With each delivery of scallop katsu, the staff breaks out into “a performance.” At Ten No Meshi, a new tonkatsu specialist in Sawtelle, the staff sings every time they serve one of the restaurant's signature dishes, culminating in a loud “Yoisho!” while they pour ikura on the fried hotate.
Ten No Meshi, which translates to “food from heaven,” also operates several other restaurants in Kyoto, specialists in tempura, sukiyaki and shabu-shabu tasting menus. But the company's first concept to land in Los Angeles centers on tonkatsu: thick Kurobuta and Japanese Wagyu pork chops coated in panko.
Pork chop bowl topped with ikura, egg and rice at Ten No Meshi.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Parent company Unisia Holdings attempted to expand to Los Angeles about a decade ago, but delayed the launch to take the time to better understand how to run a restaurant in the U.S.
“We want to show Japanese quality and our style,” said Takeshi Yamamura, director of U.S. operations. “We are proud of our recipe and wanted to introduce it to this country.”
The fried Wagyu arrives flanked by miso soup, runny egg and other accompaniments, and is seared on a small hot stone, while the pork chops cover mounds of rice with scrambled eggs and a generous dollop of ikura.
The panko is fresh, the staff fries it at two different temperatures, and the oil is a secret house blend.
“We worry about the way we fry,” Yamamura said.
Ten No Meshi's first restaurant in Los Angeles offers about 40 seats inside and on the patio, including a handful of chairs at a long bar overlooking the open kitchen. Waits can last approximately two hours on weekends. Meanwhile, the owners of Ten No Meshi, Yamamura said, are currently scouting locations in Los Angeles for their sukiyaki, shabu-shabu and tempura. Ten No Meshi is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 to 10 p.m.
2006 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 231-1177, tonkatsu-la.tennomeshi.com
Chicken tikka at Bengali restaurant Roshana Bilash in Melrose Hill.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Roshona Bilash
A new Bangladeshi restaurant serves slow-cooked bone marrow nihari, meat and rice pilafs scented with mustard oil and spices, and chicken and breads seared in a clay oven. At Roshona Bilash, which translates to “luxurious taste,” chef-owner Abul Ibrahim serves up a taste from his childhood and returns to the kitchen after more than two decades away from the industry.
“This is authentic Bangladeshi food, because I am from Bangladesh,” he said. “It tastes exactly like home.”
The fast-casual restaurant in Melrose Hill offers kebabs, fresh roti, biryani and more, and most dishes cost around $12.
Chef and owner Abul Ibrahim prepares fresh roti at Roshana Bilash.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Ibrahim was born and raised in Dhaka before moving south, near the ocean. In the mid-80s he began working in restaurants while studying in England, where he learned to cook professionally. He eventually opened his own restaurant there, but in 1990, after visiting friends in Los Angeles and falling in love with the weather, he moved permanently.
Ibrahim wanted to bring a taste of Bangladesh to Los Angeles and, after convincing two friends, opened Deshi Food & Groceries in what would later become the Little Bangladesh neighborhood. The cafe and market continue to this day, but in 2002, when his son was born, Ibrahim sold his share of the business and focused on owning a liquor store and retail store.
He had been looking at Roshona Bilash's future home. When the building was empty, Ibrahim entered; After almost 25 years out of the restaurant industry, he was ready to return. He now runs the fast-casual restaurant with the help of his wife, Jasmine, and two children.
The menu includes extensive Bengali classics, but the family plans to soon incorporate more regional specialties, such as the coconut-flavored seafood dishes that Ibrahim ate in his years on the Bangladesh coast, or the duck with rice flour omelette that was prevalent in Jasmine's village. Roshona Bilash is open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.
861 N. Western Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 798-4000, rbilashla.com
Escargot and baguette at Regalade in Beverly Grove.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Gifted
A French bistro recently debuted in Beverly Grove with bubbly snail platters, a 60-bottle wine list, a raw bar and a near-constant flow of Wagyu beef fries.
Regalade is the long-awaited dream of co-owner Jocelyn Bulow, who was born and raised in France. Bulow said he partnered with Alessandro Iacobelli to open neighboring pizzeria Oste, but had always hoped to build a French restaurant in Los Angeles. Now the couple is filling the former Slab space with swimming trout in chive beurre blanc; burgers topped with a variety of French cheeses; and expertly crafted baguettes that receive smears of d'Isigny butter.
A long bar extends the length of much of the dining room, a small patio offers outdoor seating, and large hanging portraits of French cultural legends such as Serge Gainsbourg overlook the restaurant. Regalade is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., with lunch and brunch hours launching in the coming months.
8136 W. Third St., Los Angeles, regaladela.com
A double cheeseburger, brown butter chocolate chip cookie, and suet fries at NADC Burger in Westwood Village.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
NADC Burger
After opening nearly a dozen locations in Texas, Illinois and New York, a viral burger chain from Pasta Bar and Sushi by Scratch Restaurants chef Phillip Frankland Lee is now open in Westwood Village.
“Obviously, it was always reaching out: Los Angeles is still my home,” Frankland Lee said. “It's where I have a reputation.”
NADC Burger's signature double cheeseburger.
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
NADC Burger, which means “not a damn chance,” is the restaurant of former “Top Chef” contestant with professional skateboarder Neen Williams. They serve Wagyu burgers with cheese, house sauce, jalapenos and grilled onions on Martin potato rolls. Beef Tallow Fries, Loaded Fries, and Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (with a recipe by Frankland Lee's wife and business partner, Margarita Kallas-Lee) round out the menu.
Lee's collaboration with Williams began not as a business but as a backyard barbecue. After becoming friends when Williams visited Frankland Lee's sushi bar, they began barbecuing together at their homes and inviting 20 people at a time. When they cooked hamburgers, their friends went crazy. So they tested the waters by taking a small propane grill to a skate park and cooking burgers there. Then they did it on a comedy show. They started showing up in earnest, and when they appeared before lines of 200 customers, the duo realized they might be onto something.
When they opened their first location in Austin, Texas, 800 people lined up to try it. There are now about a dozen NADC Burgers nationwide, with plans to open additional locations in the Los Angeles area.
NADC Burger is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight.
1091 Broxton Ave., Los Angeles, nadcburger.com
