With every delivery of katsu scallop, the staff erupts into “a performance.” At Ten No Meshi, a new tonkatsu specialist in Sawtelle, the staff chants every time they serve one of the restaurant’s signature dishes, culminating in a loud “Yoisho!” as they dollop ikura onto the fried hotate.
Ten No Meshi — which translates to “food from heaven” — also operates a handful of other restaurants in Kyoto — specialists in tempura tasting menus, sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. But the company’s first concept to land in Los Angeles focuses on tonkatsu: thick, panko-coated cutlets of Kurobuta pork and Japanese Wagyu.
Parent company Unisia Holdings attempted to expand to L.A. roughly a decade ago but delayed the launch to take the time to better understand running a restaurant in the U.S.
“We want to showcase Japanese quality and our style,” said Takeshi Yamamura, the manager of U.S. operations. “Our recipe we are proud of, and we wanted to introduce it to this country.”
The fried Wagyu arrives flanked by miso soup, runny egg and other sides, and gets seared on a small hot stone, while the pork cutlets top mounds of rice with scrambled egg and a generous scoop of ikura.
The panko is fresh, staff fry at two different temperatures, and the oil is a secret house blend.
“We care about the way to fry,” said Yamamura.
Ten No Meshi’s first restaurant in L.A. offers roughly 40 seats indoors and on the patio, including a handful of chairs at a long bar overlooking the open kitchen. Waits can run roughly two hours on weekends. Meanwhile, Ten No Meshi’s owners, Yamamura said, are currently searching for L.A. locations for their sukiyaki, shabu-shabu and tempura. Ten No Meshi is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and from 5 to 10 p.m.
2006 Sawtelle Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 231-1177, tonkatsu-la.tennomeshi.com
Roshona Bilash
A new Bangladeshi restaurant is serving long-simmered bone-marrow nihari, meats and rice pilafs scented with mustard oil and spices, and chicken and breads singed in a clay oven. At Roshona Bilash — which translates to “luxurious taste” — chef-owner Abul Ibrahim is serving a taste of his childhood and returning to the kitchen after more than two decades away from the industry.
“This is authentic Bangladeshi food, because I’m from Bangladesh,” he said. “It tastes exactly like back home.”
The quick-casual restaurant in Melrose Hill offers kebabs, fresh roti, biryani and beyond, with most dishes priced around $12.
Ibrahim was born and raised in Dhaka before moving south, near the ocean. In the mid-1980s he began working in restaurants while studying in England, where he learned to cook professionally. Eventually he opened his own restaurant there, but in 1990 — after visiting friends in Los Angeles and falling in love with the weather — he permanently relocated.
Ibrahim wanted to bring a taste of Bangladesh to L.A. and, after convincing two friends, opened Deshi Food & Groceries in what would later become the neighborhood of Little Bangladesh. The cafe and market continues 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 a retail shop.
He’d been eyeing the future home of Roshona Bilash. When the building became vacant, Ibrahim swooped in; after nearly 25 years out of the restaurant industry, he was ready to return. Now he’s running the quick-and-casual restaurant with the help of his wife, Jasmine, and their two children.
The menu features broad Bengali classics, but the family plans to incorporate more regional specialties soon — such as the coconut-tinged seafood dishes that Ibrahim ate in his years along the Bangladesh coast, or duck with a rice-flour tortilla 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
Regalade
A French bistro recently debuted in Beverly Grove with bubbling dishes of escargots, a 60-bottle wine list, a raw bar and a near-constant stream of Wagyu steak frites.
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 L.A. Now the pair are filling the former Slab space with trout that swims in chive beurre blanc; burgers crowned with a range of French cheeses; and expertly made baguettes that receive smears of butter d’Isigny.
A long bar spans the length of much of the dining room, a small patio offers al fresco seating and large hanging portraits of French cultural legends such as Serge Gainsbourg overlook the restaurant. Regalade is open Wednesday to Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., with lunch and brunch hours to launch in the coming months.
8136 W. Third St., Los Angeles, regaladela.com
NADC Burger
After launching nearly a dozen locations through Texas, Illinois and New York, a viral smashburger chain from Pasta Bar and Sushi by Scratch Restaurants chef Phillip Frankland Lee is now open in Westwood Village.
“It was always coming, obviously — L.A. is still my home,” said Frankland Lee. “It’s where I have a reputation.”
NADC Burger — which stands for “not a damn chance” — is the former “Top Chef” contestant’s restaurant with pro skateboarder Neen Williams. They’re serving Wagyu patties dripping with cheese, house sauce, jalapeños and grilled onions on Martin’s 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 didn’t launch as a business but a backyard barbecue. After becoming friends when Williams visited Frankland Lee’s sushi bar, they began grilling together at their homes and inviting 20 people at a time. When they cooked burgers, their friends went wild. So they tested the waters by bringing a small propane grill to a skate park and cooking burgers there. Then they did it at a comedy show. They started popping up in earnest, and when they’d show up to lines of 200 customers, the duo realized they might be onto something.
When they opened their first location in Austin, Texas, 800 people stood in line to get a taste. Now there are roughly a dozen NADC Burgers throughout the country — with plans to open additional locations in the L.A. area.
NADC Burger is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight.
1091 Broxton Ave., Los Angeles, nadcburger.com
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