What is the best sushi restaurant in the Los Angeles area?

The two best Japanese sushi restaurants in America are not in New York or Beverly Hills. They are on Ventura Boulevard, in the San Fernando Valley. A late-night TV writer I know flies out from NYC to Los Angeles specifically to get his sushi fix, because he knows what true foodies know; the second place in the world where seafood chefs get to pick from the day's best catch is Los Angeles (the first is Japan, of course). It follows, then, that the best sushi restaurants in the country are in Southern California. But while Matsuhisa and Nobu get the most buzz -- and, run by Nobu Matsuhisa, they are outstanding -- the TV writer follows others in the know right past Beverly Hills and Hollywood, and into the Valley. Katsu-ya, at 16542 Ventura Blvd in Encino, looks unimposing, to say the least. Who would expect that one of the best Japanese restaurants in the country would be found in a slightly run-down strip mall, next to a Curves gym? Don't let the unglamorous setting deter you. Inside, ...  more