.

Located in the heart of Sawtelle! (same plaza as Nijiya Market & Beard Papas– right above daiso)
Heard all my friends talking about this cute store and had to give it a try. Reasonable prices for delicious desserts!
My favorite was the tusk ice cream. Makes sense because it’s their speciality! It’s definitely different from that of other ice cream shops. The employee did half chocolate half vanilla on my tusk– personally, chocolate was a lot creamier and more flavorful. The vanilla didn’t woo me but it was still good. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would recommend trying.
The taco ice cream. interesting concept, similar feel to the tusk cone but was differentiated by the toppings I chose (strawberry& honey)
Deli manjoo! These things are dangerous. I always wait for the Korean festival to come around so I can get my hands on these. But, finally a place that sells them regularly! Had to order 2 batches because they were so good. The custard ones are better imo.
The only downside to this place is the parking. Since its in a very popular plaza in Sawtelle, you either have to valet or get there before valet does. Other than that. I’ll definitely be back! :)

The place was surprisingly empty on a weekend, but we decided to check it out anyway. We were pretty full from lunch, so we just got 6 deli-​manjoo ($ 4.99). There are two flavors: red bean and custard.
They heated up the deli-​manjoo, so it was nice and warm, but it didn’t taste great. It is NOT made fresh like some other places. The red bean deli-​manjoo were whatever; the custard ones taste better in comparison, but still not very good. The custard tasted like it was made from instant vanilla pudding mix that tastes pretty artificial. The batter was passable.
There are so many better dessert options on Sawtelle. I’d skip this one.

The shell/​cone of the blutusk had no flavor and tasted like fried flour mixed. The ice cream was the cheap kind that you can buy at the store and added it to any ice cream machine to make. If the ice cream was flavorful or a better taste, it could make up for the tusk but it didn’t. The small fishes weren’t good neither. They are stall toward late afternoon since probably they are made in the morning and just heated up with you order them. The filling inside was were stuck on one side and thick. I came here nexus se of the interesting look and shape but that’s all the store had going for them.
I stayed a bit to work on some things and it doesn’t get that busy. They should rethink on making so much product early. It would be better fresh. I left disappointed. Not worth the extra calories or sugar

I had a nice streak going. I really haven’t written a bad review since the start of 2016 but that could have been because I was a bit generous to some of the places I’ve been to. Well, streak over. Blutusk is the culprit. I’ve seen this kinda funky dessert before at night markets but never really tried it until this particular day.
First off, walking in we were greeted by a very friendly owner who seemed so proud and joyous of his product. I was broken hearted that I had to write this review but damn his stuff was just not good at all. The Chocolate Tusk was absolutely atrocious. The chocolate tasted really bitter upon first bite but got a bit better in terms of the bitterness after. I quickly realize that this was not ice cream at all but rather frozen yogurt. The sprinkles added to it was just as bad. It gave me a bad cough afterwards too. The J shaped cone was super stale and I was completely done but then he brought out my second order.
The Deli Manjoo was my least favorite of all. I took one bite of it and could not even finish it. We quickly went outside being completely finished with these treats and proceeded to locate the nearest trash can. It was not fresh as I had originally anticipated. There was a lack of custard on the inside and overall the presentation was not up to par. Needless to say, I couldn’t eat another bite.
I’ll give the owner a nice grade for effort but his product did not do it for me. I probably won’t be returning. Still he’s really nice and friendly and the place was super clean with plenty of seats.
PS Located upstairs

