For decades, eggs were my worst enemy.
I avoided them at all costs and refused to give them a try, no matter how much hot sauce or chorizo they were covered in.
Nothing or no one could make me like eggs. But when a giant bowl of steamed rice with crispy pork, caramelized onions and scrambled eggs topped with a drizzle of Kewpie mayonnaise were placed in front of me, I couldn’t get enough.
I couldn’t even focus on the scrambled eggs, as my thoughts were occupied with planning my next visit. It was comfort in a bowl, and I was addicted.
Rafael del Cuesta and Katsu House did the impossible: they made me like eggs.
is Rafael’s newest venture, bringing all the warmth and comfort of classic Japanese comfort food dishes to .
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You may recognize Rafeal, an avid lover of Japanese food, from where he made various Japanese-style sandwiches, each encompassed in a soft, fluffy piece of milk bread.
Fatboy Sandos closed its doors earlier this year, but Rafael wasn’t ready to put the chef hat down just yet. He wanted to start something that didn’t put him in a box creatively. He wanted to add more Japanese comfort dishes to his menu, making sure his food was authentic and tastier than ever. His love for Japanese food couldn’t be boxed in, so his menu shouldn’t be either.

Katsu House makes fruit and cream sandos on milk bread.
On his pursuit to try something new, he noticed a specific dish that rarely got love: katsudon bowls.
A katsudon bowl is made up of four main ingredients: katsu meat, scrambled eggs, rice and caramelized onions. Your meat of choice, such as pork, for example, is breaded and cooked in a sweet and savory umami broth. During the cooking process, scrambled eggs and caramelized onions are added in, so that all the flavors meld together.
Once it’s done, it’s laid on top of a fluffy bed of seasoned rice.
“It’s a really popular food in Japan, but here I feel like it’s put to the back,†Rafael said. “Some Japanese places will have it, but it’s on the back of the menu.â€

Katsu House officially took over Brick Box’s food menu in May.
So, Rafael decided to finally show this delicious dish some love. With the concept of Katsu House decided, he was ready to take the next step: a location.
Rafael got in touch with the owners of Brick Box Brewery, James Owens and Michael Nixon. After their meeting, Katsu House had a home.
It was decided that Rafael would cook his Japanese comfort dishes in addition to their food menu, offering customers the chance to get his food via pick-up or delivery.
It didn’t take long for both James and Michael to decide that Katsu House should just be the official food of the brewery. May 10th was Katsu House’s first day taking over the menu.

Brick Box Brewery, located at 220 E. Broadway.
It’s hard not to feel cool as soon as you step foot in Brick Box Brewery, at . The rusty red brick walls are covered in neon signs, colorful artwork and flyers for all their weekly events.
Good music fills the brewery as you tap your foot to the beat while you read through the Katsu House menu. Paying homage to his roots, Rafael even has a grab-and-go station filled with onigiri and fruit and cream sandos. These are made with a new milk bread recipe that includes heavy cream and honey, making the cloud-like bread subtly sweet.
First on my list to try: a pork katsudon bowl. The bowl itself looks like a work of art. The white, fluffy rice peeks out from under the pieces of pork and scrambled eggs. On top, you have delicately placed caramelized onions and zig zags of Kewpie mayo, making it look like something you’d see while flipping through the pages of a foodie magazine.

A pork katsudon bowl from Katsu House.
The smell of rich, sweet caramelized onions fills the air. The crispy, juicy pork mixed with the fluffy scrambled eggs and perfectly cooked rice is a recipe for deliciousness.
It’s one of those meals you’d curl up on the couch with at night or something you’d crave on a rainy day during monsoon.
I wasn’t done just yet; I just had to try their Japanese-style hot dog. A hot dog covered in Kewpie mayo, slices of jalapeño, pieces of crunchy potato chips and a Sonoran-style bun from La Estrella is Rafael’s newest creation. I can confidently say I could eat one of these every day and not grow tired of it.

A Japanese-style hot dog from Katsu House.
Recently, Rafael’s go-to has been the Japanese hambagu steak bowl. This bowl features pieces of Japanese hamburger with caramelized onions, egg yolk, seasoned rice and topped with a slightly sweet steak sauce.
“That’s another item I always wanted to bring to Arizona and our menu,†Rafael said. “It’s really rich.â€
Once they get their footing, Rafael wants to add more creative dishes to Katsu House’s menu, like temaki rolls, which are sushi rolls that aren’t cut so you eat them like a hot dog.
He wants Katsu House to continue to expand Tucson’s palate, showing us all the amazing flavors Japanese comfort food has to offer.
I know one thing for sure: Katsu House is the only place I trust to make me eggs.