Showing posts with label umami. Show all posts
Showing posts with label umami. Show all posts
Ramen Jinya - Broth You Want to Bathe In
A couple of weeks ago, during Los Angeles' 10 days or so of torrential rain, someone had a brilliant idea. Sunny, from Deglazing The Foodie Terrain, suggested Ramen Jinya. A better meal for that weather, I cannot fathom. Her brilliant photography and enticing food descriptions always convince me to try anything. If that was not enough, Ramen Jinya's Hakata Ramen also appeared on Jonathan Gold's 10 Best Dishes of 2010.
I expected only greatness knowing that (1) the restaurant was in a downplayed strip mall in Studio City; (2) it's owned by a Japanese mogul who owns 7 restaurants spread across Tokyo; (3) they have an open noodle kitchen. The food by far exceeded my expectations.
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| Ramen Jinya - Tonkatsu Hakata Ramen, fresh garlic and Tokyo Curry Rice |
The meal began with a fresh green salad with what tasted like miso dressing with strong garlic and daikon flavors. I, somewhat timidly, went with the Tonkatsu Hakata Ramen, described on the menu as "Pork Premium Rich Flavor". It has a deep bone marrow flavor as well as dashi, dried fish and other types of umami goodness. The bowl contains a few slices of tender, juicy, buttery chashu fatty pork. Up front and center is also a perfectly soft boiled egg with vibrant yellow yolk. There are assorted vegetables to round things out and the slightly chewy noodles soak up just enough broth while still maintaining their integrity on their own.
There are several optional add-ons, my favorite being the cloves of fresh garlic that the diner crushes into the broth, adding another level of kick, as if that's even needed. I also turned the meal into a combo by adding a side of Tokyo Curry Rice. It's a solid Japanese curry bursting with complex flavor, clearly made from scratch.
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| Ramen Jinya - closer view of the ramen |
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| Ramen Jinya - the broth |
It's rich, soulful, unctuous. The broth is murky, reflecting the 12 hour cooking time. You just lose yourself in it!
A Shout Out to the Signature Umami Burger
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| Umami Burger - at Umami Burger in Hollywood |
The first time at Umami Burger, at the La Brea location, a couple of friends and I tried several things on the menu and cut everything into quarters. Perhaps there were too many distinct tastes for any one thing to stand out. While everything was tasty, I did not understand they raves and thought it wasn't something I'd try again.
Recently, after a long show at the Hollywood Pantages Theater, a couple of friends and I walked over to the Cahuenga location for a late dinner. It could have been the extreme hunger talking, but the signature burger was magical to taste and delicious to behold.
The burger is based on the savory, meaty fifth taste (after bitter, salty, sour, sweet) of Umami. Umami is attributed to glutamate which is naturally occurring in certain foods. What is unique about these combinations in the burger is that they meld together to create that deep flavor, rather than provide flavor and texture contrasts like In-N-Out burgers' raw onions do in that burger.
The burger looks like their gorgeous logo. And this time I noticed the logo branded on top of the shiny, Portuguese bun that has a light and elastic quality. It soaks up the juices and provides the perfect ratio of bread to the other ingredients. It is one of the few burgers where I will eat both of the buns.
Nobody knows the complete set of ingredients but what can be discerned is the freshly ground beef patty griddled to medium-rare, a parmesan cheese frico, a roasted tomato, carmelized onions, a grilled shitake mushroom and a side of the housemade Umami ketchup.
Like I said, there is nothing new and different about this burger, but they should just keep doing what they're doing.