I had Blutusk bookmarked since my buddy Matthew T. was the first to review their business. I was intrigued by the tusk shaped dessert and I knew I would have to try it for myself. The small little dessert shop was on the second floor above Daiso. The guy working there was so welcoming and informative about the product, I was so excited.
So many options, but I wanted to try their most popular products. I decided to try their Vanilla Tusk ice cream ($ 3.50) and their Deli Manjoo ($ 6.99÷12 piece) half custard and half red bean.
The Vanilla Tusk ice cream is good for pictures… however the cone/​tusk was incredibly STALE! In my buddy Matthew T’s defense, he probably liked it while the tusks were new and not yet state. The ice cream itself was powdery like the soft serve they have at cheap buffets. The cheap sprinkles topped at the end made it even worse. Not to mention how the shape itself makes the dessert messy to eat. It was dripping all over me… gross!
The Deli Manjoo was just about as disappointing. These were premade and not nearly as fresh as other places who sell them. The filling was a bit lacking, but that didn’t matter because it tasted so bad I spit it out and threw the rest away.
This 2 star is probably too generous. The passionate service is the only only thing saving this place from a flat out 1 star rating. Come and try it for yourself if you like, just don’t expect much…

I really enjoyed this place and love how they created a concoction that lets you enjoy an even ratio of ice cream to cone with every bite! Good for kids too because it’s almost impossible to have drips unless you are a really messy eater. I got the vanilla blutusk ice cream with the delimanjoo combo.
For $ 6.50 the price is pretty reasonable, you get 4 of the delimanjoo and one giant ass ice cream. For the delimanjoo I definitely enjoyed the custard more than the red bean, the custard was warm and pudding-​y and really good. The red bean wasn’t bad either, just pales in comparison to the custard one. It’s also good if you dip it into the ice cream and eat it that way. The wafer cone thing itself was ok, I think this is either a love it or hate it type thing for most people. Personally I liked that the flavor is neutral so it doesn’t take away from the flavor of the ice cream, but it also ends up tasting a little bland after awhile. The ice cream is closer to froyo in consistency but the custard delimanjoo was still my favorite.
Place is small but very clean and the ambience is really bright and cute. They play kpop on the TV and I can definitely see this being a nice place to just chill with friends.

The two stars say it all – this place is eh. The u-​shaped ice cream cone is stale and hard to eat, and the inside of the cone is filled with frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. They try to brighten up the ice cream with a raspberry and sprinkles at the end of each side, but it honestly doesn’t add much pizazz to it. They do offer a few other ice cream desserts here, but I’m honestly not sure why they opened a place for this u-​shaped cone. Not going to lie, I thought it was pretty cool when I ate it first at a night market, but it’s not something so delicious, so mind-​blowing, so impressive that it deserves its own place.
I went there when it first opened, but even then there were hardly any people there. Parking is a pain, and I don’t think I’ll visit again because it’s really more of just a night market food.

No word better describes this place than «meh.»
The tusk ice cream cone is super overrated and stale. Each bite just felt like really old cornflakes that had been left out far too long and needed to be tossed. I’m guessing they buy either the cones or the cornflakes to make the cones in bulk and they’ve had that cone for a long time. The soft serve ice cream was good, but it’s hard to enjoy with such a stale cone.
The fish manjoo was not bad. While the custard could have had more flavor, I enjoyed it. But they were lazy with it. Instead of making it fresh, as other places do, they made it way in advance and heated it up.
The atmosphere of this place is terrible. I would feel really depressed working here– it’s claustrophobic and sterile.
This place could do a lot better if they were not so lazy.

$ 3.50 for a odd shaped vanilla cone that is tasty =) Great little spot on the second floor with milkshakes and friendly service. It is a cool unique dessert spot that is clean and easy to grab a cone.

Nice location, very clean place, and idea is awesome. The let down are two things: the ice cream part isn’t really creamy. It’s more like a froyo. And the second part is the «tusk». It’s not that tasty, and it’s more like a filler. Maybe if it had. l it’s own flavor more, it would have been amazing!

What an interesting place and concept. I shared the combo which includes a «tusk» and 4 manjoos. The tusk was filled with vanilla ice cream and it was kind of awkward to eat but I got a cup to hold everything that melted. The ice cream was really nothing special; just tasted like McDonald’s ice cream but icier. The tusk part of it was a little bit sweet and tasted like corn cereal. It was actually pretty addicting.
The manjoos were okay. The cream didn’t taste like regular vanilla cream and had this weird aftertaste. The red bean actually didn’t taste like much. The outside of the fish part was lukewarm and stale. Overall, I would not get this as it’s probably been sitting around all day.

