1757 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041 (Neighborhood: Eagle Rock)
Pricing - $/$$ | Dining - Casual | Cuisine - Japanese
So after seeing a small art gallery/show with some friends all the way in Eagle Rock, we got hungry and wanted to get food. Yelp told us that a well-rated Japanese restaurant was nearby so off we hiked to find the unassuming Masacasa (the sign was a vinyl banner!) in a plaza. It was quaint and nice inside with enough seating for, say, less than 20 people. The staff was Japanese and greeted us all nicely in such language. They were nicely accommodating. There was lots of art on the walls that gave a nice vibe to the place, and I really liked the chopsticks they had!
I ended up ordering the chicken katsu curry (how does one resist such crunchy goodness?) which came with some salad and miso soup! I found the salad dressing very plain but the mashed potato salad was deliciously smooth and flavorful. There was also some kind of vegetable in it that lent a unique texture - hard to describe but I thought of jellyfish for some reason. The miso soup was a bit bland unfortunately. As for the chicken katsu curry itself, the cutlet was a lot thinner than I was used to. They either had a small chicken breast or pounded the bejeesus out of it before breading and frying. There ended up being too much rice for me but the curry was good with a tad bit of spice to it. The waitress hadn't asked what level of spiciness I wanted so I guess this was the regular. It sated me, sure, but nothing extraordinary.
My two friends had tofu curry (soft tofu! not firm!) and chicken teriyaki plate. The curry was the same as the one I had had. The chicken teriyaki was actually quite good, particularly because I don't like my chicken doused in teriyaki sauce when having this dish. I mean, who likes smothered chicken? It almost drowns the other flavors but this one had it modestly enough where I could taste the succulence of the chicken slices themselves and enjoy the grilled texture.
