12 13 Little Tokyo. 日 Flavor Factions: Downtown Los Angeles, between 1st and 3rd Street, and Los Angeles St. and Alameda. Sometimes referred to as J-Town, Little Tokyo is the cultural epicenter for the Japanese community, playing host to the Japanese American National Museum and the Go For Broke Monument. Several Japanese Japanese. festivals are also celebrated here throughout the year. By: Lynnette Woo . /. Yakiniku/Izakaya. Dessert.

Little Tokyo has no shortage of Teishokuya of Tokyo (T.O.T.) is a The izakaya scene in Little Tokyo Japanese sweets shops Fugestu- Southern California – and Los Angeles in particular日 – is globally great sushi joints, and fittingly so. J-Town staple and Suehiro stays is all about the atmosphere. Haru do and Mikawaya take first recognized for its rich food history and some of the most authentic Be warned that prices vary from open late in case you’re craving Ulala, Izayoi, Raku, and Toranoko and second place for the oldest are perfect for a night out with operating food establishments ethnic flavors you’ll find outside of each cuisine’s country of origin. restaurant to restaurant, and you noodles in the wee hours of the may be in for a long wait. Sushi- morning. Matsui’s in Little Tokyo a group of good friend. And we in the city. The world’s ethnic populations converge in LA and bring with them Gen, Mako Sushi, Komasa, Hazuki, has nearly identical offerings to its hear that Izakaya Fu-ga has a great happy hour. their unique ways of life and styles of cooking. and Oomasa are amongst the local West LA counterpart Mishima. favorites.

Los Angeles’s Japanese American community has been around since Bonus. the first immigrants began the journey from Japan to the US in search . Western/ Fusion. Shabu Shabu. of opportunities in the railroad and agricultural industries. Japanese 本 The top ramen contender for Little Get your honest-to-goodness Kagaya is no ordinary shabu Little Tokyo is one of only cuisine has become a quintessential part of Southern California Tokyo is Daikokuya. Their kotteri Japanese comfort food fix atCurry restaurant, offering melt-in-your- three official Japantowns in the broth consistently gets rave reviews. House (add cheese to the curry if mouth Wagyu beef. Hungry diners U.S. and is a National Historic culture, and some of the best restaurants can be found in Los Angeles. Chow down at Orochon Ramen if you’re feeling adventurous) and will eat all they can eat at Kushi Landmark District. But which ethnic enclave has the most authentic Japanese food scene? you’re in the mood for a challenge; finish off your meal with their Tofu Shabu. Shabu Shabu House, however, finish a whole bowl of their spicy Cheesecake. And for something a is perhaps the best known shabu Critics and connoisseurs may disagree, but we think the food should Special #2 in half an hour to claim little different, try Japanese Chinese establishment in Little Tokyo. fight for itself. Let the battle begin. your spot on their wall of fame. cuisine at Manten. Sawtelle. 本 West Los Angeles on Sawtelle Blvd between Olympic and Santa Monica. Known as “Little Osaka,” Sawtelle once blossomed with botanical nurseries, boarding houses, barbershops, drugstores, grocery stores and churches started by Japanese immigrants, and was resettled after Japanese Americans returned from internment camps. Today, Sawtelle is better known for its restaurant row and Japanese pop culture.

Sushi. Udon/Soba. Yakiniku/Izakaya. Dessert. 本 The omakase (literally “it’s up The search for noodles will take Sawtelle has a wide variety of BBQ Beard Papa’s cream puffs are to you,” when the customer you a off the beaten path. Head to and yakitori options; you may be within a stone’s throw of most of leaves the selection up to the Mishima near the Beverly Center, tempted to try them all. Try Chilean Sawtelle’s popular eateries. innovation of the chef) comes Yabu on Pico Blvd or Taiko in sea bass and chicken meatballs at highly recommended at Sawtelle’s Brentwood for delicious hot udon or Nanbankan, takoyaki at Sasaya, beef sushi hot spot Kiriko and nearby cold soba. tongue at Totoraku, and tebasaki Wakasan. Expect the after-work at Furaibo. Carnivores can head to crowd at Bar Hayama and a long Manpuku Tokyo BBQ for high quality wait (and cash only) at Hide Sushi. meat. 日 Ramen. Western/Fusion. Shabu Shabu. Bonus.

