Kobuta & Ookami Katsu and sake house

"It would take a natural disaster, restraining order, or an NSYNC reunion tour to keep us away from Kobuta & Ookami. This spot is dedicated to different types of katsu, and it’s so good that you’ll want to line up before they open. That is, unless you’d like to wait for over an hour while scaring other diners by looking sad through the windows at them.The iberico pork cutlet is tender, with breading that stays crisp even after swimming in rich, dark chocolate-spiked curry. But our favorite dish is the mozzarella pork katsu, a.k.a. thin slices of cutlet wrapped around chunks of melty cheese, topped with tangy tomato miso and a flurry of parmesan. Lactose intolerant people, this is your Everest. Make Kobuta & Ookami a frontrunner for a first (or twelfth) date—just make sure you bring Lactaid." - aimee rizzo, kayla sager riley

"This bustling homage to breaded and fried meats is first-come-first-serve (except for large parties) so there’s frequently a line spilling out onto the sidewalk. But any memories of a wait will quickly be obliterated under an onslaught of perfectly crisped panko coating and sauce well worth getting lost in. This is a choose-your-own-fried-meat-adventure situation, where you can pick from an array of fried pork, chicken, and prawn preparations paired with a curated lineup of sides." - Sophie Grossman

"This small Capitol Hill dine-in-only restaurant, now with a branch in Redmond, consistently draws crowds for its katsu dishes. The fried pork and chicken cutlets are prepared in multiple ways: topped with grated daikon radish, drowned in sweet miso sauce, or laid atop bubbling clay pots of vegetable and mushroom stew. Don’t leave without trying the tomato and cheese katsu or the curry katsu — whose sauce, made with dark chocolate, tastes toasty and complex like a good mole negro. For most dishes, diners can choose between four different types of pork, the most expensive being the Iberico pork loin, at $29." - Jay Friedman, Eater Staff

"It would take a natural disaster, restraining order, or an NSYNC reunion tour to keep us away from Kobuta & Ookami. This spot is dedicated to different types of katsu, and it’s so good that you’ll want to line up before they open. That is, unless you’d like to wait for over an hour while scaring other diners by looking sad through the windows at them. The iberico pork cutlet is tender, with breading that stays crisp even after swimming in rich, dark chocolate-spiked curry. But our favorite dish is the mozzarella pork katsu, a.k.a. thin slices of cutlet wrapped around chunks of melty cheese, topped with tangy tomato miso and a flurry of parmesan. Lactose intolerant people, this is your Everest. Make Kobuta & Ookami a frontrunner for a first (or twelfth) date—just make sure you bring Lactaid. " - Aimee Rizzo, Kayla Sager Riley

"It would take a natural disaster, restraining order, or an NSYNC reunion tour to keep us away from Kobuta & Ookami. This spot is dedicated to different types of katsu, and it’s so good that you’ll want to line up before they open. That is, unless you’d like to wait for over an hour while scaring other diners by looking sad through the windows at them. The iberico pork cutlet is tender, with breading that stays crisp even after swimming in rich, dark chocolate-spiked curry. But our favorite dish is the mozzarella pork katsu, a.k.a. thin slices of cutlet wrapped around chunks of melty cheese, topped with tangy tomato miso and a flurry of parmesan. Lactose intolerant people, this is your Everest. Make Kobuta & Ookami a frontrunner for a first (or twelfth) date—just make sure you bring Lactaid." - Kayla Sager-Riley