Kato - Los Angeles

"I'm calling to confirm your reservation for 8 PM at Kato," my voicemail starts. It sends an electric jolt of excitement clear through my toes. This is the third time we've tried to eat there, and this call makes it true. "We are difficult to find," it elaborates. Be still my heart.

I find the correct random-very-obscure shopping center, which I probably would have passed multiple times had they not told me, and no matter how many ways I look, I still can't find Kato. And that is AWESOME. 

Normal people would be frustrated, but I'm just happy to find something truly hidden...And there it is. A small glass door, Kato labeled in a pink, barely backlit by a garish neon sign for tacos overhead. 

There is a quiet calm inside, but our level of FOMO is palpable. We look at this deceptively simple menu, a choice between a tasting menu and a bigger tasting menu, and we can't decide if less is more or if we just want more. 

We decide that more is more, and the Fried Smelt is off to a promising start. Fresh as can be, fried into gold, a fishy-fish with belly full of grainy roe, grounded by an earthy sesame sauce, smooth as a white-sand beach.

The Smoked Hamachi is pretty in pink and not-so-delicate in flavor. Smoke permeates every bite, and it blends with bright sweet pickles and a murky charred scallion sauce that adds a layer of mystery.

Each dish is a peek into the soul of the chef. We see that he can be serious and mysterious, and the fried soft shell crab Lettuce Wrap is a display of a more playful side. This is his iteration of everyone's favorite appetizer from P.F. Chang's with better ingredients. The crab is sweet and fresh, and a dense green chili paste adds a rich spice to the mix.

The Ocean Trout finishes with smoke and salt like an pillow of lighter salmon, and it melts in our mouths with flakes of smoldering lettuce. The eggplant puree meshes with the trout, enhancing the sweetness.

The Octopus is braised in a gentle chili pepper, softened to a delightful goo. The outer layer takes on a soft, glutinous rice-like texture, and you can taste the kiss from the flames. A little salty for me, but that's just my personal preference.

The Duck is dense. The skin is a perfect crisp, and the slice of breast is a few meaty mouthfuls. There is a kelp glaze that highlights the salty meat, but the sticky roast shitake steals the show.

The chef has Asian roots, and it's dishes like the Dungeness Crab Porridge where you can see those roots soak up some California seawater. An amazing interpretation of Chinese comfort food: the crab is so impossibly sweet, the Santa Barbara uni is a topping straight from heaven, and rice grains rest on top to add a satisfying crunch to each creamy spoonful. It is by far the best dish in this line-up, and it's on par with half the Michelin stars I've tried.

The main dishes are a treat, but porridge aside, it's the desserts that blow my mind. Dessert is a lost art as more restaurants choose to focus on one or the other, and anything post-meal gets outsourced to donut shops and Yogurtland. 

Not at Kato. They don't play. They just cleanse the palate cleanser with a fresh Guava Sorbet and dive into a bunch of awesomeness. The green apple juice is laced with shiso and lime so it finishes like a brisk breathmint.

From a light reset to a thick Buttermilk Pudding. A seamless millk-sour that slides down like velvet, it offsets a side of summer sunshine, a cool mix of plump strawberries and delicate hibiscus ice.

Soy and Strawberry finishes like a much-improved iteration of a Keebler wafer cookie. The top layer snaps apart and crackles as it melts, and the rhubarb tempers the sweet.

Last dish, and I can't even hide the disappointment. As much as I enjoyed the meal, I would have had at least 20 courses of just dessert. The Iced Green Tea is SO FREAKIN' COOL. The tea sits, a circle-solid, cooling its heels over a bed of longan; an ice-cold highlight to the concentrated sweetness of a lychee-cousin at its ripest peak.

You've seen Smoke.Oil.Salt. come and go. Based on what I had at Kato, you could probably call it Smoke.Ice.Salt. But while the fancy big-name went away, I think Kato is here to stay. They use a lot of smoke, but they're not just blowing smoke. There's a recurring theme to every dish, but the preparations are a playground of flavors and textures, not a single one of them uninspired. 

And there is something about Kato. An undeniable charm, a genuine calm, and an innocence that stems from a genuine desire to just do what chefs do: cook. It's a refreshing thing to see in a city like LA. While everyone else clamors to get noticed, Kato lies in wait, with a seemingly purposeful obscurity, like it doesn't want to be found. I hope you do find it, but I also hope they stay a secret...MY secret.

Brazilian Plate House - Torrance

I had my doubts. A Brazilian barbecue takeout window might be the Torrance equivalent of a Hollywood Bowl danger-dog, but fortunately, Brazilian Plate House is immaculate. And when two young women walked up to the window and discussed their order with the cashier in Portuguese, we knew we were onto something good.

So we start with the Pao de Queijo, which looks to be the most boring item on their extensive list of appetizers. But this is a Brazilian classic I can't do without. Their fluffy little cheese puffs are a lot bigger than the ones I've seen at sit-down places, but the cheese inside stays delicate and light.

Cheese bread and Picanha and my day is made. The steak is a thin strip with a little pink inside, simply seasoned, and grilled well enough.

