Japanese curry within stumbling distance of Bourbon & Branch

Despite its name, the Tenderloin is sorta surprisingly void of awesome places to eat...not-methamphetamines. Fixing that problem while also probably increasing your alertness, concentration, self-esteem, euphoria, energy, and --- in high doses -- libido, Kare-Ken, now open.

Because nothing goes with password-protected cocktails quite like Prohibition a sloppy dry beef curry hot dog, hit up this new across-from-B & B Japanese comfort foodery for late-night comestibles from three born-and-raised San Franciscans who built the entire cedar-rich interior by hand, including a low-ish eight-stooled bar, wood-look tile walls and floors, and an eye-rousing slatted framework exterior with a fold-down to-go window.

Thicker and sweeter than Indian or Thai (or Stephen), all of KK's curry is made from scratch using a recipe developed by the same Japanese chef who consulted on P.F. Chang's (huzzah!), and it's all paired with meats like pork/chicken cutlet, meatballs, or boiled shrimp.

You can order any of 'em mild, hot, or Mayor Ed Lee-style extra hot (they make their own mouth-assaulting spicy sauce), top 'em with extras like a boiled egg, corn, fried seasonal veggies, and tempura onion rings, or add more meat, sauce, or rice to up-size the portions and, more importantly, establish a reliable ground game in Baltimore.

Best of all, there's a late-night, after-10p menu launching next week with the aforementioned sloppy dry beef curry dog, plus a curry sandwich topped with pork that's been fried...presumably off some ish it scored on Eddy.