The Katsuya empire

October 10, 2007 | 12:31 pm

Katsuya Hollywood officially opens tomorrow, though last night Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was already bobbing his head to taiko drummers and extolling the praises of SBE Entertainment mogul Sam Nazarian and chef Katsuya Uechi at the opening party.

It was a real politicos-amid-the-sushi evening, with Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti in attendance, as well as State Controller John Chiang (all the way from Sacramento) and even an official or two from the city Planning Department. Interesting, as Nazarian's empire seems to be growing exponentially (expect more Katsuyas, hotels, nightclubs, etc.). And just a couple of weeks ago, Garcetti announced that he would push an initiative making it easier to build housing, offices and other real estate projects by cutting from 12 to two the number of government agencies that review any single development.

Meanwhile, the sushi bar was hyper-busy preparing sashimi, spicy tuna on crispy rice, California rolls, unagi (grilled eel) sushi and more for the hundreds who squeezed into the Philippe Starck-designed space (kimono and geta on the ceiling, the crying eyes of a geisha on the wall, sushi knives suspended in blocks of clear resin). There was sashimi draped over horizontal wooden poles that had been assembled all the way around the sushi bar, and it was a feeding frenzy, with people nabbing slices of yellowtail, salmon and tuna with their chopsticks. I asked Nazarian how much sushi was made for the night. He said, "With 14 sushi chefs, hopefully enough."