A few days ago when I met Tsuijita-san, he had asked me if I'd ever eaten at his shop. Aside from the superb bowl of miso ramen I tried at the Odaiba ramen park last year, I truthfully said no. But I made a promise to do so in the coming days and since I had the late shift tonight, I made the 40 min trek out to Ochanomizu. Mentoku Nidaime Tsujita (めん徳二代目つじ田) is pretty much on the opposite end of the Marunouchi Subway Line from me so I had to calculate my time wisely. When I arrived there was a line of about ten people but it moved really fast.
Within minutes I was seated in front of this. I always wondered why Tsujita was so popular. And now I know why. The ramen is crazy good!! The first sip literally gave me goosebumps. And the last sip...well we'll get to that.
The noodles are from who else but Mikawaya Seimen and they seriously go well with this soup.
Like every great bowl, the last sip was better than the first. So if you happen to be in Orange County this weekend, you can check out Tsujita in Costa Mesa at Mitsuwa's Umaimono Gourmet Fair. I suggest that you do! And if you happen to see Tsujita-san there, please tell him I said hello.
Oh yeah, my nieces came into Bassanova yesterday and drew me some pictures. They sure do know how to make me happy.
Real happy!
Are you happy?
We had the tsukemen from Tsujita at Mitsuwa's Gourmet fair today. The broth was amazing. You can definitely taste all the different layers of flavors from the pork to the seafood. The noodles were cooked perfectly and they were thick enough to hold onto soup. They also included lime which you were suppose to squeeze halfway through the noodles which helped to cut some of the richness of the broth and help keep your taste buds from getting too bored. This was a great recommendation, Keizo. I didn't see Tsujita-san since he was in the back cooking, but we got to meet his brother who was out in the front.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely need to keep us up to date if Tsujita is going to open up a branch in the LA area. If you have any influence, you should get him to find a place in Orange County instead.
Thanks John! glad u enjoyed it. my only hints are: april, sawtelle. i'll ask him about oc.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. 5 months is a long time. I guess Santuoka can tide me over until then.
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