Since my love for their deliciously juicy Japanese-style pork cutlet sandwiches knows no bounds, I have decided to take a closer look at my favorite little fusion sandwich shop. I conducted an interview with the owner of the restaurant, Clair Chang, to get an inside look.
Q. Tell me about yourself and your business.
Chang: My name is Clair Chang. I opened Mr. Katsu in 2015 and have been working here for 4 years now. Before this, I spent 13 years making sushi among other Japanese cuisines.
Q. What gave you the idea to create Mr. Katsu?
Chang: Even though I have a lot of experience with sushi, there are many sushi restaurants and many, many competitors. Also the variability in the fish market and fish prices don’t make for reliable profit. I was looking for consistency in profit and uniqueness. No one has this kind of restaurant.
Q. What is your favorite item on the menu?
Chang: For me it’s the Yakisoba Sandwich. I love noodles and so I wanted to make a noodle sandwich. I like it because it has very interesting and stimulating textures.
Q. Has the menu evolved since the creation of Mr. Katsu in 2015?
Chang: I started with 9 different sandwiches. I added 2 more after about 6 months because I noticed a lot of people like spicy flavors. After about two years, I was trying to attract more people since our location is kind of hidden so I added rice bowls and bulgogi fries, as well as, signature sauces.
Q. What gives you inspiration when creating new menu items?
Chang: I travel a lot and try to think about what people like. For instance, our food is heavy and I noticed that unique foods and comfort foods are very popular among young people so I tried to combine both those aspects in my sandwiches.
Q. What does food mean to you?
Chang: I’m a Major art but I found it hard to make a living out of the art I studied, but I think food is like live art. When I eat something delicious it makes me feel happy and I wanted to do that for other people. If I can create new food and feed people and that makes them happy then that, to me, is an art.
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