Kagura

" The next time you’re meeting a friend for an affordable dinner, keep Kagura in mind. This Japanese spot (with other locations in Torrance and Gardena) specializes in crispy, tender tonkatsu. You can order the deep-fried cutlets by themselves, or as a dinner set with rice, sashimi, miso soup, and pickled veggies for around $25. The star of the show here is their signature millefeuille katsu, made with fatty slices of pork folded and layered on top of one another, then deep-fried to the color of Meryl Streep’s trophy case: brilliantly golden. The El Segundo branch has a fun sake bar up front, but grab a booth table in the back for a quieter, semi-private experience. " - garrett snyder

"The next time you’re meeting a friend for an affordable post-work dinner keep Kagura in mind. This Japanese spot (with other locations in Torrance and Gardena) specializes in crispy, tender tonkatsu. You can order the deep-fried cutlets by themselves, or as a dinner set with rice, sashimi, miso soup, and pickled veggies. Whether you go with a more traditional filet katsu gozen or the cheese-stuffed mille feuille variation, you likely won’t spend more than $25 on a full meal There’s a fun sake bar up front, but grab a booth table in the back for a quieter, semi-private experience." - nikko duren, garrett snyder

"The next time you’re meeting a friend for an affordable dinner keep Kagura in mind. This Japanese spot (with other locations in Torrance and Gardena) specializes in crispy, tender tonkatsu. You can order the deep-fried cutlets by themselves, or as a dinner set with rice, sashimi, miso soup, and pickled veggies. Whether you go with a more traditional filet katsu gozen or the cheese-stuffed mille feuille variation, you likely won’t spend more than $25 on a full meal. There’s a fun sake bar up front, but grab a booth table in the back for a quieter, semi-private experience." - Nikko Duren

"Kagura in Los Angeles and Katsuya Ton Ton in Las Vegas do stellar versions of katsu using steak-like cuts of pork tenderloin encrusted with thick panko breading." - Matthew Kang