After watching the entire season of Samurai Gourmet on Netflix, I was craving Japanese food, but I did not want to deal with the jet lag of actually going to Japan 🙂
Luckily, Kagura is walking distance. Not only is their service and decor serene and welcoming, but their food is prepared with care and skill befitting the quality ingredients they serve. Even the salad served with the set gozen meals had a perfect dressing over fresh mixed baby greens that whet my appetite for the meal. Most lunch meals also include miso soup and your choice of white or brown rice for around $20, not including tax and tip.

Since they are famous for their Kurobuta pork tonkatsu, I ordered the loin and was so happy with my first bite of the crunchy exterior and moist interior that I used the sauce sparingly, savoring the pure flavor of quality meat. All the small side dishes enhanced the main attraction, and somehow I ate nearly the entire meal! I was pleasantly full but not stuffed with the various textures, tastes, and contrasts of the set meal.

A close up of the pork loin tonkatsu that was the most perfect I’ve ever eaten (disclaimer: I have never traveled to Japan so I can only compare to other restaurants in the US).

On a second visit, I ordered the mackerel and was thrilled to have it perfectly cooked, again with a nice assortment of side dishes that varied only slightly from my previous visit. They also serve black cod and hamachi collar options in their gozen choices.

On my most recent visit, I wanted tempura, so I ordered the hot buckwheat noodles combination for under $15. This set meal was so filling I could not finish it, but I did manage to eat about 80% of it 🙂 As with the pork tonkatsu, the tempura was so light and crisp while retaining the moist interior of the ingredients that it was nearly addictive #JustOneMoreBite…..

They have a happy hour with specials on their beer and rolls, which I will likely go to one day, if I can wait until after lunch to satisfy my Japanese food craving:)