Review: The Izaka-ya by Katsu-Ya, Manhattan Beach

    Katsuya's Izakaya in Manhattan Beach opened its doors in 2010 and has been busy ever since! And yet the name of this place has me a bit confused.
   An Izakaya is defined as a bar which serves small dishes. But there are no sake bombs, or loud chugging of beer by drunken business men here. It is usually crowded and sometimes loud, but the high quality food, traditional Japanese decor and friendly staff create a warm, family-friendly atmosphere.

  Katsuya is the name of the founder of a small kingdom of Japanese restaurants. Katsuya's restaurants are known for giving fresh California inspired twists to traditional Japanese dishes. For example, Katsuya's version of yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno, which delivers a spicy overtone to the light and delicate fish. 

The yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno

    So, it's not a bar, in fact the only bar in the place is a sushi bar! And it's named after a creative guy; who has no creativity in naming his restaurants. He has two other restaurants with the same name! This is in no way a reason to avoid what is certainly the best Japanese food I have found west of Gardena. 
    The sushi and sashimi are just the beginning of their creative menu.  For a great introduction to Katsuya's innovative dishes, try their Izaka-ya plate. Here you will see his creative mixture of taste, texture and color. Each of the dishes on this platter packs a real flavor punch and I have found it's a good idea to share the bounty of this plate (i.e. it doesn't make the best lunch choice, rather a great appetizer to share among friends). 

The Izaka-ya plate

  The food is delicious and of the highest quality, but can also be expensive. During a recent visit I noticed that the entire first page of the menu, the 'seasonal specials', had no pricing at all. It made me a little uncomfortable, but didn't stop my husband from ordering some Toro, no matter the price. I prefer to know what I'm getting myself into.  Subtly waving down a server to ask pricing questions would be quite uncomfortable if one were on a date.

   If you are on a budget consider their Saturday and Sunday afternoon Japanese Tapas menu which is available from 3-5pm. Tasty bites range from $2 to $6 with specials on beer and wine as well. 
    As I mentioned, this place is popular and can get quite crowded.  Call ahead and make a reservation or be prepared to wait in the tiny screened off space by the front door, remember, no bar!

These are our favorite dishes at The Izakaya by Katsu-Ya: 

• Salmon Skin Salad
• All of the high quality Sushi and Sashimi
• Crispy rice with spicy tuna
• Yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño 
• Grilled yellowtail collar (rarely seen on menus!)

Uni Sashimi - very generous portion!

Things on my list to try on my next visit:

• Halibut Carpaccio w/Granny Apple
• Seafood Ceviche (Japanese ceviche?)
• Halibut Cheek kara-age (Southern fried fish cheeks?)
• Okinawa Style Spare Rib

Have you eaten at the Izakaya by Katsu-Ya in Manhattan Beach?  
What are your favorite dishes? Really, I want to know! :)

A Few Words About Reviews

Before I start posting my opinions, let's get a few things straight.
Everyone eats. We have to. Each of us has our own unique palate. What some consider their favorite foods may be other's least favorite.  

So how is it that we trust other's opinions about restaurants? Are reviews really a useful tool for discovering a great place to eat?

I'm not going to attempt to answer these questions.  What I am going to do is attempt to write reviews designed to open up discussion about a particular restaurant. 

Also, let me be honest here; I'm not compensated in any way for my food writing.  I don't solicit invitations to restaurants hoping to get free food and offering them free publicity.  Without a corporate budget to support my dining habits, I find it difficult (or impossible) to eat through an entire menu before I make an opinion on a restaurant. 

I'm a social eater.  I like to go out and eat.  I like good food. I like good service. I like restaurants to be clean and have a comfortable atmosphere. 

I also love to hear from others about their experiences. What is YOUR opinion? Really, I want to know!
So, please, comment - tell me what YOU think! 

