Philippe Starck rediscovers his form in L.A.
June 23, 2006—For a town where supposedly no one ever eats, L.A. has a surprisingly robust restaurant scene, and this Monday two notable newcomers are joining the fray.
First, there's Katsuya, a Brentwood sushi joint with decor by one Philippe Starck. Does the world really need another Starck-designed restaurant? Er, no, but in this case the Frenchman seems to have reined his ego in a bit. The space, patterned after a bento box, is relatively minimal with dramatic bursts of punctuation courtesy of the oversized photographic blowups of a geisha's eyes and lips. The result is a harder-edged, more disciplined form of whimsy than we've seen from Starck lately. Even better, the food should live up to the scene. Decorated sushi chef Katsuya Uechi (Katsu-Ya sushi bar) is centering the cuisine around the (literally and no doubt figuratively) smoking-hot Japanese robata grill. Expect char-grilled duck breast rubbed with yuzu pepper, and beef-rolled asparagus with spicy teriyaki. By the way, whether the world is ready or not, more Starck eateries are on the way: This is the first of a series of projects the designer is working on for Sam Nazarian's SBE Restaurant Group.Over in West Hollywood, meanwhile, Kerry Simon, another chef with experience at bringing better-than-needed food to the trendy masses, is making his West Coast debut. His Simon Kitchen and Bar in Las Vegas's Hard Rock Hotel was pegged as one of the country's best eateries by Gourmet a couple of years back, and he has big ambitions for his L.A. outpost. Located on the ground floor of the newly refurbished Sofitel, the place will serve "comfort food with flair"—think linguine carbonara studded with lobster, or Tater Tots stuffed with Camembert—at lime-green booths concealed by cocoonlike screens designed by Yabu Pushelberg. "People can think what they want, but there's a serious food scene in L.A.," says the chef. "There's fertile ground here for building a loyal clientele." At least until that poser Kutcher opens another joint.
Katsuya, 11777 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, (310) 207-8744, www.sbeent.com; Simon, 8555 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood, (800) 763-4835, www.sofitella.com.
— Josh Sens
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