LOS ANGELES — Daniel Son never intended to launch his first restaurant in the midst of a pandemic, but that’s exactly what’s happening. Friday is opening day for Katsu Sando – a new Japanese shop that will serve egg salad, fried pork cutlet, and wagyu steak “sandos” from a barely-there, grab-and-go storefront in Chinatown.
“Obviously, this is not the most ideal conditions to open any business," said Son, who has been working on the restaurant for the past 18 months. "But I think our menu and how we’re going to serve it and the price range, it fits well,” he said of his tribute to Japanese convenience store cuisine, where items are made with fresh ingredients and sold for generally less than $15.
In preparation for opening, Son and his staff were up through the wee hours the night before baking bread. It wasn’t just a loaf or two but dozens of trays of milk bread – the fluffy basis of his new business venture.
“The heart and soul of our sandwiches is the bread,” said Son. A former sushi chef at Kura Fine Japanese Cuisine in West Hollywood until an apartment development forced it to close last year, Son had trained at the Michelin-rated RyuGin restaurant in Tokyo, which is where he first experienced the rice balls, salads, sandwiches, and other convenience store foods he’s now crafting at Katsu Sando.
“For me, it was just comfort,” he said. “I was working at this really intense restaurant serving 18 people a night. We would work 17-hour days, and katsu was always available. I felt like I was able to get a tasty, healthy, affordable meal at a time when it was just hard to find comfort food like that – homestyle food.”
Son is thinking Angelenos are ready for the same kind of experience these days, having endured months of COVID-induced restrictions.
“People can’t travel right now,” he said. “For me, Katsu Sando is my love letter to people who not only can’t travel to Japan but to have that similar comfort and warmth.”
It’s also a way to experience the food Son had been offering up through Smorgasburg, the open-air foodie confab that took place every Sunday at the Alameda Produce Market in Downtown L.A., until COVID forced it into hiatus.
Katsu Sando is merely the latest addition to a growing and diverse Chinatown food scene that includes David Chang’s fine dining restaurant Majordomo, Howlin Ray’s Nashville-style spicy fried chicken, the Little Jewel of New Orleans, and Burgerlords vegan burger stand scattered amongst old standbys like the French-dipped sandwich emporium Philippe The Original and, of course, Yang Chow and other longstanding Chinese restaurants.
Son, who is Korean American but specializes in Japanese fare, had considered setting up shop in Pasadena or along Sawtelle on L.A.’s Westside, but he settled on Chinatown because “it’s such an interesting, exciting, and eclectic place that mirrors L.A.”
Starting Friday, Katsu Sando will operate from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily for takeout only, but Son plans to extend the restaurant’s hours and add a delivery service in the coming weeks.