Turf then surf. The Shrimp Skewers hold 8 large shrimp wrapped in bacon. A bit too salty for me, but goes great with rice and beans. The beans have the luxury of bacon and fresh bay leaves, oozing softly over an al dente bed of rice.

Yes, it is a lovely view of...Torrance Blvd, and yes, it is in the middle of a parking lot, but it is walled off and sheltered from most of the exhaust from both sides. It's a simple, no-frills take-out window, and it doesn't cost a pretty penny like By Brazil. If you're looking to add some inexpensive Brazilian flare to your day, it does curb the craving and hit the spot. Great for a movie night or a solo stuff-your-face, and just as good for a working lunch if you can handle the food coma to come.

La Capilla Mexican Restaurant - Torrance

Antique stores, Japanese food, and margaritas. Yup, Old Torrance sounds like my kind of hood. 

I don't know much about antiques, but for margaritas, there's always the folks at La Capilla who have been serving up drinks and Mexican food since seemingly forever, situated strategically on a very visible corner. 

I was really feeling chicken that day so I went with a combo plate. Mine comes with a crunchy taco and a soft enchilada. The chicken is really good. Pale, unappetizing-appearing chunks, large and small, all of them with a just the right amount of basic seasoning, flavors steamed all the way through the meat. 

It tastes great in tacos and tortillas alike, and the Chicken Burrito is just as good. 

Okay, fine, so it's Mexican food for white people. But it still hits the spot for most people. The flavors aren't as deep or as strong as I'd like, and even the record beans are a bit dumbed-down and filled, but at least I still enjoy eating them. There's plenty of goopy, stringy cheese, more than enough rice and beans to give you the requisite amount of post Mexican food flatulence, and I don't see a lot of options in that area of you're looking for a drink. That said, it would be nice if all the servers and bussers didn't look at everyone with such scowling disdain... 

Da Pasquale UPDATE - Beverly Hills

Back again. And a lot sooner than I thought. But someone says "birthday party", and I come running.

Why mess with a good thing? Birthday boy loves Da Pasquale, and I'm not about to argue. We get the Proscuitto San Daniele again because it's too good not to, and the burrata is still some of the best I've had. 

The quality of the service is less consistent tonight, as our server tries to give away my appetizer and my wine multiple times, but the quality of the food can always be counted upon. The Carpaccio di Manzo is new for me, and it's awesome. A tender filet mignon is sliced paper-thin, and it finishes savory and rich as it melts in your mouth. 

I wasn't feeling the heavier meats after the apps so we clink glasses over a Pappardelle con Asparagi e Pollo. The ribbon pasta is at the usual level of perfect, and al dente makes a good contrast with cooked-but-still-crisp asparagus spears and a softer, neutral chicken. I wouldn't call the sauce light pink, but it's an apt description for its much lighter, not-so-tart tomato base. Not my favorite, but still well-made. 

The Spaghetti alla Pescatora is a an ocean on a plate. The clams are briny, the mussels are soft, and the shrimp are tender. There's a small spicy kick that brings out the freshness of the tomato sauce, and it flatter the seafoam saltiness that permeates the dish.

The birthday boy gave me his ice cream for dessert. Before you give me that what-kind-of-person-eats-the-birthday-boy's-ice-cream look, he can't have dairy. And anyway, that light raspberry sauce is worth some scorn. 

It's still good. And I still like it. That's really all that matters. What also matters is that Da Pasquale is full of genuinely good people cooking and serving genuinely good food. Da Pasquale, don't ever change!

Furaibo - Los Angeles

No plans for dinner, no reservations to be had. No need to stop at SushiStop, Nong La is a no, resist the urge to join the Tsujita crowd, annex or otherwise. There's an izakaya further down the street, but Furaibo has me fascinated, and my internal good-food divining rod was telling me to give it try. 

I love this menu. The selection is overwhelming, but the plates are small and the prices are low so there's no shortage of things to try. 

Starting safe with skewers, there's a tender Chicken Heart...

and a crispy Chicken Skin that I would have liked it a little more crispy.

Took a chance on the Beef Tongue, not a bad gamble at all. Chewy and juicy, slightly crude but very appetizing chunks.

The best part of winging it is the Teba-Saki chicken wings. It's their special seasoning, a crispy coating with a dry, spicy sauce that gets you hooked like crack.

From crispy to chewy to soft, sweet soy-soaked Kakuni. The belly is the most enjoyable part of the pork, and this one is a velvety pillow of meat with gristle.

Kakuni is incomplete without a Yaki Onigiri. It's just a grilled rice ball, until you add soy sauce or miso. The soy sauce seasons one well enough to eat it plain, and miso on the other grills a little bitter to add an extra bite.

The Mochi Cheese is genius. This is the only time I will ever say a Kraft single is a good idea, and the mochi is a perfect starchy, savory chew. The crisp nori takes the place of toasted bread, a Japanese iteration of your favorite all-American grilled cheese. 

It's hard to try new stuff on Sawtelle. It's even harder to walk between two Tsujitas and not go in. But I don't regret skipping the best tsukemen in LA to try the crafty little dishes at Furaibo, and I do think I'll try them again some day... Maybe when the call of the ramen is not so strong...