Off the Vegas Strip, away from the 99-cent shrimp cocktails, the iron chef restaurants, the all-you-can-eat buffets, things become a bit quieter and less boisterous. Drive a few miles away, and you’ll come across a quiet strip mall that could just as well be located in Anytown, USA. This is the kind of deserted strip mall that makes you feel like you might get mugged if you’re there after the sun goes down. In this unassuming strip mall, you’ll find an interesting mix of an Ethiopian restaurant, a kosher restaurant, a bagel shop (Harrie’s Baglemania…it’s damn good!), and–a ramenya?! Score! Read the rest of this entry →
I don’t normally shill for ramenyas that haven’t opened yet, especially one that I haven’t tried first hand, but in this case, I’ll make an exception.
Shigemi Kawahara, “Ramen King”, will be opening the first American outpost of his famous Ippudo in New York City at the end of the month. Kawahara-san gained fame by taking 1st place in televised ramen battles 3 years in a row, and then won the title of “Ramen King” in a TV competition in 2005. Ippudo was first opened in Hakata in 1985, and has grown to 34 locations throughout Japan.
Big in Japan has a recent review of Ippudo’s hakata ramen in japan while the Feisty Foodie and Eater report on last Tuesday’s sneak preview.
Kohryu Restaurant has gone through not only a change in ownership but a complete remodel since my last review. After their grand re-opening in January, I thought I’d give them another try. We arrived in time for a late lunch, hoping there’d be less people…wait, why are all these people huddled outside (it was really cold that day). We ended up waiting for 45 mins…45 mins!?! (Apparently, my idea of having a nice hot bowl of ramen on a windy cold day wasn’t quite as inspired as I hoped.) My expectations soared as my stomach growled even louder.
When we were finally seated, I was eager to order the special-order paiko ramen. Alas, not only do they not serve paiko ramen any more, but I didn’t even see paiko-don on the menu. Still determined to try something new, I ordered the “new” Koi (“love”) ramen. (Hmm…I dug out an old pre-ownership-change menu from over a year ago and noticed that Koi ramen is still there, under the “new” section.) Read the rest of this entry →
Boy, do I have a lot of ramen to eat before I catch up…i-ramen has info, quick facts, pictures, and videos on almost 4000 instant ramen in Japan. Unfortunately, it’s entirely in Japanese, but here’s a tip: click on the 2nd tab (next to “home”) on the top, then scroll down and click on the picture of each ramen to see the videos.
“Three Daly City men have been accused of stealing nearly $1.8 million worth of ramen noodles, rubber tires, barbecue grills and other consumer goods…” Yes, you read that right; part of their haul was a 53 foot trailer of ramen!
Anyone who’s ever been to Japan, or anyone’s who’s been following this blog knows that ramen is more than the 100-packs-for-10-cents food most people think of. Even so, the connection between instant ramen and starving college students is probably permanently seared into everybody’s minds. With the country in/about to enter a recession, and with everything from gas to –ahem– ramen going up in price, people are understandably concerned about saving money and being frugal. As the American economy slowly sinks, I have no doubt you’ll starting seeing more and more references to people “eating ramen to save money” in the news. Ah…if only my car ran on cheap ramen!
With that crafty segue, I’d like to introduce writer extraordinaire Xin Lu at Wisebread.com, a web site devoted to “living large on a small budget.” Xin Lu was kind enough to interview me and call me a “folk hero to ramen lovers everywhere”?! Blush…maybe, maybe not. But if you do want tips on how to manage your personal finances and save money, check them out!
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