SHOOTZ
ADDRESS: 12885 Beach Boulevard #11, Stanton, CA 90680
WEBSITE: https://www.shootzhawaiian.com/
In a conversation that I had with one of my co-workers, Craig, we talked about the various food hall places that were located in the LA area and which ones we had been to. One of the places that he mentioned, Rodeo 39, was a place that I had not heard about. Located down in Stanton, Rodeo 39 was populated primarily by Asian food vendors. Shootz was one of the vendors that he recommended inside Rodeo 39, and specialized in Hawaiian-inspired food. After I was finished with a college recruiting event down in Long Beach on a Sunday afternoon, I made the short drive over to Rodeo 39 to give Shootz a try.
Shootz is nestled away in the back of the food hall, with a distinct logo of a pineapple wearing sunglasses to let you know you’ve arrived at the right place. They had some high-top and bar seating available within the immediate space of the restaurant, but the rest of the open area inside Rodeo 39 also had plenty of other tables to sit at as well.
For their menu offerings, their signature is their kimchi butter, which they generously apply to either katsu chicken or battered shrimp. Their meal plates also come with a portion of rice and their mac salad to round things out. Craig also recommended for me to check out their Spam brûlée musubi, which was another side option from the menu as well. It’s definitely tough for me to resist a chicken katsu, so I ended up getting the kimchi butter chicken katsu plate along with the Spam brûlée musubi to really get the full Shootz experience.
The place was really getting slammed with orders when I had arrived right around 3PM, but my food was still able to come out in roughly 10 minutes after I placed the order. Given that it was already the middle of the afternoon, I was definitely hungry and very ready to dig into the food.
When I first opened my container with the kimchi butter chicken katsu, the aromas of butter along with the slightly pungent nature of kimchi juice really pulled me in. The katsu itself had a good cook on it, with each piece being nice and crispy. The kimchi butter added spiciness and smoothness to each bite, with the rice helping to balance out the richness. The mac salad was also really smooth as well, with a nice hint of spiciness from the togarashi garnished on top. I liked how the chicken katsu and mac salad were really good on their own, and when eaten together (along with the rice), all of the flavors felt like they combined really well for a hearty plate of food.
As for the Spam brûlée musubi, that was also a solid option to complement the main plate. It was a normal Spam musubi, topped with scallions and kimchi aioli, with a brown sugar brûlée prior to getting it served out. There was savory, sweet, and umami flavors all throughout. I think the kimchi aioli was supposed to have added a slightly spicy element to it, but I didn’t really get that note. The only disappointing thing that I will say is that the menu advertises this as a two piece, but it is just one full Spam musubi cut in half to make two pieces.
Anytime that I get Hawaiian food, I feel like it is embodied with hearty portions and rich flavors. Shootz definitely delivers on both of those fronts with the items that I ate. Both the kimchi butter chicken katsu and the Spam brûlée musubi contained those rich flavors that packed a punch to keep you satisfied. Even though there were quite a number of people that stacked up orders at this place, it seemed like they were doing really well keeping up with getting the food out. If you ever happen to find yourself looking through the spots at Rodeo 39 for a meal, make sure to take a look at the menu for Shootz to see if anything sounds enticing.
Let’s now take a look at the Shootz Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Spam Brûlée Musubi **
Grilled Spam sandwiched with white rice and wrapped with nori. Topped with scallions, kimchi aioli, and a brown sugar brûlée.
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** Kimchi Butter Chicken Katsu Plate **
Panko-fried chicken basted with kimchi butter, topped with scallions and furikake. Served over white rice and with mac salad topped with togarashi.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Shootz:
Food: 4.75 / 5
Hearty portions and rich flavors, the food definitely delivered. The crispiness of the katsu was a nice contrast to the smoothness of the kimchi butter sauce, and I’m sure that would also translate to the battered shrimp, too. Even though the menu might be smaller, the dishes they do have on the menu are done well.
Atmosphere: N/A
With this place located inside the Rodeo 39 food hall, I wouldn’t classify a specific rating for the atmosphere. The area itself for Shootz does have a nice neon sign to indicate that you’re in the right place.
Service: 4 / 5
Even with a pretty large number of orders stacked up, the kitchen was able to keep pace to crank out all of the food needed.
Price: 4.75 / 5
The kimchi butter chicken katsu plate was $13.49 and the Spam brûlée musubi was $3.99, and given just the portions of the food provided, I thought that it was definitely worth it for sure.
Overall:
13.5 / 15
(90%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
Chu On This 