REAL Italian in the South Bay

I took a friend out to dinner last night for her birthday. She lives in Redondo Beach and wanted seafood. I headed towards Hermosa Beach and brainstormed along the way. I really wanted Italian food. Then I remembered Il Boccaccio at Pier Plaza in Hermosa Beach.
I discovered Il Boccaccio after eating their lasagna at the MBEF wine auction three years ago. One bite and i was hooked! They make the best lasagna I've ever tasted. They use homemade pasta sheets and a rich meat sauce and creamy ricotta which give it a hearty lusciousness that is addicting.
So we headed over to the Pier Plaza and walked right in. People who live in the South Bay know that the Pier Plaza is a party area. I think of it as a frat party for those in the 30-50 year old range. There is always loud music coming out of the various bars. The rent is high and these places pack them in and pour the liquor liberally.
But Il Boccaccio is not like that, in any way. It evokes the feeling of a small family run restaurant in Italy. The menu is simple and contains the basics of Italian food from many different regions. However, the specials are what really makes this place stand out. They are seasonal, freshly prepared and always changing.
We ordered the fennel and blood orange salad. The classic combination of flavors was fresh and clean.
I couldn't resist the Pasta Puttanesca made with FRESH anchovies. I love oily fish and these were very tender laying on top of a bed of angel hair dressed with tomatoes and capers. Another classic combination, this one made even better with the big juicy anchovies.
My friend ordered the grilled scallop special and seemed to really love them as they were gone by the time I looked up to ask her how they were!
Before leaving we chatted briefly with the chef/owner (Joe?) and let him know how happy we were to be enjoying a wonderful meal prepared by those who care - rather than being part of the cacophony that was going on just outside on the plaza. He appreciated the comments and we loved the evening.
Their website is a bit outdated, but don't let that stop you from going. If the website was all up to date I'd be worried that they weren't concentrating on the food!

Paris Eats Part II: Le Gavroche

Before we left on our trip to Paris, we choose a list of restaurants where we wanted dinner resevations for the whole trip. I didn't want us to get there and be scrambling for a place. I wanted a nice selection of establishments, both fancy and simple, located all across Paris, so that we'd be able to experience different neighborhoods and types of restaurnts. Truly in Paris there is a difference between a cafe, bistro, brasserie and restaurant (although don't quiz me on the brasserie vs. bistro one!).

Le Gavroche had a favorable review in the Pudlo restaurant guide and was described as an inexpensive bistro serving fabulous French classic dishes.

The place is very tiny with a small bar as you enter which holds maybe five people. There are tables pressed against one another in typical Parisian fashion which hold an additional 20 or so people in the main room. There is a second room which holds perhaps another 10. Similar to Hier et Aujourd'hui, there were only two people running the place two men, one in the kitchen and one in the front of the house.

We definately got to know your neighbors as we were seated eight inches away from them in either direction. The English men to my left talked loudly as if wanting us to chime in with our opinion. The single guy to my right was content eating and drinking in silence. I did notice that he had the same copy of the Pudlo book as we did, nice choice!

The local feel made me nervous at first, would we fit in? The menu made me relax because as promised it held all the French basics I wanted to see... escargot, fresh anchovies, charcuterie plates, pomme frites, steak with peppercorn sauce, etc.

We patiently waited for the waiter's attention and then blasted our order at him... big plate of escargot, marinated white anchovies, carrot salad, tomato salad, and a charcuterie plate. I loved the old fashioned way the waiter kept track of our order by writing directly on the butcher paper covering our table. We loved the wine choices. There were several wines from Beaujolais that had a proprietary label on them. We chose a Fleurie and Julienas over the course of our meal.

The escargot were good, everything was good. Not fabulous, but delicious, simply prepared classics. It all really hit the spot, we had been craving good French food and this delivered the food and the very Parisian experience I wanted.

Our entree's were equally basic, filling and well prepared. I had a grilled sausage salad, which was a bit gamey but, after borrowing the mustard from the English men's table, really perked up. The pork with Dijon sauce was deemed a hit by my husband and the veal with peppercorn sauce was perfectly cooked and disappeared quickly.

I ordered the Baba Rhum for dessert which Pudlo recommended and it was wonderfully moist and delicious.

While waiting for l'addition, the solo waiter stopped by to pour my husband and I one more glass of red wine, which we gladly accepted. At this point I knew that we had managed to fit in with the locals. We found that if you enjoy food, wine and a true French meal, which we certainly did that night, well then the Parisians are going to respect you and your joie de vivre.

We stumbled out of our tiny table and took a picture of the chef in his tiny kitchen and he was happy to ham it up for the photo. They were certainly proud of the ambiance, food and experience they had shared with us that night. We were happy to have been there and I'd go back anytime!

Le Gavroche
2nd Arronidssement
19, Rue St Marc 75002 Paris, France
ph. +33 1 42 96 89 70‎

Pudlo for Paris

Hands down the best choice we made before leaving for our Paris trip this spring was purchasing the Pudlo Paris Restaurant Guide. We used this book for every restaurant choice we made. Before we left we used it to make a list of our desired dinner reservations to give to our concierge. On the trip we used it to look up places with great food that weren't too expensive, for our lunches.

The book is organized by arrondissement and uses symbols to give details such as fancy or everyday, expensive or affordable, and whether the food is exceptional for the amount paid.

Our best meals, with the most Parisian ambiance and very local feel as well as great traditional French food were chosen directly from Pudlo's best food for the money choices. The worst meals we endured in Paris were found when we went on our own without any Pudlo guidance.

