Sunday, December 21, 2008

Day 11 - Gyu-Kaku, West Los Angeles


I was SO close to dining at Gyu-Kaku when I was in Waikiki, just because I was craving it so. If you thought Korean bbq was good, you haven't tried it Japanese style. I was (un)lucky enough to come here before I became pescetarian.

Gyu-kaku has multiple locations throughout LA county, New York and Hawaii. I've been to the Sherman Oaks, Pasadena & WLA location, but WLA is still my favorite quality-wise.

Parking: At the WLA location, there is a parking lot adjacent to the Starbucks a few stores down, monitored by a permit machine. There's also metered street parking, and of course the Westside Pavilion's ample free parking across the street.

Reservations: Recommended on the weekends

The Food: I love the food here, although the menu has changed in recent months. They used to have an amazing butterfish, but that has since been replaced by salmon. For you meat lovers, I absolutely recommend the harami miso(picture below).


The proportions are small, but packed with flavor in the marinades. Every table comes with one or two charcoal grills and tongs for you to cook your meats and veggies. I absolutely love the Japanese sweet potato, which comes wrapped in a foil packet with butter inside for you to throw on the grill. What makes Gyu-kaku irresistible for me is the Spicy Avocado Tuna Salad, but you HAVE to get it with the Gyu-kaku dressing. The menu dressing just doesn't cut it. The house dressing is a creamy, spicy splash of heaven. Normally, the salad comes with a vinagrette that doesn't compliment the flavors as well. I could eat this salad all day, heck, I could eat one right now!

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