Recent Ramens: Katana-Ya (San Francisco); Onkei (Westwood)
Ramen #1: “Katanya Ramen” ($12.90) @ Katana-Ya, 430 Geary St., 94102
Ramen #2: “Original Tonkatsu” ($7.95) @ Onkei Ramen, 10942 Weyburn Ave., 90024:
Staying in Union Square, tried the Thurs night before Outside Lands to get into Katana-Ya. Eventually gave up after about a half-hour wait for one of their few seats (crossed over Geary to Pinecrest Diner–solid enough backup eats.) Came back on the Sunday night after O.L. wrapped and manged to get a sushi counter seat after a bit of a wait. A fairly unsatisfying bowl, all the more so for being the eponymous signature dish that clocks in at $13. There’s a lot going on in the soup, but doesn’t seem to add up to a solid whole. Could have been hotter (temperature). I’m not even going to mention the sub-Shake & Bake pork cutlet side dish.
Back in L.A. Onkei Ramen is new to Westwood and is fast racking up a mediocre Yelp average. Again I go for the apparent signature dish of a place; again I am disappointed. I think the beige broth fairly captures the general blandness of this bowl. The pork slices were both the best and smallest portioned parts of the mix. I’m out $8 bucks this time. I think I need a ramen intervention since clearly I’m overpaying for all the wrong dishes.
Go back to westwood, take your own chili oil and double down on the chashu. (Can you double down on chashu there?)
Have you gone a bit further west and tried Tatsu or Jinya yet? How about Miyata Menji? Tsujita? They should just rename Sawtelle into whatever restaurant is sponsoring the street that week and hand you a bowl in exchange for $8, once you turn onto it. Did I forget to name-drop Chabuya, Ramenya, Asahi …
Both bowls above look terrifying in their own right but I keep returning to them and scrutinizing them just the same.