Be sure to slurp your shio (salt) Japanese pop culture magazine Giant We didn’t find too many shabu Sawtelle has some of the few ramen with special pork at Robot opened its own restaurant, places in Sawtelle, but try Mizu 212’s remaining historical pre-WWII sites Santouka, located in the Mitsuwa GR/eats right across the street from pork shabu with ponzu or sesame in Los Angeles. Marketplace food court. You won’t be its flagship store. You might also try sauce and let us know what you disappointed. the omurice at Blue Marlin, or go for think. something a little more refined at Orris, which specializes in Japanese- French small plates. 日 本 14 15 Gardena & Torrance.

The cities of Gardena and Torrance (and the surrounding area) . Sometimes called Japan’s 48th Prefecture, this area was widely known for its strawberry production, with Japanese immigrants playing a key part in the farming community. This region currently boasts the largest BREAKING GROUNDS: population of Japanese and Japanese American residents.

Sushi. Udon/Soba. Yakiniku/Izakaya. Dessert. Los Angeles takes on third-wave coffee. Sakae Sushi may be a tiny takeout Otafuku Noodle House, I-naba The Gardena/Torrance area boasts Get fresh handmade mochi and Written by: Christina Chou spot, but it’s known for its excellence and Ichimi Ann all specialize in its fair share of yakiniku and yakitori manju at Sakuraya or Chikara amongst local residents. If you handmade soba, and Kotohira restaurants, including Azuma (grilled Mochi, and visit Bonjour French feel like a sit-down meal, check offers traditional, handmade udon. black cod), Musha Restaurant (cheese Pastry for French-inspired out family-run Kantaro Sushi Besides handmade noodles, Sanuki risotto, takotama, seared mackerel Japanese cakes and pastries. or Kanpachi. The area also has a No Sato is also known for its and pork belly), Torihei (beef tongue, plethora of hidden hole-in-the-walls Japanese celebrity sightings. grilled chicken, oden), Seikoen (Wagyu for your hunting pleasure. beef) and Gyu-Kaku. Mentaiko lovers can will love the AYCE spicy cod roe at Hakata Yamaya. Ramen. Western/Fusion. Bonus.