The Pudlo book is similar to both the Zagat and Michelin guides. Similar to Zagat as it is written with authoritative opinion and direct quotes from the reviewers (Pudlo uses a team of people to review each restaurant). Similar to Michelin in the breadth of detail and local flavor given to the guide (you need to know the article for the name of the restaurant to find it in the index - le? la? l'?).

We ended up destroying our Pudlo Paris book during the trip. It was my husband's idea. Why not rip out the pages you need for the day and just put them in your day pack? This worked like a charm as the book itself is quite large and heavy. We tore out pages with abandon and left the tattered shell in the trash of our George V hotel room on the last day. The book comes out yearly, so clearly we'd need another one for our next Parisian adventure.

It's well worth the expense!

My last bite from Mozza

I just finished a light lunch of roasted beet and horseradish salad and bruschetta with salt cod puree and olives. It was just lovely. These were the last bites of yesterday's late lunch at Mozza. My husband and I took two 8 year old boys with us to our reservation at 4:30pm on a Sunday. I had to make these reservations 3 weeks ago.

In fact, my plan was to get our family together with another foodie family and to have a great pizza family fooding adventure. Only it didn't go that way. It's a long story, but the fact is that Mozza will not accept reservations for parties over 6 people. It is a small place. I've since discovered that they have a private room, so for a price, they will allow a larger group to enjoy their great food.

If you don't already know, Mozza is the hot new pizzeria which is a Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali collaboration. This means incredible dough, pastry and breads combined with the best of regional Italian cooking along with handmade cured meats done the old-fashioned way and provided by Mario's father.

It's a tiny little place at the corner of Melrose and Highland Ave. This corner has been begging for attention for years and it's great to see the place all abuzz.

We ordered the two items I mentioned earlier, the beet salad and the salt cod bruschetta, as starters. The boys wouldn't touch them, but we found them excellent. The boys loved their pizza margherita, ordered without basil. They both were quiet for about five minutes while they devoured them.

Bruce and I shared the white anchovy with roasted hot peppers - incredible, lovely clean pickley fish flavor from the anchovy balanced with sweet heat and creamy texture from the roasted peppers pulling it all together.

We also tried the fennel sausage pizza with roasted onions. This one was sweet and oh, so savory. The sausage chunks were dark brown and crunchy on the outside and moist and flavorful inside. The sweet onions just put it over the top.

The dough was, as expected, incredible. Just light enough to have a great crunch and just weighty to hold up to all the great ingredients. I'd make reservations again, just to have another pizza from here.

Another reason to come back would be the caramel and the butterscotch desserts. Oh, wow. The butterscotch Bundino has been mentioned in a few articles, reviews, etc. But we really thought the caramel dessert was even better. The carmel had the crunch of cookie, the incredible sticky cloud of homemade marshmallow, the rich and creamy caramel ice cream and then the salty peanuts sprinkled over the whole thing and sinking into the various textures making craters and being coated by each sweet concoction. MMM.

Mozza really lived up to all the hype. It was worth the planning and although it wasn't the lunch I had originally planned, it was still quite wonderful.

Avenue Report for March

Well Avenue has still got it. We had a fabulous dinner there on Thursday. We shared the fois gras as a starter. They always have a fois on the menu. When it is a seared preparation, we love to order it with a glass of Sauternes, both to share now that we're watching our weight. A few bites is all you need and this month's fruity accompaniment made for a savory, sweet and rich sensation.
The owners know us by name now and Teddy was very sweet and gave the two of us the big booth in the corner with mirrors. We had never sat there and while that may not seem an interesting point about our evening... it is. The corner booth allows you to see the whole restaurant surreptitiously. Bruce was spying on everyone, people watching at will. Teddy pointed one of their investors eating in a booth by the front door...all very interesting.
Our waiter's doppelganger, the bus boy, served me the wrong entree and I tore into it before they could whisk it away to the other table. I didn't order the Elk, but wow, it was wonderfully tender and juicy. I had ordered the lamb loin, for the side dish (roasted eggplant and espelette{a small roasted red pepper}), but ended up with carrots and the elk. The staff were very kind and brought me a plate of the vegetables from the lamb dish and they were smokey-licious.
Bruce ordered the two way pork dish. The shoulder was fall-apart tender and the soubise was the star of the dish. Soubise is an onion enriched stock based sauce. The tiny diced onions were cooked down to tender sweetness. The only problem was that the sauce was a bit too sweet to match with the wine.
Yes, we're watching our weight (fluctuate wildly when we eat like this) but we didn't turn down the free dessert Teddy brought us. We had the chocolate cake with marshmallow spoon which is a lovely cup of moist cake and the perfect way to end the meal.
Once again, we are so thankful for the quality of food available at Avenue. Love it.

