by Richard Foss
I told someone who lives in Hermosa Beach that I was going to Fat Kitty for sushi, and got peppered with questions. “Where is that? Is it new?” When I told them it was on Pier Avenue, there was a look of puzzlement – they’ve lived here all their lives, how could they have missed it?
It’s easier than you might expect, because everything about this business is confusing. The business started in 2008 on a high traffic section of Pacific Coast Highway as California Sushi and Teriyaki, with a logo of a very fat cat wearing a tiny chef’s hat. The place became known as Fat Kitty. That location closed in 2022, but they reopened over a year later on the edge of the shopping center at the corner of Pier Avenue and PCH across from the CVS. To say this is a low-profile spot is an understatement – their sign is almost invisible unless you’re in front of it, and the small banner on a nearby wall at waist height isn’t very effective. When you see their sign, it’s for California Sushi & Teriyaki, so if you found them at their fatkitty.net website, you probably think you’re in the wrong place.
Once you’re inside, it’s a nice atmosphere for a fast food place, a tidy room with a row of tables along the wall and bouncy instrumental jazz on the sound system. You order at the counter, and if you are undecided it is good to stand at the side – there is a steady stream of food delivery people here, a clue about how they stay in business in an odd location.
If you like to have appetizers first rather than have everything arrive at once, they’ll let you start an order and keep the tab open. We decided to do that on a recent visit so we could try an appetizer of mixed tempura, and were surprised by the generous portion of well-assorted vegetables. This included green beans, kabocha squash, two kinds of Japanese yam, broccoli, and a pair of shrimp. It arrived hot with the vegetables still a bit crisp and the batter crunchy, as it should be. Was it as good at the top tempura spots in Gardena? No, but it was a fine appetizer for fourteen bucks, and would have been a good meal for one person who wants to indulge in fried food.
As with most modest sushi spots, Fat Kitty’s sushi menu is heavy on rolls with different sauces and add-ins, which allow them to offer a wide variety while keeping relatively few ingredients on hand. Their versions of a caterpillar roll and crunch dragon roll were both well-executed and enjoyable even though they used surimi, imitation crab, rather than the real thing. I prefer the flavor of the crustacean, but the fake stuff works well enough in preparations like this with sauce, cucumber, and other ingredients.
The aloha roll was a bit of a surprise, and not because someone had made something with a Hawaiian name and hadn’t included pineapple. The mix of spicy tuna and cucumber topped with albacore, avocado, serrano and green onions was spicier than the description would lead you top believe, because they were generous on the black pepper when preparing the albacore. Along with the serrano, this made me happy that they serve beer. There’s sake and wine too, but this burn deserved a Sapporo. I was less delighted with the prosciutto roll, which did indeed have Italian cured pork along with fresh tuna, and avocado atop a fake crab, cucumber, and avocado roll. The dealbreaker for me was the truffle mayonnaise on top, which didn’t seem to make sense with any of the other ingredients. I literally wanted to ask someone at the counter to explain why they thought his was a good idea.
Someone could be proud of the popcorn langostino lobster roll, because that was a very well calibrated set of flavors. Small chunks of langostino lobster were fried and put atop cut pieces of fake crab roll (and yes, that is the base for about half the rolls on the menu), This was completed with drizzles of eel sauce, garlic mayo, masago fish eggs, green onion, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. It’s very filling and very good, the centerpiece of a meal for less than twenty bucks.
Since one of the names here is California sushi and teriyaki, I had to try the teriyaki, even though I don’t often like it. At too many places teriyaki just consists of drowning cooked meat in sweet pineapple-based sauce, but they surprised me here by basting the meat lightly with sauce before cooking, so it caramelizes while on the grill. We had that as a side item with a bowl of udon, fat Japanese wheat noodles in a miso-based broth with fishcake, vegetables, and tempura bits and garnished with a bit of seaweed and green onions. This is lunch counter Japanese, what any worker in Tokyo might have for a quick meal, and it’s a good meal in Hermosa too. I was less impressed by an order of curry udon with grilled beef, because the beef was chewy and the broth was thin and didn’t have enough curry flavor. Japanese curry is always mild, but this didn’t have the warmth and umami that is the background of any curry dish.
Fat Kitty doesn’t serve desserts, but if you want some there are plenty nearby. They specialize in Japanese fast food, not sweets, and they do a good job for a modest price. If that’s what you like, you may head for the southwest corner of the shopping center to visit one of Hermosa’s best kept secrets.
California Sushi & Teriyaki, aka Fat Kitty is at 703 Pier Ave Ste A, in Hermosa. Open 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Mo-Sa, noon to 9 p.m. Sun. Parking lot, wheelchair access good, beer, wine, and sake available. Phone 310-372-3656, menu at fatkitty.net. ER
