What’s better than a plate of katsu on a cold day? How about pork that’s coated in panko breadcrumbs made that day? The decisive answer of “Yes, yes, yes” is on crunchy offer at Kazone, a brand-new restaurant in the Old Centreville Crossing shopping plaza, also home to the city’s bustling H Mart grocery store. The small, already-busy eatery is in the space previously occupied by Las 3 Regiones Peruvian restaurant.
The Korean-run establishment is dead serious about its breaded-and-fried specialties. The menu has multiple reminders of the panko’s freshness, including a warning that the fresh crumbs fry up darker than other panko and that pork is rested after frying for optimal tenderness and juiciness.
I considered ordering one of my very favorite dishes on the planet, katsu kare, or katsu with Japanese curry, but my server recommended the cheese katsu, a dish I’ve only had once or twice before elsewhere. Other options include a katsu sando, as well as breaded shrimp, chicken, or cod.
The fresh panko is more different from the boxed stuff than I expected. Besides their telltale chocolaty hue, the crumbs’ smooth texture makes them feel more like a melting unit with the pork than a spiky armor. Rather than a chunky chop, the cheese katsu is something like a trio of fat mozzarella sticks, with the stretchy, chewy cheese wrapped in peppery pork. I was initially disappointed not to have more meat, but found myself quickly dispatching of the bisected, parsley-dusted slices, dipping them into a combination of spicy and standard sweet Bulldog sauce. For a bit of heat, I dusted my sides of rice and shredded cabbage with the shichimi togarashi, a citrusy pepper powder that was waiting on the table.
Some people spend the winter slurping soup. I’ll be filling mine with freshly ground breadcrumbs.
13840 Braddock Rd, Ste. D, Centreville
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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