I really wanted to like this place, but to me, this little dessert place was just ‘okay’! There is nothing wrong with the neat and spacious store, and the girl who helped me at the counter was super nice– but there wasn’t anything too interesting about this place either! The ‘tusks’ used for the ice cream a bit too light for my taste, as if it was sort of underdone. It would have been much more appealing if it was more of a caramelized brown with the sheen of cooked sugars that you typically see in more done pastries.
But I didn’t come for the tusk ice cream! I saw the little fish pastries on the sign on the lower level and actually got those instead. The price was good for trying it out (6 pieces for around $ 4), and I got to mix both the custard and the red bean filled fish pastries. I was really looking forward to the snack, but found myself slightly disappointed: the pastry itself was a little too dry for my taste, and they were more on the colder side. The filling had good flavor though, which helped out a lot!
Other than that, I was offered a stamp card by the nice girl at the counter. The incentives to come back for future visits is definitely worth it in my opinion! Because the desserts are relatively unique for the area, I suggest you check this place out if you have the time!

I am struggling to write this review because I was expecting so much more from this place. With a plethora dessert options on Sawtelle, I was hoping for yet another winner. Walked in and the décor was sterile and clean. It reminded of a hospital waiting room. Sipped on the complementary Coway filtered water and proceeded to order. I tried the tusk with chocolate ice cream and the four Deli Manjoos. It was part of a $ 6 combo.
The tusk is shaped like a candy cane and it’s filled with chocolate ice cream. On one end of the tusk is a single red raspberry. I am not sure what to make of it. The tusk reminded me of a Korean corn or rice popped snack. It was crispy, but lacked flavor. The chocolate ice cream helped add flavor, but it tasted like gas station soft serve. If the quality of the ice cream was better and there were additional ingredients like fruit or mochi in the tusk, I think it would be a much better dessert.
For the four Deli Manjoos, I tried custard and red bean. I have tried these fish-​shaped desserts at other eateries and what lacked here was quantity of the fillings. Too much air and not enough filling. In addition, some places I have been to make the Deli Manjoos per order, but here, they pre-​make it and warm up per order. I expected more from a West LA establishment.

A unique Korean dessert which serves an ice cream cone in a «tusk.» Blutusk also has red bean/​custard manjoo, which are like a pancake puff in a fish shape.
I sampled both in a combo– $ 6.50 for a tusk with 4 manjoo to go (usual price $ 3.50 each so I saved .50). The tusk was almost like a cornpop– a nice crunchy texture with a slight sweetness. I opted to try both the chocolate and vanilla ice cream and it was more of a custard with a slight icyness and malty hint which was nice. It was fun to eat and not as messy as I thought!
The manjoo were also nice and fresh, very small but packed lots of flavor and not too oily. Definitely a cool place to check out!

Blutusk had a giant Grand Opening sign hanging above the Nijiya Market plaza and I was definitely drawn in by the fanciful photos of Korean style shaved ice and cane shaped churro-​like ice cream treats.
Blutusk is different in a lot of ways. First, the name Blutusk is a rollercoaster of font and backwards lettering. Second, they serve an interesting menu of korean shaved ice, Tusk ice cream — corn cane shaped ice cream, and Joo: small fish shaped desserts filled with custard or red bean.
Essentially Blutusk takes the popular night market treats and serves them in a brick and mortar shop that takes the place of Yogurtland.
We ordered the Tusk ice cream for $ 3.99 with vanilla ice cream. It is an adventure to eat because the ice cream is piped into the corn cane so you’ll need to do a little neck gymnastics no matter which end you start eating.
They’ve only been open for a few days and because of that I think they have some kinks to work out. One of them is that I think the Joo needs to be served warm. But, they have really good service and will let you sample things before buying.
Blutusk is another option in a part of Sawtelle that has a glut of dessert places already but if you’re looking for something different, Blutusk is worth a try. 3.5 rounded up.