Kizuna Steak House: I might go back, but probably not.

Kizuna Steak House
Honda Plaza
456 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90189 (213) 617-1008



After the waiting and not eating debacle at Bacaro, we headed back to Little Tokyo because we were meeting friends there for drinks later, and it is certainly no secret that I love Japanese food. There were lines outside the usual suspects; Haru Ulala, Sushi Gen, KaGaYa, Izayoi, and so on. My extremely high heels made me boycot a meander in search something new and exciting, and D's hungry grumpies led us to the first restaurant with open tables. Bad shoes. BAD.



There was not a single occupied table in Kizuna. Bad sign. They were out of several items on the menu and a couple of the sakes we wanted to try. I am not a big believer in signs, and these were less subtle signs that one would use inference to interpret. These were more like the glaring neon signs blinking on and off in a red light district. Not subtle at all.



I do hearts the decor. Very earthy, rattan chairs and table mats, and the cow mural is way cool. The tables were set with beautiful chop sticks made from natural wood and other fibers, but they brought us forks. White people eat with forks, don't they?



First item out was a nice salad, basically greens and taro root in a delicious ginger dressing. Very eatable.



Next out was a "ceviche". There was nothing ceviche like about this dish, and I found it frightening.



The scallops and prawns were cooked, not cured via marination in lime or any other highly acidic citrus. Frankly, it was a little creepy. The greens were not fresh, and they were oddly chewy. No.



This dish was a winner. Lovely dumplings atop soft tofu stuffed with a ground shrimp mixture. Delicious. If I go again, and they are not sold out of these, I will order them. Very nom.



Mmmm. Dumplings.



The tempura salmon skin roll was gross. The seaweed was way chewy, and the tempura batter was hard as a rock.



Clams, IMO, not fresh. D liked them but after eating one I refused another. Looked pretty, tasted suspect.


This, however, was a succeed. Kobe hamburg, they called it. A simple hamburger patty with ponzu sauce. Truly wonderful. Silky meat, flavorful juices. This might entice me to return again. But probably only after all other options are exhausted.



They did a great job with the veggies on this dish. Beautiful, fresh, just a touch of garlic.



It even looks pretty together on the plate. All in all, not a total fail. But the food was so inconsistent, I won't ever be planning to eat here. Instead, I will watch for signs.