In honor of this year’s Grammy Awards show, Haute Living is bringing readers an inside look into the life and career of one of music’s greatest moguls, Clive Davis. And to support everything that is classic yet groundbreaking about the music of American culture, I am thrilled that the world’s most respected music honors will host their red carpet presentation at L.A. Live, the site of our newest Katsuya/SBE brand restaurant.

We opened Katsuya Downtown at L.A. Live a little more than seven months ago and the positive response has been overwhelming, with our success and popularity exceeding our wildest expectations. We are grateful to L.A.’s famous faces in the worlds of sports, music, and movies who have supported our efforts. We have greeted guests such as Lamar Odom, Jay-Z, Ron Artest, and Kobe Bryant. In fact, Kobe stops into Katsuya after Lakers games so often that we will soon unveil a specialty menu item named in his honor.

Naturally, any entrée named after such a world-class athlete must also entail only world-class ingredients. As such, the “Kobe Bryant Platter” will feature Kobe Wagyu beef from Japan with a plum red wine reduction over white rice. I am thrilled to present guests with this menu option because it was developed in a genuine manner. This was not a plan constructed by PR geniuses or marketing gurus; no, this special entrée evolved due to Kobe’s penchant for consistently ordering the Kobe Tobanyaki with a side of white rice. He is so jovial and friendly with our staff that he once joked with General Manager Nicole that since he special orders that particular dish so much, we should name it after him. Once he gave the word, the plans for the Kobe Bryant Platter were underway, and we will be presenting it to diners later this season.

Support from the music moguls has also earned our newest restaurant quite a bit of attention in a short amount of time. We often hosted Jay-Z at Katsuya Hollywood, so I was hoping to see him again soon at our L.A. Live locale. What a night we had when he showed up after the American Music Awards on November 22. It was quite the scene, in fact, because that night we hosted a VIP table where legendary tales are made. Alex Rodriguez, Kate Hudson, Fergie, Kobe, Ron Artest, Will-i-Am, and Jay-Z were all seated together at one table, and we could not have been more proud.

For the Grammy Awards on January 31, we are expecting another lively crowd and will be eager to please the palates of our loyal patrons, whether they are recognized power players or not.

But for those of you who are die-hard foodies and more impressed with quality ingredients prepared with precision, fear not, as I, too, will always be a foodie at heart. And the reason that we have earned such attention in such a short time frame is because the foundation of the restaurant is firmly rooted in an elegant, innovative dining experience, based on gourmet Japanese cuisine. This strict adherence to culinary quality will always be the benchmark of the restaurant.

With such a fabulous seven months already under our belts, we are like children at Christmas, eagerly anticipating all the new successes that 2010 will bring.

Itadakimasu,

Katsuya Uechi
Katsuya L.A. Live
800 W. Olympic Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213.747.9797