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Frommer's Exceptional

Every year somebody opens an über-hip new restaurant that has all the L.A. foodies and snooties agog, and this time it's the opening of Katsuya Hollywood. Capitalizing on their raging success of the original Katsuya in Brentwood, the SBE Restaurant & Nightlife Group spent a small fortune hiring celebrated designer Philippe Starck to collaborate with Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi and create a shrine to sushi and design (at Hollywood and Vine!). Looking more like a scene from a David Lynch movie than a restaurant, the decor is an intriguing mix of gleaming white leather and chrome furniture, overblown images of a geisha's facial parts, and a sinister black banner bearing the kanji symbol for Katsuya, who is one of only four Master Sushi Chefs in Los Angeles. Katsuya's must-try signature dishes include the crispy rice with spicy tuna, the Kobe filet with foie gras and plum soy sauce, and the baked white fish with truffle in a shell of salt. But if you really want the true Katsuya experience, throw down a Franklin and order omakase -- a chef's choice selection of the freshest fish available. Reservations may be difficult to get, particularly on a weekend night, so be sure to call as far in advance as possible.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Los Angeles 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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