Hi @BradFord,
Thanks for the great post and thoughts! 
You have a better perspective for fine dining restaurants than I do, so it’s good to hear your feelings on this as well.
Definitely agree with Californios. My favorite dish from them was the humble Esquites + Crickets: Chef Cantu reinvented the classic Mexican Street Food dish and used Corn Kernels with Sunchoke Puree and topped it with finely ground Chapulines (Toasted Grasshoppers). It was so good! 
and no lux ingredients needed.
Thanks for the heads up on Kaluga caviar that you had. You hit the nail on the head, besides the surprise (for us) that it was from China, if it was well executed on where the caviar shines, that’s great. However, in that dish, it was really about the Geoduck, the Korean Spinach and Mussel Water (the giant pool that it was sitting in). The dish could’ve been just as enjoyable without the Kaluga, so it felt like it was just added to be showy to try and earn another star.
Based on what my friend told me about the original Kato’s menu (and what were highlights), it feels as though the current menu is just drifting towards that “European / French / Fine Dining” angle and losing his voice. I hope things get straightened out.
