Kat's 9 Lives

I still haven't posted the photos for Katsuya in Studio City because I am really behind. Since I liked the sushi there, I thought that the Brentwood location would be about the same. Unfortunately... that is so NOT true. The Brentwood location is NOTHING like the Studio City location. I guess I didn't hear or Burumun didn't tell me that this location was more of a Robata bar. Q-bear and I sat at the Robata bar. It was extremely crowded on Saturday, as most places in LA would be. Valet was $6, which only added to how expensive this place was. The decor was very modern and sort of club like. You can barely hear yourself think when you're inside.
I sort of arrived late getting back from Pasadena after the white water rafting trip. By the time I arrived, Q-bear was eating her Sashimi Plate. It looked like a decent amount of food for $30, but the fish didn't look too fresh. The plate contained your typical assortment of fish. I guess I should have went cheaper and just ordered this, but I really don't like most of the fishes that came in it. Trying to order stuff I might like there cost me an arm and a leg! That's for sure. =*(
The menu was very limited so I tried to pick out the better sounding sushi. I decided to get the Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeno, which you can never really go wrong. It's not anything special because everywhere carries this dish. The portion was pretty tiny for $18. I thought the sauce was tasty, but the presentation was lacking. If they give you such small portions, then use a smaller plate! That way it won't seem like there's tons of empty space to remind you how little they give you. It was good, but definitely NOT worth $18.
One thing that I thought was unique was the Sliced Kiwi Scallop with Yuzu Vinaigrette. At first I thought it said kiwi scallops, as if that was a type of scallop. They gave a generous amount of scallop laid atop thin slices of kiwi. I really liked the infused flavor of Yuzu. The presentation was done beautifully on top of a gigantic shell and then sprinkled with colorful petals to enhance the palette. Above is the scallop dish with flash and below is the photo in the dim original lighting of the Robata bar.
I decided to try their Toro. The waitress said that they only had Super Toro left and the market price was $10 per piece. I was like, whoa that better be some fabulous toro. If you order Sashimi then it comes with 4 pieces, so I asked how much that would be. I could have sworn she said $30 but later the bill said $36. I decided to not argue and chalk it up to the fact that the place was extremely noisy. The toro was presented nicely on top of ice in a wooden box. It was very colorful and decorative. For good toro, I don't mind paying a lot. What really infuriates me was that I asked if they had fresh wasabi and the server said yes. She brought a nice chunk out and I was extremely delighted they were classy enough to carry it. Then the bill came, she NEGLECTED to tell me that the chunk of fresh wasabi would be FIVE FREAKING DOLLARS! Are you kidding me?????????!?!?!??!?! For that price I could have gotten an order of sushi! That seriously just pissed me off! I might have given this place a descent review had they not gouged me for something so small. I mean seriously, I spend $70 on very little sashimi the least I deserve was some fresh wasabi! Ridiculous!
In summation, I am obviously very upset about the whole dining experience. It's WAY over priced and not even that good! If you read all my reviews or know me, money usually isn't a problem for great food and this place obviously did not live up to it's cost. I will NEVER come back to this location. Even though I am furious at how horrible and lame the Katsuya in Brentwood was, I might one day go back to the Katsuya in Studio City. What a dramatic difference location can be. The people who eat in Brentwood and enjoy it there must only be for the ambiance or for the name, because they sure don't know what good food is like! If you want Robata, then you should go to Shin Sen Gumi it's ten thousand times better and CHEAPER! Definitely more authentic.

Katsuya

On Saturday I picked up Ms. Lin from LAX to surprise our parents. We tried our hardest to find a good sushi place open for lunch on Saturday. For those of you out there who are avid sushi-goers you know how hard it is to find such a place. Finally we found Nagao Sushi & Salad tucked away in this corner on San Vicente. It's a very clean and airy ambiance, the colors are very tranquil like the sea. The service was friendly and we sat at the sushi bar. Chef Nagao was there hard at work.
To start off the day we had to get our favorite, Hamachi. It was very fresh and the pieces were delicately sliced maintaining the texture. The cut was generous.
I ordered the Eel Avocado Roll with Soy Paper to fill me up. The initial roll fell apart since soy paper is very delicate. Chef Nagao made sure not to serve anything that was not up to par. Although I was fine with one piece breaking apart, it's still good. ^)^ Before I could say anything he started a new roll. I really liked the Soybean Roll because it was different from the usual rolls. People on the internet liked this roll a lot so we had to give it a try. We chose yellow tail wrapped in soybean paper with crab, asparagus, avocado, burdock roots, smelt eggs, and rice. Ms. Lin and I love wild carrot aka burdock root. They really add a wonderful texture to the entire roll. There was also a special mayonnaise sauce to dip the roll.
Burumun decided to try the Ankimo, Monkfish Liver. The presentation was nice and colorful. We wanted to try the Hokki Cai because it said shell fish and I was hoping it was similar to orange clam. It turned out to be Surf Clam. They gave huge pieces.
Ms. Lin and I shared the Hotate, Scallop. The portion was very generous and topped with Roe. This was the first time I have seen it topped with roe and it was good. It adds a different texture to the bite. The three of us decided to share the Cajun Sashimi. We were sold by the word Cajun. Even though I don't like Maguro, I still wanted to try it. The portion was tremendously generous. I really loved how they gave minced garlic as a condiment. The pieces were delicately cut in front of us and it was a great deal for the price. I'd definitely recommend this if you like tuna and albacore. They flavor and sear the fish when you order it.
As we chatted with Chef Nagao, he inquired why I was taking all the photos. I told him about my website and how it's a detailed site about my adventures. He wanted to present their signature dish and offered it to us. It was the Moonlight No. 3 on the menu. The roll contains no rice at all. It's tuna, halibut, crab, smelt eggs, avocado, burdock roots, and asparagus all wrapped up by cucumber. I took a picture before the sauce was poured on. The roll was tasty and delicate. It was not heavy at all. There were a number of ingredients that added to the texture. I would definitely want to try the other Moonlight rolls.
All in all the food was solid and fresh. The service was friendly and Chef Nagao seemed very passionate about his culinary skill. It was a very nice find tucked away in Brentwood next to a gas station. From the outside you wouldn't realize that it was a nice stylish sushi restaurant. The prices were very reasonable and affordable for the nice portion you get. Before I leave you, I have to show you the pic of the freshly seared Cajun Sashimi. Just by looking at how much gets seared, you can imagine how big the portion was. ^_^
Nagao Sushi & Salad