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Hakata Izakaya Hero

Aug01

Restaurant: Hakata Izakaya HERO

Location: 1929 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025. (424) 832-3304

Date: November 19, 2021 & July 26, 2022

Cuisine: Japanese Izakaya

Rating: Very good Izakaya

_

At this quick little dinner right before Thanksgiving Paul and I hit up the relatively new Hakata Izakaya HERO on Westwood Blvd.
1A4A8217
The inside is small.
1A4A8218
But we sat outside on the patio. I love patios.
1A4A8219
1A4A8219
1A4A8221
The varied little menu of Japanese comfort foods.
1A4A8222
Paul brought: 2019 Xavier Monnot Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. VM 90-92. The 2019 Meursault Les Charmes 1er Cru has a relatively understated and delicate bouquet, discreet compared to other Les Charmes this vintage. The palate is well balanced with just a little reduction at the moment. Good weight in the mouth, a tang of marmalade toward the finish and a little viscosity. Give this 2–3 years in bottle. (Drink between 2023-2035)
1A4A2012
2017 Buisson-Charles Meursault 1er Cru Bouches-Chères. 93 points. Very good. very good balance. Minerals, fruit, medium to long finish.

1A4A2016
Garlic Shisito Peppers. Nice.
1A4A8223-Edit
Today’s Assorted Sashimi Special (for 2). A variety of nice fresh fish.
1A4A2003
Marinated Sardine Sashimi. Very nice.
1A4A2006
Cucumber with “death miso” — it was pretty spicy. Cucumber had a nice crunch.
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Spicy Cold Tofu. Good, but the spicy miso had a fairly hefty kick and kept making me cough.

1A4A8228
Spicy Agedashi Tofu. I love agedashi tofu (fried basically). This was good as usual.
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Crispy Fried Chicken Gyoza. Classic little dumplings. Nice mix of soft and crispy.

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Uni special. Just uni with shisto leaf.
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Oysters.
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Oyster sauce (basically a ponzu).
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Shirako (cod sperm sacks). Really delicious!

1A4A2020
Shrimp Tempura with Mayo. Sort of Japanese “Walnut Shrimp” — kinda awesome.
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From my cellar: 2005 Bouchard Père et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Suchots. VM 93+. Bright, deep red. Pungent, sexy aromas of strawberry, raspberry, cocoa powder and incense. Wonderfully fresh and gripping wine whose sheer sappiness and extract suggest a long and graceful evolution in bottle. But this beauty is also impossibly sexy today. Finishes vibrant and very long, with palate-dusting fruits, minerals and spices.

1A4A2013

From my cellar: 2009 Domaine René Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques. 91 points. Definitely Gevrey nose. Dark and red fruit, with slightly rusticity. Medium+ body. Long finish. Very good.
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Jidori Chicken Karaage. Hard to go wrong with crispy fried chicken!
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Pork Belly Wrapped Skewers. Lettuce, Tomato, Chinese Chive, Cilantro, Scallion.
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Short Rib Kalbi Platter. Super tender and juicy beef with a sweet dashi sauce. Delicious.

1A4A2018
Prime Outside Skirt Steak Harimi platter. Sizzling and very tender. Really nice.
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Dippings sauces.
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Lemon Ramen. I’ve never had this and it was pretty much as described: a light shiro dashi style ramen with lemon. Kind of refreshing and delicious.

Overall, Hero was a nice little place with good food and a fun casual (lots of UCLA students) atmosphere. I’m glad there are more Izakaya’s opening up around town. It’s a great varied little cuisine and used to be quite rare (in the states).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Japanese in China – Izakaya Akatora
  2. MTN – Upscale Izakaya
  3. Hurry Curry
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Hakata Izakaya HERO, Izakaya Hero, Japanese cuisine, Wine
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