Iroha - San Francisco, CA

1728 Buchanan Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 922-0321
Japantown

My brother wasn't in the mood for ramen tonight (sometimes I wonder if he's really my bro...j/k) so we ended up compromising on a restaurant that has both ramen AND other stuff. At first glance of the name, I began to have flashbacks of Menya Iroha and their Toyama Black from last year's Tokyo trip. Q: Could this Iroha be related? A: NO!


Niku Shoyu Ramen: Since this really wasn't a true ramen-ya, I went in expecting the ramen to be bad. No surprise here. So instead of ordering the regular shoyu, I thought I'd order one with a little more protein.


Hmm...I'm trying to think of something positive to say. Oh, I know. The bowl was perfectly designed to prevent the soup from spilling over the table. Okay, so it was bad. The niku (meat) was frighteningly tough and lacking any flavor. The soup was something similar to an instant brand I've had. Out of respect, I won't say the name of that instant brand.


In one of the pics above, you'll notice that they claim to have "homemade noodles." Homemade noodles my ***!!! From which factory?


Yakitori: Amazingly, I couldn't finish off the ramen so I needed something else to fill the void. "So bro, where are we going next?"


Sigh...I guess ramen in the city really does blow.

Katana-Ya - San Francisco, CA

430 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 771-1280
Near Union Square

Every now and then, there comes a ramen-ya that inspires me to write with excitement and enthusiasm oozing out from the neurons of my fingertips. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. I'm not sure if it was the cheesy neon lights or the stunning Brides of March, but all I got to say is: "Only in San Francisco!"


Regular Shoyu Ramen (rich): I've heard some people say that this ramen "is the best in the city." And then I've heard them say "ramen in the city is nothing to rave about." Somehow, I understand exactly how they feel. This Shoyu Ramen wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I guess you can call it "regular" at best (and they do! haha). Available in "rich" or "light", this rich version was just a shoyu ramen with extra fat. The toppings (chashu, menma, negi, seaweed) were highly overrated. The noodles were standard as well.


Regular Shoyu Ramen (light): The light version of this Regular Ramen was also nothing to rave about. Exactly the same as above, minus the extra fat, the soup was surprisingly better flavored, but still not worth the hype.


Deep Fried Chicken Ramen (Miso): Their miso ramen was more like miso-soup ramen and notably light, which made the Chicken Karaage a welcome addition. I didn't try the chicken, but I heard it held its crisp fairly well.


Gyoza: An utter disappointment. I was expecting a little more for 6 bucks. An overbearing flavor of cabbage drowned out most other ingredients. I'd recommend skipping these next time.


Day one is done, but day two is just about to begin. It's time to leave the city and travel south.

Suzu - San Francisco, CA

1825 Post St.
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 346-5083

I've finally made it to San Francisco! It's been a couple years since my last visit and I've yet to blog about any of the ramen-ya's up here, so for the next four days I'll be staying at my brother's house in the city and spending my time slurping frantically in search of a good bowl. Luckily, the weather is about 20 degrees cooler than LA so I won't have to worry about slurping in triple-digit heat. Nice!

After the long drive up, my first stop (recommended by my brother) turned out to be Suzu, a popular ramen house in San Francisco's Japan Town. [I won't get into how much Japan Town has changed since I was a kid, but let's just say it's definitely not the same.] Anyhow, Suzu doesn't seem like it's Japanese-owned, but if my brother likes it...then...let's go!

"Tokyo" Ramen: I love shoyu ramen. So if you name a ramen "Tokyo" ramen, it better be a damn good shoyu ramen. Well...unfortunately this wasn't. The soup was supposed to be a mixture of chicken and pork broth, but the chicken stood out and for the most part masked the pork flavor. And I wasn't sure if it even contained any shoyu. The toppings (chashu, egg, menma, seaweed, and a single bok choy leaf) were nothing to brag about. The chashu was overly salty and didn't really taste like pork. The noodles were also mushy and overcooked. Overall, Suzu didn't live up to my expectations--sorry bro.


Shio Ramen (New Special): "Sublimely tart and zestful, 'Shio' is an invigorating sea-salt Ramen blended with chicken broth and pork broth" states the description on the menu. Uuh...I got none of that. It was more like a salty chicken soup. The toppings were the same as above and the noodles...nevermind. Let's just say my brother's vegetable udon used the same broth.


Gyoza: The gyoza was clearly a disappointment. The skin was too pasty-tasting and ruined the rest of the flavors. I probably wouldn't order these again.


Okay, so it's only the first night. Tomorrow, it's off to San Jose!