Fried Chicken is hot in LA and Angelenos are fortunate to have many different types of fried chicken available. They range from the conventional Honey’s Kettle, Nashville hot fried chicken with Hotville Chicken, and Korean-style fried chicken with Honey Dress Fried Chicken. When Tokyo Fried Chicken introduced Japanese fried chicken, I became interested in trying…
Japanese
Kaz the Soba Place Prepares Unique Soba Dishes
While Japanese ramen and udon noodles are well known, soba remains a favorite to those who are familiar with Japanese food. Ramen and udon are made with wheat noodles. Conversely, soba noodles are made from buckwheat. I recently visited Kaz the Soba Place, a restaurant that specializes in soba. Kaz the Soba Place is just…
Kurisaki Delivers Premium Quality Sushi to the South Bay
Sushi is trendy in the South Bay. While some of the best quality sushi restaurants reside inland, a few South Bay restaurants warrant the attention of sushi lovers. One, in particular, is Kurisaki, a sushi restaurant located in Redondo Beach. Kurisaki is owned and operated by Chef Haruo Kurisaki, a chef who spent 19 years…
Anzu Gourmet Scores with Japanese Fusion in Sawtelle Japantown
A ¾-mile stretch of Sawtelle Ave in West LA has an amazing collection of Japanese eateries. Named Sawtelle Japantown, you can find restaurants specializing in sushi, ramen, tsukemen, udon, Japanese curry, yakitori, and bento. One of the more recent restaurants to open is Anzu Gourmet, a place specializing in karaage fried chicken. Karaage is a…
Katsu Sando Features Japanese Katsu Sandwiches To-Go
Three years ago, one of the most popular sandwiches to appear on Instagram was the katsu sando from Echo Park’s Konbi. In fact, Bon Appetit featured the recipe for their pork katsu sando. While I haven’t frequented Konbi, I recently visited Katsu Sando, a restaurant located in downtown LA’s Chinatown. If you aren’t familiar with…
Izakaya Hachi Delivers Amazing Japanese Tapas
Prior to the pandemic, Izakaya Hachi was one of the busiest restaurants in the South Bay. Their brick-and-mortar is located on Carson St near many Japanese eateries. Reservations were required and sometimes you had to book a couple of weeks in advance. As an izakaya, they operate similar to a Spanish tapas bar. Izakaya restaurants…
Kotosh – Japanese Peruvian Done Well
Kotosh originally opened with the name of Kotosh at Kamiyama and is a Japanese Peruvian fusion restaurant. Knowing how important restaurant naming is, I wondered about having a long name that isn’t easy to remember. Fortunately, they are thriving 15 years later. Today, they are simply known as “Kotosh”. Kotosh is located in a strip…
The 10 Days of Take Out in the South Bay
According to Bloomberg, more than 110,000 restaurants have closed permanently or long-term across the country as the industry grapples with the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the South Bay, the situation is the same; many restaurants are temporarily closed or operating with only a small fraction of their normal business. South Bay restaurants…
Yess Aquatic Delivers Innovative Japanese Seafood
Editor’s note: Yess Aquatic ceased its food truck operation in Oct 2021. Owner Yamasaki is working on opening a brick and mortar in that same location. Date TBD. Despite the pandemic taking place, some LA restaurants are taking steps to prepare for their opening. One such restaurant is located in downtown LA’s Art District. Since…
Tsurumaru Udon Honpo – DIY Udon Kit
Toshikoshi is a celebration for the New Year in Japan, which means to cut from the old year to the new year. They do this by eating Toshikoshi soba, a “year-crossing noodle” to cut from the old year to the new year. To aid in the celebration, Tsurumaru Udon Honpo created DIY Nabeyaki Udon kits. …