Sushi rolls' distinctive round shape pays tribute to their original use as spare tires for stranded hermit crabs. Take sushi for a spin with today's Groupon to Ittou Bento in El Segundo. Choose between the following options:

• For $20, you get a three-course meal for two (up to a $41.84 value) that includes the following:
  • One order of edamame (a $3 value)
  • Your choice of three rolls (up to a $10.95 value each)
  • One dessert (up to a $5.99 a la carte value)

• For $32, you get a sashimi-and-nigiri special boat for four to six people (a $65 value).

Ittou Bento anchors a menu of Japanese-fusion cuisine around a selection of Eastern- and Western-inspired sushi rolls that changes every season. Meander into mealtime with a bowl of edamame pods, squeezing out savory bites before sporting husks as a fake mustache to hide from colorblind U.S. marshals. A catalog of hand and regular rolls share names with forces of nature, such as the Mudslide roll, a core of spicy tuna and cucumber bound in rice and covered with red snapper and wasabi-ponzu sauce, or baked crab and chipotle sauce clutched inside the Monsoon hand roll. The Twister roll seals a combination of crab and avocado beneath a seal of fiery tuna slices autographed in spicy mayo by Bill Paxton. (Soy paper can be spun around any chosen roll for an additional $1.) Coat toasty throats with a cool green-tea-mochi-ice-cream lacquer or tuck in taste buds with a slice of the new york–style cheesecake. Groups of four to six can clash chopsticks over a sushi boat of sashimi and rice-borne nigiri specials crafted from hamachi, albacore, yellow-fin tuna, ebi, salmon, and other fresh catches.

Ittou Bento stocks pantries with hot and cold green teas, bottled sodas, and other beverages available for an additional charge, though the BYOB establishment encourages diners to bring bottles of wine or horns of mead from home. Sleek, modern accents highlight the dining room with thin mirrors and warm paper lanterns. Outdoor seating hosts diners court-mandated to eat all meals within 20 feet of a tranquil fountain.