Our theater in L.A. was located across the street from the famous restaurant Katsuya, where celebrities are often seen dining (or not; more on that later) in their sleek dining room.
Jamie and I were determined to eat here, but since we would have had to take out a loan to make dinner happen, we decided to get their lunch bento boxes and supplement it with some of their signature items. Boy am I glad we did.
The ambiance of the restaurant was great; kind of like a night club that yearned to be a restaurant with slightly creepy pictures on the walls. They must do great business on Halloween.
We started with baked crab handrolls. While in LA I saw a friend who used to work at Katsuya. She said that the employees called these “crack rolls” and I understand why. They were insanely addictive. The crab was mixed with what with a light creamy sauce, wrapped in rice paper and finished with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. This was the real deal crab, imitation need not apply. I can only assume one of the main ingredients was in fact crack; I could have inhaled a dozen of these.
Crack-Filled Crab Rolls
We also tried the BSC roll (as suggested by my friend) which I realized stands for Baked Scallop California roll. It was your traditional California roll topped with scallops in a thick cream sauce and then broiled until golden brown on top. I’m glad I was splitting this with Jamie because it was borderline too rich, but the combination of scallops and the silky, savory sauce wouldn’t allow my self-control to say no.
Scallops. On top of Susi. Hail yeah.
The miso soup/salad were fairly run of the mill. While there, I commented how there was a slightly richer depth of flavor than your average Japanese place in the soup and the dressing, but in retrospect it may have been me trying to find something more gastronomically substantial in a high profile restaurant.
Meh.
My beef teriyaki was an actual fillet of beef and not your traditional minced up cow sometimes found in one’s bento box. It sat atop some bangin’ potato puree; creamy and light, but with a hearty quality to it. I was not a fan of the sauce that came on it, however. It had a canned taste to it. That being said, of course I finished the whole thing.
Where's the beef?! ...No one? Just Me?
On that note, we noticed the table of two next to us ordered a TON of food and hardly touched it. They left platter upon platter of untouched sushi, crab rolls and other appetizers without eating a piece and didn’t take any of it with them?! Are doggie bags only an east coast thing? It boggled my mind.
Back to the food. Jamie ordered the miso marinated black cod which was beautifully presented and fantastic. The fish was cooked perfectly and the miso glaze offered a sweetness that complemented the fresh fish wonderfully.
Cod-tastic.
We added sides of tempura and spicy tuna roll, and like the salad and soup, they were run of the mill.
It's like Jenga, but with fried vegetables.
Lotta rice, little tuna
Overall, would I be back? For the house specialties (and with someone else’s credit card), sure! I’ve also heard their cocktails are fantastic, but we didn’t want to get crunked on a show day. Next time!
totallyfat 