Sneak Peek at the Corkscrew Cafe

Stopped by the new Corkscrew Cafe in MB this AM. It's at Marine Ave. and Highland Ave. in the new corner building. It's a combination, tapas restaurant, market, and deli/bakery. It has a few rooms and a patio all on different levels. The room we sat in had a view of the ocean. The breakfast menu was sparse, but we had great coffee and B really liked the salsa that came with his breakfast burrito.
It would be a great place to stop in, grab a bagel and cup of coffee in the AM on your way to the beach, then swing by at lunch for a quick sandwich, in the evening you can come back for a nice glass of wine as the sun sets and you enjoy some small plates in the company of good friends and neighbors.
I hope it does well. I'm looking forward to going back without the kids!

The 100 Year Old Machine

The parking gods were smiling on us and we found a space less than half a block away. This may not seem relevant, but I really hated the idea of circumnavigating the five corners intersection of Hermosa Beach (Hermosa Ave., Manhattan Ave. and Gould Ave.). It's difficult enough just to get through it!
So we were there, on time, and hungry. The host knew us by name, met us at the door and sat us at a table for two in the middle of a banquette that ran from the front to the back of the small room. The floors and mismatched tables are so dark as to be black, white linens add a crisp clean look. The plaster walls were mostly bare save for a map of Italy, a few large mirrors and candle holders. Everywhere there are lit candles and wine bottles. The flames make for a lovely cozy atmosphere.
Large dark wood cubbies and clever racks for the wine collection line the back of the room. A large low table allows waiters to prepare the charcouterie there in the dining room.
It feels European, thrown together yet quaint. The lack of soft textiles allows the harsh tones of conversations from other tables to be easily heard, my only complaint.
The menu is being reprinted and we are handed three sheets of paper stapled together as a menu and another set of sheets which served as the wine list. The menu was sparse, a few salads, risottos, gnocchis, and at closer inspection I find there are only antipasti and primi (first courses) listed. Ah, specials.
They all sounded lovely and there were many! At least 8. All seasonal, classic Italian, great ingredients.

• Smoked Duck and Porcinis in light cream sauce with Papparadelle
• Veal Shank, cooked all day, off the bone into a sauce, with some other thick pasta
• Saddle of Rabbit
• Filet Mignon, two different preparations are offered.
• Monkfish marinated for 30 minutes in lemon sauce, roasted with veggies
• Roasted whole fish, taken off the grill and filleted for you

I can't remember them all.
We order the Duck Papparadelle, the whole roasted fish, and a board of cheeses and meats to start with.
The waiter helps us choose a wine from the formidable collection of Italians they currently have in stock. We chose the Ripasa Valpolicella 2004 which was lively enough to pair well with the cured meats and light enough to go with my roasted fish. Later in the evening we see our waiter's doppleganger (or brother?), also a waiter at La Sosta, he is leaning over the candle at a nearby table, swirling wine in his glass over the flame as he explains, to the man and woman who are eagerly listening, about the grape used to make the wine and the color and texture properties it adds to the final product. Clearly they care about their wine at La Sosta.
Our board arrives and he manages to fit it between us on the tiny table. The selection is beautiful! Speck (like prosciutto only smoked, he says), Pancetta (I can't help think that I usually cook the stuff and eat it like bacon, so is this bacon sushi?) and a spicy Spanish chorizo style salami he calls caccitino (sp?), Pecorino cheese from Sicily, peppered and aged goat cheese, and a third which was basted in wine and refered to as "drunken". In addition there was truffled honey, a few roasted and marinated tiny tomatoes and slices of pickled eggplant. Wow! The truffled honey paired with the Pecorino was wonderful. The honey and the eggplant were almost better than anything else on the platter. The portions were perfect, not too small, but large enough to have a few good bites of each.
Our second courses arrived and for the most part did not disappoint. The pasta dish was rich and delicious with tiny paper thin slices of the smoked duck and served in a sensible portion which we really appreciate. The fish was succulent and moist but a bit bland. I found a few bones as well. But the vegetables are cooked perfectly and well seasoned.
We skip dessert as usual, choosing to finish our bottle of wine as we chat to the waiter about the meats and the incredible slicing machine at the back of the room. The machine is giant about three feet deep and the same across. We watch as a waiter turns a huge fly wheel and gets the blade moving back and forth with a little momentum and then he takes his hands off the wheel and the blade keeps slicing beautiful delicate slices of the cured meats as it winds down. The host tells us that the machine is about 100 years old and is made by a Dutch maker. When it doesn't work, you take it apart, clean it up and it works again, perfectly.
I really like this place. It has a wonderful vibe and I'm looking past my perfectly cooked but a little boney and bland fish because the rest of the experience gives me hope that delicious, authentic and seasonal food prepared by caring people can be found in the South Bay.
La Sosta Enoteca, 2700 Manhattan Ave.(27th St.) Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
310-318-1556