ramen rating: breadbar ramen yatai – los angeles, ca

Trendy ramen comes of age in L.A. at BREADBAR (apparently, they don’t believe in lower case letters). Bakery and…well, “bread bar” by day, BREADBAR turns into a pop-up ramen yatai (food stand) serving “gourmet street food” by night and features guest chef Kazuo Shimamura from Ironnori Concepts. Their ramen selection ranges from the classics (shio,…

ramen rating: tatsunoya ramen – torrance, ca

A busy schedule and a bout of whininess (“it’s hot”…”it’s so far”…”my stomach feels funny”) almost stopped me from going to the Mitsuwa Kyushu & Okinawa Fair this weekend. But a combination of reading some positive reviews from bb’s (“blogger buddies”) Go Ramen, Waseda-ramen, and Exile Kiss this morning and a craving for mackerel sushi…

ramen rating: ramen california – torrance, ca

I’ve always had an instinctive aversion to “experimental” type restaurants. Over the years, I’ve managed to associate terms and phrases like “fusion,” “nouveau,” “a new take on x,” and “inspired by y cuisine” with chefs who’ve never quite managed to figure out the essential essence of the cuisine he or she is trying to replicate.…