This area has the longest list of ramen Spoon House and Akane Chaya both Shabu Shabu. Gardena serves as the U.S. joints, with favorites like Gardena offer Japanese-Italian dishes like headquarters for Toyota and Honda Ramen, Santouka Ramen, Asa hamburg steak, cod roe spaghetti For excellent quality all-you-can-eat and is home to Nissin Foods. Coffee is making the leap from commercial to artisan. And there’s potential to strike gold in Ramen, and Shin Sen Sumi Hakata and tonkatsu curry at reasonable shabu shabu, visit Fukagawa (fans Ramen. Gardena is also home to prices. Try chicken katsu curry with of the restaurant also rave about the your cup. Awake now? Right now, artisan coffee is making waves in Los Angeles. It’s a movement with Ramen California, where Shigetoshi various levels of spiciness at Coco authentic Japanese breakfast). The enough momentum to poke holes in large coffee chain empires, put the small cafes and business owners Nakamura, one of Japan’s premier Curry House. Shin Sen Gumi group also has its own at the forefront, and tingle the palate of anyone who’s ever enjoyed a “cup of joe.” ramen prodigies, serves his unique popular shabu restaurant in Gardena. take on the classic bowl of noodles. In order to better understand this movement, let’s do a brief summary of the bold history of the coffee industry: In America, the history behind coffee is rich and expansive, but we will boil it down to three movements or waves. The first wave came with Folgers. Coffee was at this point purely functional with Orange County. weak roasts and hasty, burned brews. America woke up to this liquid in a cup, heavily doused with cream and sugar. Primarily Costa Mesa, Tustin and Fountain Valley. Coffee may be ‘brewed’ in cups, but espresso is ‘pulled’ in shots, and it’s an entirely different Japanese laborers immigrated to Orange County in the late 19th century to cultivate everything from celery to tomatoes, beans, monster. Caffé Espresso has been present in Europe since the late 19th century, but was made known to strawberries, and chili peppers. Spreading out in clusters across the region, these Japanese workers turned the fields of Orange a small group of Americans after soldiers returned from World War II with a taste for the Italian coffee County into some of the richest agricultural areas in California. This land has since given way to suburbs, but the clusters of shot. In fact, their need to water down the concentrated beverage with hot water also coined the drink: Japanese communities remain. Americano. Ernesto Illy from Illy Coffee is one of many Italians who can be credited with seeing the potential Sushi. Udon/Soba. Yakiniku/Izakaya. Dessert. for the American consumer to drink the stronger smaller shot known as espresso. He spearheaded organizations and research into coffee and espresso quality, but most cafes and restaurants refused to It’s omakase only at San Shi Go in Fukada in Irvine is the place to go in The best OC yakiniku can be found The line at Japanese-French bakery Newport or Sushi Wasabi in Tustin, Orange County for handmade udon, at either Anjin or Tsuruhashi. Most of Cream Pan in Tustin is almost challenge the American palate. Nonetheless, Illy would establish the platform for the second wave. where you can get fresh seafood and try their unagi-don while you’re the izakaya restaurants are offshoots always out the door; get there Enter a long, richly tumultuous and mildly incestuous history between Peet’s Coffee and served up in the traditional style. at it. The owner ofO Udon hails from of older restaurants: Kappo Honda, early or you won’t get to try their . Thesecond wave did, however, bring two important things: A taste for stronger, bolder Kagawa, Japan (famous for Sanuki Honda Ya, Manpuku, Gyu-Kaku and signature strawberry croissant with udon) and went to udon school in Echizen are all worth a visit. custard. roasts, as well as the acceptance of coffee shops as a community hub. There was also a boost of “latte” order to offers inexpensive, delicious “macchiato” and other espresso drinks into our vocabulary, as well as a taste for them. organic udon. Howard Schultz – previous director of retail operations at a budding Starbucks and current CEO of the now-monster coffee chain – writes: Ramen. Western/Fusion. Shabu Shabu. Bonus. “You don’t give the customers what they ask for. If you offer them something they’re not accustomed to, something so far superior that it takes a while to develop their palates, you can create a sense of discovery Costa Mesa’s own Mitsuwa Bon Marche in Fountain Valley and California Shabu Shabu has popular Great hole-in-the-wall Japanese Marketplace has the same Santouka Café Hiro in Cypress both serve locations in Fountain Valley restaurants can be found almost and excitement and loyalty that will bond them to you. It may take longer, but if you have a great product, ramen as the Santa Monica and Yoshoku or Japanese western-style and Costa Mesa, and both allow anywhere in Orange County. Try you can educate your customers to like it rather than kowtowing to mass-market appeal” (Schultz. Pour Torrance locations. Shin Sen Gumi cuisine (we recommend the hayashi customers to customize their broth Kappo Hana, Sushi Murasaki, and in Fountain Valley is also one of rice at Bon Marche and the famous and sauces, while Santa Ana’s Shabu Kappo Sui, to name just a few. Your Heart Into It). four Southern California locations uni spaghetti at Café Hiro). The beef Shabu Bar offers great rib eye, goma Inspiring? Yes. Fueled by the wild success of Starbucks, commercial coffee shops adopted the by the popular ramen chain. curry combos at Miyabi Tei in the sauce, and a hip atmosphere. We same mannerism of making and packaging specialty drinks. However, with the advent of a corporate Costa Mesa Mitsuwa food court are a suspect that Hot Mama at Mission real steal. Viejo’s Shabu will make sure you beverage giant, there were issues about Starbuck’s corporate responsibility with regard to their workers, enjoy your meal. LW.